Stars’ netminder Joel Grzybowski, with his father Greg following the Stars’ 2019 Canalta Cup victory. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Hanging up the skates

Stars’ Grzybowski calls it a career

May 9, 2019 | 12:19 PM

Coming off his second league-championship in three seasons with the team, North Stars’ goaltender Joel Grzybowski has decided to call it a junior hockey career.

Despite still having one remaining season of junior eligibility, Grzybowski explained his reasoning behind hanging up the skates to battlefordsNOW, saying the timing was right to head back to school and shift his focus to agriculture.

“The past three years, I set out to win a championship in North Battleford, and I achieved that two of the three years,” Grzybowski said. “I have three years of education paid for through the Western League, and I just felt like it may be time to go to school.

“You kind of know that you’re ready to go to school when you’re starting to get excited about it,” the 19-year-old continued. “I just thought, if I’m not willing to put in 100 per cent day-in and day-out for the North Stars when I always have the school in the back of my mind; I just thought it may be time.”

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Grzybowski’s .950 save percentage through the postseason was the best in the league by a cup-winning goalie in recent memory, earning him playoff MVP honours. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Grzybowski led the team to top spot in the division and the second seed overall, starting a league-high 44 of his team’s 58 games. The Hafford product then cranked up his play to a new level further in the team’s playoff drive to the Canalta Cup.

Grzybowski posted a staggering 1.68 goals-against average and .950 save percentage on his way to the cup. His play was highlighted by three-straight shutouts against the Yorkton Terriers in round 2, spearheading his team’s 4-0 sweep of the top offence in the league through the regular season.

Grzybowski was accepted into the University of Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Business course and said he is looking forward to returning to the family farm.

“I just love the farm, so I’m going to be sticking close to it,” he said. “When you’re a kid and you always have your farm-set on the carpet in the livingroom, I always dreamed about farming with my dad. In a few years that will become a reality, well even right now it is, I’ll just be going to school in the fall.”

Grzybowski said it was certainly no easy decision to move on from the Stars as playing for the team was a dream of his growing up.

“I remember going to North Stars’ games as a kid,” Grzybowski said. “We’d have birthday parties up in the booth. [Now] when those birthday parties are coming into the room after the games – when you’re sitting on the other side of things as the player – it’s a crazy moment when it’s just a complete flip of when you remember it last time.”

Grzybowski will retire with a 60-20-9 career record with the Stars, along with a 2.33 goals-against average and .917 save percentage.

His 20-7-3 post-season record saw him sport a 2.46 goals-against average and .921 save percentage, en route to two Canalta Cup championships and a Playoff MVP award to his credit. The two championships, Grzybowski said, are the accomplishments of which he is most proud.

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1