Parayko shining in St. Louis
Entering the 2015-2016 season, the top prospects in the St. Louis Blues system were Robby Fabbri, Ivan Barbashev and Jordan Schmaltz. No arguments there – all are youngsters with super potential. But another young man added his name to the watch list: Ukrainian defenseman Colton Parayko.
At 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, St. Louis’ third-round pick from 2012 is a towering presence on the blueline. His game is mature for his age and he can contribute in all situations, especially with his cannon shot from the point on the power play. (One of his nicknames is “the Uke with the nuke.”) The 22-year-old played some games with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves and was named captain of the Blues’ rookie squad in Traverse City prior to training camp.
Where did the kid come from? From way up in Alaska via St. Albert, just outside of Edmonton, Alberta. His college days were spent at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, where he was twice named WCHA conference defensive player of the year. While the Nanooks didn’t have much on-ice success during his tenure, Parayko capitalized on the ice time he got there.
Playing college hockey in Alaska is different from other Division 1 schools. The sun does not rise and set when expected – there are 24 hours of daylight during the summer with the sun still shining at midnight. Winter, on the other hand, is darker than dark.
The travel schedule was challenging, meaning Tuesday red-eye flights and Sunday returns for road games. On the flip side, teams bond really well with all of that time together.
This year, Parayko is trying to get his game going in the NHL. Following his final campaign with the Nanooks, he tested the professional waters with the St. Louis farm team in Chicago, where he played quite well. In 17 games he registered seven points, then continued to impress in five playoff matches. In training camp his main competition for a big league spot was organizational favorite Petteri Lindbohm. Oh, and St. Louis has a pretty intimidating defense corps when it comes to skill.
Rookie of Year candidate
Pre-season turned out to be excellent, with Parayko registering six points (all assists) in five exhibition games and making the Blues roster. His rookie season began on a hot streak (five goals, 10 points in the first month), he cooled off, suffered a few minor hurts (missing several games) and resumed a steady presence on a solid Blues backline. He averaged around 20 minutes of ice time and staked a claim to be a main man on defense. He was even been mentioned as a potential rookie-of-the-year candidate.
In what has always been one of the harder positions for youngsters to learn, Parayko has played surprisingly steady hockey. Coach Ken Hitchcock hasn’t shied away from putting Parayko out for big minutes. When defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk went down, the Blues didn’t panic, instead turning to Parayko to eat the top four minutes. During the 10 games that Shattenkirk missed, Parayko scored six points and his minutes jumped to 21 per game.
Winning the Calder Trophy (top rookie) usually takes a Herculean effort. Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, as a comparison, won top rookie honors in 2014-2015 because he was such an effective top-pair rearguard as an 18-year-old – an extreme rarity at the NHL level. Ekblad completed his rookie campaign with 12 goals and 39 points, averaging 21:48 minutes per game. He was eighth in rookie scoring – second among rookie defensemen – and slowed significantly after January. In 79 regular season games Parayko notched nine goals, 24 assists and 33 points with a very respectable +28 plus/minus total. These totals did not top all rookies, but was the second-best mark among freshmen defensemen. That should deserve some consideration from Calder voters.
The big hurdle for Parayko was keeping his ice time up while playing important minutes for the Blues. Ekblad won the award thanks to the Panthers’ reliance on him as a top-pair defenseman with partner Brian Campbell. In St. Louis, Parayko saw his minutes drop with Shattenkirk’s return (from 20+ minutes to 16+). Factoring in the scoring exploits of Chicago’s Artemi Panarin, skills shown by Buffalo’s Jack Eichel and Coyotes’ rookie Max Domi, Parayko ended the season a longshot for top rookie.
Younger players getting a chance
Parayko is a perfect example of a new trend in the league of giving more opportunities to less-experienced players because younger players are preparing themselves for the pro ranks more quickly than in the past. Today’s athletes are more focused than athletes of yesterday, primarily due to intense training beginning at a younger age. Youngsters these days have strength goals, skill coaches and nutritionists. In Parayko’s case, the college route gave him extra time to develop, as he played three seasons before turning pro. Playing against the older college competition furthered his development.
In an early December 2015 statement, St. Louis General Manager Doug Armstrong had this to say about his rookie Ukrainian defenseman: “He has a heavy shot and is able to get his shot through the first and second layers of traffic. But we aren’t going to judge his success on a year-to-year basis based on goals. It’s going to be on the other parts of his game. What impresses me the most about him is his ability to use his size and reach to defend bigger players.”
The Blues have been right up there challenging the defending champion Blackhawks and upstart Dallas Stars for the best record in the Western Conference. Parayko’s unexpected contribution in 2015-2016 has certainly been a huge bonus. He may just be the missing link to a long St. Louis playoff run.
Shinkaruk excited to join hometown Flames
In a late-February move, the Vancouver Canucks unloaded 2013 first-rounder Hunter Shinkaruk in a trade for center Markus Granlund from rival Calgary. Shinkaruk, born in Calgary, grew up a Flames fan, so he reacted to the news in a beyond excited fashion.
Granlund became expendable for several reasons, the biggest of which was the club’s strength at the center position (five solid pivots and a prospect). Scoring on the wing was a need for the future, and Shinkaruk is a definite option. The offensively-gifted left wing has consistently scored at the junior and AHL level, but still needs to adjust to the physicality of the pro game and become more involved in his play without the puck.
To say Shinkaruk was excited to be coming home would be an understatement. He grew up in Calgary and his family has owned Flames season tickets for many years. The thought of putting on the jersey he always admired is beyond thrilling.
The trade came as a shock, too. This was the first time the young Ukrainian has ever gone through a trade. Adjustments need to be made, including mental ones, to say nothing of changes in physical logistics. Of course it helps when you grew up in the area and even skated in the Saddledome.
Calgary had the chance to draft Shinkaruk in 2013. After selecting Sean Monahan sixth overall, then-G.M. Jay Feaster selected Emile Poirier with the 21st pick and Ukrainian Morgan Klimchuk 28th. Vancouver took Shinkaruk at No. 24.
The 21-year-old was bound for Stockton of the American Hockey League to continue proving himself worthy of a promotion to the NHL. He knows Calgary wanted him as a player for the future, something he never felt while with Vancouver. The future may be sooner rather than later.
At 21 goals with Utica, Vancouver’s AHL affiliate, Shinkaruk bested his 2014-2015 rookie season total of 16, good for seventh in the league. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound forward sat 19th in points with 39. In Utica he was used in all game situations, getting lots of ice time in his second professional season. The consensus was that all areas of his game improved from year one.
In Stockton the message is to integrate with the Flames group, keep producing on the ice and push for an opportunity. Shinkaruk must continue to grow and mature, both in his game and physically. There is no doubt his skill set matched an organizational need.
Calgary General Manager Brad Treliving noted in a press release from February 23: “We look at it a couple of ways. The hardest thing to do in this league is to score goals. We look at Hunter as a player who has done it over the course of his career at the junior level and at the AHL level. Now, he has not done it at the NHL level, but he’s shown an ability to play with speed, high skill level and a nose for the net and those are important qualities in today’s game. We look at the ceiling on this guy and we think there’s a high ceiling for him in terms of where he can get to.”
Ihor Stelmach may be reached at [email protected].