‘We’ll learn as we go’: Dmytriw
Former Royal will be key to Giants’ playoff hopes in series versus Victoria
For the next couple of weeks, Jared Dmytriw hopes to be Matthew Phillips’ worst-case scenario instead of one of his best friends in hockey.
The speedy, scrappy Dmytriw has been used frequently in a shutdown role in the second half of the season by Vancouver Giants coach Jason McKee, usually on a line with Owen Hardy and Brayden Watts. When it comes to the opposition, Dmytriw is forever in the way. He has a penchant for nuisance.
It’s expected that McKee will call on Dmytriw to do the same when the Giants open the WHL playoffs on Friday against one of the right-winger’s former clubs, the Victoria Royals. Phillips, who put up 48 goals and 112 points in the regular season, is the Royals’ big gunner, and also happens to be one of the guys in that dressing room that Dmytriw has remained tight with.
Phillips and Dmytriw were both part of Victoria’s 2013 bantam draft class, with Phillips going in the second round and Dmytriw in the fourth. Dmytriw played 179 times in the regular season for the Royals over three campaigns before being traded to the Red Deer Rebels in early September. Vancouver landed the 19-year-old in a November deal with Red Deer.
“It would be strange,” Dmytriw said of being assigned to shadow Phillips’ line, which usually includes Tyler Soy and Dante Hannoun, “but there’s a little friendly competition in there, too.
“I know he’s a guy who’s competitive each and every night. His role is to score goals. If my role is to shut him down, and if I can gain little victories here and there, it would give our team a better chance at winning.”
And as for his buddies on the Royals like Phillips, Dmytriw said: “I told them last week, when it looked like we were going to play them, that we should probably put the friendships on hold for a while. I know how hungry we all are.”
The Royals traded Dmytriw away because Victoria felt they need-
ed a veteran defenceman and had enough depth up front to move out a forward. Dmytriw went to Red Deer in exchange for rearguard Jared Freadrich, who just turned 20.
Vancouver brought Dmytriw in because they felt they needed someone used to playing in tight games, someone with playoff experience. They sent a 2018 third-round bantam draft pick to Red Deer.
It’s looking like one of the better deals in recent Vancouver history, especially when you consider that Dmytriw is likely to fill one of the club’s three 20-year-old spots next fall.
He’s quick. He’s tenacious. He always seems to be around the puck. And he has won the trust of McKee, considering how often you see Dmytriw on the ice late in games with Vancouver leading.
The Craven, Sask., native played 26 playoff games over three springs
with the Royals. Vancouver, which had failed to qualify for the post-season for three straight seasons and four of the past five going into the current campaign, has just 76 games combined of playoff experience.
Victoria, by comparison, has 317 games. They’re in the playoffs for a ninth straight spring, although they
haven’t made it past the second round in that span.
“Just me and Riddsie are the only ones here with playoffs experience,” Dmytriw said, pointing to over-age defenceman Brendan Riddle, who joined the Giants at the Jan. 10 trade deadline from the Lethbridge Hurricanes and brought a career 22 post-season games with him.
“Once you play those games you want to get back to them.
“These guys don’t have a lot of playoff experience, but we’ll learn as we go. We have a lot of talent. It’s exciting.”
When his team was at full health, McKee pushed playing quickly, taking advantage of the club’s puck-moving defence corps. Victoria comes at you with similar ideals, evidenced by the fact that they were second in the league in goals (287) and gave up the sixth most (264), which was worst among the league’s 16 playoff teams.
Vancouver was 16th in goals (233) and 14th in goals against (257).
“You don’t want to get into a track meet with a team like Victoria. You want to stay within your systems and grind them down in different areas that you can,” said Dmytriw, who had nine goals and 17 points in his 45 games with Vancouver.