鈥淪ome of my best friends are on the other side [of the building] . . . it鈥檚 a weird feeling to be on the visitors鈥� side,鈥� admitted Dmytriw, before the Rebels practised Monday in the Memorial Centre.
Dmytriw skated for three seasons as a shutdown forward for the Royals, bottling up the opposing teams鈥� best scorers. That pugnacious quality will be unleashed against Victoria tonight as Dmytriw tries to slow down his former teammates as a member of the Rebels.
The Royals, overloaded with forwards and needing defensive depth, traded Dmytriw to Red Deer for blue-liner Jared Freadrich on Sept. 6. The trade was especially wrenching for Victoria staff because Dmtytriw was a Royals-bred player, taken in the fourth round of the 2013 WHL bantam draft. But that is the business of sport.
The 19-year-old Dmytriw said he isn鈥檛 surprised by Victoria鈥檚 14-6-1 record.
鈥淚 knew there was a lot of skill up front.鈥�
That鈥檚 because he was part of it, teaming with Regan Nagy, as perhaps the best defensive-forward duo in the Western Conference.
But now Nagy has erupted into a scorer with a WHL fourth-best 16 on the season, which also doesn鈥檛 surprise Dmytriw: 鈥淸Nagy] always had that scoring knack but never had the opportunity before because he and I were on the shutdown line and playing against the other teams鈥� top offensive guys.鈥�
Dmytriw hasn鈥檛 done too badly himself this season with six goals, after scoring 29 in his Royals career, although his role as a diligent two-way forward hasn鈥檛 changed with the move to Red Deer.
鈥淚 might see a lot of [Dmytriw tonight],鈥� said Victoria captain Matthew Phillips, the dangerous forward who the Rebels know they must key on.
It鈥檚 not a matchup Phillips is relishing against his close friend because he knows the tenacity Dmytriw brings to the ice.
鈥淛ared takes no shortcuts and has a lot of pride in the way he competes,鈥� said Phillips, the Canadian world junior team candidate, who has a league fourth-leading 37 points and top-five 15 goals.
Indeed, Dmytriw noted: 鈥淭here are no friends on the ice.鈥�
Meanwhile, Freadrich admitted tonight鈥檚 鈥渨as the first game I looked up鈥� after being traded by Red Deer to Victoria.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a weird feeling but there is definitely extra motivation,鈥� added the mobile 19-year-old blue-liner, who has three goals and 11 points and is plus-four in 20 games with Victoria.
The five-foot-10 Freadrich was drafted out of bantam by Regina and began his WHL career with the Pats and Victoria is his third team: 鈥淚 liked the experience there [Red Deer] but I鈥檓 excited to be here in Victoria.鈥�
Freadrich and the Royals, meanwhile, must be wary of this being a trap game as the Rebels (8-11-1) are on a six-game losing streak in a 0-5-1 stretch after a good start to the season.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been struggling to find out game recently,鈥� said Dmytriw.
鈥淲e want to turn it around and know we have to keep it simple [tonight] in a tough building against a good team.鈥�
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