Jumping To The Big Leagues

With a number of players seeing their seasons end in Canadian university hockey, a few players have made the jump to the professional level to see if they can make an impact before the seasons at the higher levels finish. Every year, there are a pile of players who look to breathe new life into the hockey dream by signing a contract in one of the lower professional leagues, and we saw four Canada West players do that over the last few days. All four were solid players for their teams while skating at the university level, and they'll look to contribute to what could be long playoff runs by the teams that wanted them. Let's find out who signed contracts this week!

With UBC's shocking exit from the Canada West playoffs two weekends ago, it didn't take the Canada West Goaltender of the Year long to find gainful employment as UBC Thunderbirds netminder Brett Mirwald signed with the ECHL's Allen Americans! That contract was made official on Sunday - one week after Saskatchewan eliminated UBC - as Mirwald will head to Texas to join the Americans. Mirwald was 11-1-2 with UBC this year, posting a 2.27 GAA, a .907 save percentage, and two shutouts in his second season with the T-Birds.

The Saskatoon-born Mirwald played 19 games with Moose Jaw before landing with the Vancouver Giants where he was 38-31-8 in his two seasons with the Giants, posting a 3.13 GAA and a .912 save percentage. Mirwald showed solid improvement this season behind a very veteran Thunderbirds team, and it appears he'll be given a shot at claiming the backup netminder spot behind Americans starter Marco Costantini. Mirwald will need to play well to do that, but we saw him put in some incredible work in the UBC net this year.

Calgary's playoff run ended the same week as UBC's did, but it appears that loss will hurt them a little more as the Canada West winner of the UBC Hockey Alumni Trophy for Sportsmanship and Ability is on the move. Dinos forward Adam Kydd signed a contract with the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones on Sunday, and he'll look to help the Cyclones in their push to claim the third- or fourth-place spot in the ECHL's Central Division. Kydd, who led Canada West in assists, should arrive in Ohio this week where he'll look to crack the lineup.

Kydd had an outstanding season this year with the Calgary Dinos, notching eight goals and adding 33 helpers to finish second in Canada West scoring. He was, by far, the best offensive player that the Dinos had this year statistically, but winning the award for Sportsmanship and Ability shows that he's talented and has great character. Those are the kinds of players that ECHL teams need in their communities, and Adam Kydd should help the Cyclones on and off the ice.

Saturday saw the Manitoba Bisons lose a promising player as forward Blake Swetlikoff made the jump to the ECHL with the Greensboro Gargoyles. Swetlikoff has six goals and eight assists for the Bisons this season, finishing seventh in team scoring. He had a couple of power-play points as the rookie skated with the advantage, but his lone minor penalty all season was proof that Swetlikoff plays at a high level without costing his team goals. Swetlikoff landed with the Bisons after playing 32 games with the Idaho Steelheads last season.

Swetlikoff split five seasons in the WHL with Spokane, Lethbridge, and Kamloops with his best WHL season coming in 2021-22 where he scored eleven goals and 18 assists in Spokane. Swetlikoff signed with the Idaho Steelheads in September 2024, and got the opportunity to attend training camp with the AHL's Texas Stars. He would be returned to Idaho where he recorded seven assists in 32 games with the Steelheads before making the move to the University of Manitoba in the fall to reunite with head coach Gord Burnett who coached Swetlikoff when he was younger as the two remain friends.

The final player in the foursome above took a bigger step than the previous three as UBC Thunderbirds captain Chris Douglas signed an amateur tryout contract with the AHL's Rochester Americans for the remainder of the season! The winger is coming off a solid campaign where he scored 16 goals, 19 assists, and 35 points to finish tied for sixth-place in Canada West scoring which were all career-high totals for Douglas. He also played 124 games for the Thunderbirds, showing his versatility, endurance, and fitness as he skated in 26-or-more games in each of his last three seasons with the Thunderbirds.

The Richmond, BC native had a solid WHL career with the Red Deer Rebels as he increased his point total in every season except his final year where he was limited to just 23 games. However, 43 goals and 98 points in 250 WHL games was something that UBC head coach Sven Butenschon couldn't pass up, and Douglas joined the Thunderbirds in 2021-22 where he scored 12 goals and 15 points in 20 games as a rookie. Four seasons later, he finished his career with 57 goals and 120 points, catching the eyes of the AHL's Rochester Americans.

No one will fault these four men for signing contracts that keep the hockey dream alive. That's exactly why they're still playing, and they can always return to school to finish their degrees if and when they decide that they accomplished as much as they could in the game. The one thing that can't be stressed enough is that these four men were offered the chance to play professional hockey here and now, and all four chose to answer the door when opportunity knocked.

As we saw with Blake Swetlikoff who left Idaho for Manitoba, maybe this opportunity won't be right when everything is measured. What should be clear is that Swetlikoff took another opportunity despite the first one not working out to his liking. For Swelikoff, Kydd, and Mirwald, the door to return to their university teams might still be open if they want to return. For Douglas, he's getting the biggest shot of the four after he graduated out of the Thunderbirds' program.

Where these oppotunities lead next will be determined by the effort and hard work these four men put into following those dreams. Knowing they all had that drive and dedication to both their educations and the sport could mean that one or more of these players beats the odds. And that would be awesome to see!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!