One of the best aspects of the hockey community is how important and prevalent family traditions are to the sport.
Ask anyone who has spent time in a rink or arena, and they can tell you a positive story about a Chyzowski.
Kyle Chyzowski is the next and last in a tremendous line of Chyzowskis who have come before him.
His father, Barry, was drafted by the New York Rangers; uncles Dave and Ron by the New York Islanders and Hartford Whalers, respectively; older brother Tyler played in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League and the University of Oregon; and cousins Ryan and Nick played with Medicine Hat and Kamloops in the Western Hockey League.
Since 2013, at least one Chyzowski has been in the WHL. So, what do Kyle, Ryan, and Nick all have in common?
“All three of us have spent five years in the league. All three of us served two years as an assistant/alternate captain. Then, we are all named captain in our fifth year. This is so cool for our family. This is for my grandparents, brother, cousins, uncles, and everybody else who gets to experience this year.”
Now, Kyle takes his turn, as he was named the 49th team captain in Portland Winterhawks history.
“It is so beyond special to me. Obviously, it has been five years here, so this means a lot to me. A big kind of reward for everything I’ve done so far and something I don’t take lightly,” Chyzowski said with a smile from ear to ear. “It’s a big deal for me, something I’ve been looking forward to. I get to look down and see an extra ‘C’ on my chest; it is pretty cool to see.”
For those around the Rose City and familiar with the team, it was simply a matter of time before Chyzowski would be named captain. The formal captaincy announcement came after an early October practice with the team in the locker room. Winterhawks legend Cam Neely proudly announced that the man everyone calls ‘Chyz’ was this year’s captain.
Kyle got to break the news to his parents shortly after that.
“I called my dad, and we talked on the phone about what it meant. It was just a proud moment for us. Obviously, my mom and dad have been with me for the last five years, right here with me, pushing me to be the best player I can be. I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs in the last five years, so to share that moment with them was pretty cool and really emotional, but is something we will always remember,” Chyzowski said.
Special relationships
Kyle Gustafson is serving in his first year as head coach of the Winterhawks this season after spending 20 of the last 21 seasons in Portland as an assistant coach, associate coach, and assistant general manager.
“When I first got the job as head coach, (Chyzowski) was my first phone call; that’s how much I value this guy,” Gustafson said. “He’s driven our team for the last three years. We’ve had some great leaders around him and guys that have moved on, but it’s probably Kyle that drove our team. I can’t say enough good things about this guy.”
Chyzowski agreed with his coach, saying, “He’s been here since I was here, and obviously another 15 or so years before that. He’s been through everything with me. I think our bond is special because we’ve gone through this junior hockey war together. It is the same kind of thing where he was behind Mike as an assistant coach, and now it is kind of his year to shine, so I find we both kind of feel like we have a bigger role this year. We can relate to what each other is going through. I think we feed well off each other, and the really nice thing is he takes our input really seriously. When I tell him something, he doesn’t take it or me for granted.”
Serving alongside Chyzowski as a full-time alternate captain is fellow over-ager Ryder Thompson.
Chyzowski made it a point that even though some players will rotate wearing the ‘A’ on their jersey, Thompson should wear one every game.
“I think Ryder is my 1A right there, right next to me. He’s been here for as long as I have. I think he could have gotten the C as well. It could have gone right to him, and I would’ve been okay with that. He’s just a guy that I lean towards, and his word means as much as mine in that locker room. I take everything he says as super important. He’s a guy I’ve got right here in my pocket. We are doing this thing together.”
Another special relationship for the Surrey, British Columbia, native is the one he’s built with 17-year-old forward Ryan Miller.
“I think for Ryan, it is just kind of an award for how hard he’s worked in the last year and a half,” Chyzowski said.
Miller suffered an injury before the season started last year and battled hard to earn his spot in the lineup as a 16-year-old rookie on a team that won the 2024 Western Conference Championship. When the season concluded in May, he went home to Medicine Hat, determined to return in August ready to be an impact player in just his second season in the WHL.
Dating back at least 20 years, the Winterhawks have not had a 17-year-old be named an alternate captain.
With 12 rookies on this year’s roster, sometimes younger players can feel nervous talking to one of the veterans, but Chyzowski feels Miller can help bridge the gap.
“It may be easier for one of our 16’s or 17’s to reach out to Ryan so he can be a middleman in a way. Do you see the way Ryan plays? He plays a hard game, doesn’t cheat the game, backchecks harder than most guys I’ve seen, so I think it is nice to see that Gus (Kyle Gustafson) sees that as well and deservingly gave him a letter,” Chyzowski said.
Leaving a legacy
Every team and every captain are unique. Some captains are unafraid to speak their minds in the locker room or on the bench, while others may be more reserved and have a ‘less is more’ approach.
“I’m a little bit different than (Gabe) Klassen in a couple of ways. I’m a little bit more vocal and play a bit of a harder-nosed kind of style. I’m not the most skilled guy and don’t really have any special talent out there on the ice; it’s just all work, grit, and toughness for me. That said, I may be a guy others can relate to because of that. My work has to lead first, then I can get vocal.”
Before the season started, Chyzowski spent time in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s training camp, which gave him confidence.
“I got to see what the next step is. It was my first camp, so I got to see what the competition is like for hopefully the upcoming years. It was really nice to learn what that is about and to be around NHL guys every day and see the way they carry themselves, their practice habits, how they are in the gym, and how they act away from the rink,” he said.
Gustafson and general manager Mike Johnston have stressed the importance of the legacy the 20s will leave behind. One tactic they have used over the last several years is having the rookies take reps in every practice against the over-agers. This gives an opportunity for the veterans to pass down habits the younger players can learn.
“We really do encourage our 20s to leave a legacy they are proud of,” Gustafson said. “Whether that be immediate or something they can look back on years from now, legacy is an important word for us. You don’t want to take away from their next steps as 20s, but we’ve had a lot of recent examples of guys who play out their 20-year-old season and get signed as a free agent.”
So, what is the legacy Kyle Chyzowski hopes to leave?
“I want to be a guy that the young guys look up to. When I was a young guy, I always wanted to talk to some of the older guys so I could learn off them. I also want to be known as a guy who is a winning player and someone who brings energy. When I got named captain, some of those older guys texted me saying congrats. I then got to tell them a lot of what I’m using is what I learned from them. That’s something I want to pass down. I have so much knowledge in this league, so now I want to help these younger guys start to learn that as well. Honestly, as a Portland Winterhawk for five years, really, I just want to keep the winning tradition alive.”
