Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Mobile, puck moving defencemen are coveted by teams at all levels of hockey.
But there is an equally important place for the rugged defensive blueliner who gives no quarter in front of the net.
Enter Ben Bygrove, who will add that element to the Griffins defence when he kicks off his Canada West career with the team in 2023-24.
"He's a big defenceman who plays a little bit mean," noted MacEwan Griffins head coach Zack Dailey of the 6-foot-1 Lloydminster, Alta. product, who played for his hometown Bobcats in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. "He's a great puck mover, he worked on their powerplay. But one thing we lacked last year was grit in our defensive zone. He's someone who fills that role. He's hard to play against, competes really hard and he's going to push people in practice."
Brygrove, who spent five seasons with the Bobcats (2019-23) after coming up through the Lloydminster elite hockey ranks, was named captain of the team in his final AJHL season in 2022-23. His campaign was a dominant one where he demonstrated his rugged defensive style on a nightly basis while still managing to produce 31 points in just 49 regular season games.
"Where do I see him playing? I see him as someone who's just hard to play against and reliable – smart, knows our systems, can play at the end of games if we're up or down," said Dailey. "He's just a very versatile player. I don't really want to put a cap on where he may or may not be, but I definitely see him as someone who makes a difference right away for us."
Check out our leadership group for the 2022-23 season with our Captain being Lloydminster's own Ben Bygrove!
— Bobcats Hockey (@LloydBobcats) September 28, 2022
.#BorderCityBuilt pic.twitter.com/8P4S8MKU1r
Bygrove is the second junior captain Dailey's announced in his 2023 recruiting class, joining Canmore Eagles captain Vincent Scott. Like Scott, he brings strong character to the Griffins.
"In all the reports from his coaches, he's out in the community helping out, very involved in community service, which is a very important piece of our team," said Dailey of Bygrove. "He again checks all the boxes. Mature, cares, works hard, wants to get better, pushes people to be better in practice, is hard to play against … he's someone who's going to help us big time."
It's long been a theme of Griffins' recruiting classes – netting former junior hockey leaders who set a high standard of excellence for others to follow.
"The expectations that are put on captains no matter where you are (is a key attribute)," said Dailey. "They are someone who is a great teammate because they treat everybody with respect. It's just gives you a leg up getting a bunch of captains. They understand the commitment it takes to be good and they're people who understand the pressure, as well, because they've been under pressure as captains.
"Any time you're fortunate enough to get one, it's definitely a good thing."
