Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – With an ability to take care of all the details needed to find success as a U SPORTS defenceman, Tyson Kowaluk will bring his talents to the MacEwan Griffins men's hockey team this season, head coach Zack Dailey announced Wednesday.

The St. Albert native will join his AJHL Lloydminster Bobcats teammate Ben Bygrove on a strong, deep MacEwan blueline for the 2023-24 Canada West campaign.

"We're bringing someone in who's smart, works hard, is a good kid who fits in with our culture," said Dailey. "He's going to be someone who comes in right away and pushes to play. Competition is never a bad thing. It's really good to have people pushed and he's definitely going to come in and push for minutes right away as a first-year guy. 

"We're excited to have him."

While the 6-foot rearguard was on Dailey's recruiting radar, it wasn't until the Griffins bench boss was recruiting Bygrove (Lloydminster's captain last season) that Bobcats general manager Nigel Dube put in a plug for him to look at Kowaluk, too.

The latter wore an 'A' for Lloydminster last season, putting up 21 points in 56 games, while playing big minutes on their blueline.

"What I saw on video was he's smart, he makes really good breakout plays, made good decisions off the rush and he defended well," said Dailey. "He was willing to block shots. He was on the penalty kill a lot and looked like he did a good job there. He was one of the leaders for (Lloydminster) on the PK."

Prior to spending four seasons with the Bobcats, Kowaluk came out of the St. Albert elite hockey program and doesn't have to commute far to join the Griffins.

"Tyson's a good fit for us; we were looking for another quality D-man," said Dailey. "He's happy to stay home and play."