Icedogs goalie Tucker Tynan hopes to show his Wild side
Minnesota’s AHL farm team signs Niagara’s Tynan to an amateur tryout deal
A Niagara Icedog who hasn’t played since suffering a life-threatening injury more than 14 months ago has put himself in a position to beat the Ontario Hockey League back on to the ice.
Tucker Tynan has signed an amateur tryout (ATO) contract with the Iowa Stars, an American Hockey League team based in Des Moines and the top farm club of the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League.
Under terms of the ATO, Tynan could be pressed into duty on an emergency basis should something happen to the goaltenders on the team’s regular roster. Playing in the AHL, a pro league, would not affect his amateur status, his eligibility to return to the Icedogs for a second OHL season nor his eligibility heading into this year’s NHL draft.
Icedogs general manager Joey Burke said, while it’s unlikely the 18-year-old Chicago native will see action in the Iowa lineup, it’s remarkable the Wild organization reached out to him in the first place.
“It’s a great testament to the work ethic he has put in that he is even on their radar after the injury he suffered and before he has been able to get back with us,” Burke said.
Burke spoke to Tynan recently and said the sophomore goaltender is “thrilled for the opportunity.”
“He can’t wait to take advantage of this chance, but, at the same time, he’s thrilled and looking forward to getting back with us as soon as we can get going here,” Burke said.
The general manager suggested living in the Chicago area has allowed Tynan to train more than many of the players who live in Ontario, where arenas and gyms have twice been shut down by extended lockdowns.
“It’s been great for him. He really is chomping at the bit to get back with us, and he has more than recovered 100 per cent, which is great,” Burke said. “He’s got 100 per cent of his strength back. “He’s just raring to go.”
Even if he doesn’t get to log any minutes on the ice for the AHL team, training with professional players can’t help but give Tynan an “extra leg up coming into our camp.”
“Facing the calibre of shots from the Ivan Lodnias and these kinds of guys they have there, will be just tremendous for him. You can’t overvalue that enough,” Burke said. “The quality of shooters is just unbelievable.
“The AHL is an incredibly talented league, and I’m sure he is going to learn a lot.”
Tynan lost a massive amount of blood in a Dec. 12, 2019, home game when a London Knights player was pushed into the creased and shredded the goaltender’s right quad muscle in a horrific accident.
The six-foot, 159-pound Tynan needed five units of blood in an emergency surgery performed at St. Catharines hospital that night. Canadian Blood Services notes the average human body has 10.5 units of blood.
Sixty-five donors, including 18 who were giving blood for the first time, came out to a clinic hosted by the Icedogs in Tynan’s honour at Canadian Blood Services in St. Catharines. A total of 51 units were collected at a location that typically averages 35 to 45 donors at a weekday clinic.
Despite being taken in the 10th round, with the 192nd pick, in the 2018 OHL Priority Selection, the Chicago native emerged as Niagara’s No. 1 goaltender early in the 2019-20 season.
In 23 games, he backstopped the team to a record of 11 wins, eight losses and four overtime or shootout losses, while compiling a .910 save percentage and 3.80 goalsagainst average.
Tynan, who turns 19 on June 7, can play two more seasons in the OHL, including one as an overager.
In April, the Icedogs’ faith in Tynan’s ability to make a full recovery and battle for the No. 1 job at training camp was borne out by the team’s decision not to pick a netminder in the regular OHL draft. Jacob Osborne of Ottawa, six-foot, 190 pounds, was selected second overall in the under-18 draft.
Messages left with Tynan were not returned at press time.
While a shortened AHL regular season got underway on Feb. 5, the OHL remains in a holding pattern as far as its near-future is concerned.
Regulatory approval from the provincial government and public health authorities is needed before the 17 teams based in Ontario can open training camp, let alone attempt to play a season.
The OHL also has two franchises in Michigan — Flint Firebirds, Saginaw Spirit — and one in Pennsylvania, Erie Otters.
“It’s crazy how this thing keeps dragging on. We just, unfortunately, can’t get the clarity right now,” Burke said. “We’re certainly hoping that we can start as late as the beginning of April.
“Unfortunately, it’s out of our hands. It’s wait-and-see.”
COVID-19 cancelled 56 games remaining in league play in midmarch and, subsequently, the playoffs, including the Memorial Cup tournament.
Meanwhile, the OHL’S Canadian Hockey League counterparts are either back on the ice or have announced plans to return. All but Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s three New Brunswickbased teams have been playing since October, while all but the Western Hockey League’s five British Columbia teams are set to start 24-game seasons as early as Friday.
“Obviously, Ontario, B.C. and Quebec, being as populated as we are, have had tougher challenges for sure, but it’s certainly encouraging to see Quebec and to see the Western league coming back now,” Burke said. “At the end of the day, I think it bodes well for us at the very least.”
In Iowa, Tynan will be reunited with Lodnia, a one-time Icedogs teammate and former team captain. Lodnia, a third-round pick of the Wild in the 2017 NHL Draft with the 85th overall selection, is back in North America after starting the 2020-21 season in Belarus as a player on loan to the Dinamo Minsk in the Kontinental Hockey League.
Lodnia had one goal and seven assists in 27 games in the KHL after leading Niagara in scoring with 27 goals and 35 assists in 41 games in his over-age season in the OHL.