Alex Izyk has been a force on the North Stars' backend all season, playing big minutes and tilting the ice in his team's favour. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

SJHL's Elite

Alex Izyk: How confidence shaped a game changer on North Stars’ blue line

Feb 9, 2024 | 6:58 PM

With just 12 games to go on the regular season schedule, Battlefords North Stars defenceman, Alex Izyk is in the midst of a season for the ages with the local junior team.

The product of Blackie, Alta., enters the weekend second in defenceman scoring in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, with 48 points (14 goals, 34 assists) in 40 games, trailing Flin Flon’s Noah Houle by just four points for tops at the position.

“Izzy’s pretty special, I mean the stuff he does with the puck, a lot of us wouldn’t even try to do,” Izyk’s defense partner Josh Karman said as a smile crept onto his face. “He’s confident and he makes it pretty easy for me out there, so I really like playing with him.”

Entering the weekend with 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in his last nine games, Izyk recently became just the third defenseman this season to earn SJHL MVP of the Week honours for his scorching play of late. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Currently on pace for 62 points (18 goals, 44 assists) in 52 games, Izyk has a chance to eclipse the 56-point benchmark set last season by Top Defenceman Award winner, Tynan Ewart, for most by a North Stars’ Dman in over 20 years, since Drew Bagnall scored 64 points in 59 games back in 2002-03.

Riderville

Shades of 2007

15h ago

BODY-WORM CAMERAS

RCMP begins nationwide rollout of body cameras for frontline officers

Nov 15, 2024

Inflation

Rent inflation to slow in the next few years, Desjardins predicts

Nov 14, 2024

What makes Izyk’s season even more eye-catching is his seemingly exponential growth as a player to get to where he is today. It’s a journey witnessed first-hand by North Stars’ head coach and general manager, Brayden Klimosko, since acquiring the blue liner ahead of last year’s Canadian Junior Hockey League trade deadline for a Player Development Fee.

“He’s just gaining more confidence all the time, and I don’t know if anyone could have predicted this,” Klimosko said, thinking back on Izyk’s development since joining the team. “Obviously you saw glimpses at the Centennial Cup, but he’s really carried that momentum into this year. He’s been a stud for us.”

Already well-established in the junior ranks at the time of the acquisition, Izyk was originally seen as more of a ‘stay-at-home’ defenceman, with just nine points (two goals, seven assists) over 79 career junior games split between the Fort McMurray Oil Barons and Calgary Canucks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

However, almost immediately after arriving in the Battlefords, the 6-foot-1, 186-pounder would prove his reliable play on the defensive side of the puck was just the beginning of the impact he could provide.

Immediately slotting in alongside current captain, Tanner Gold on the North Stars’ second defensive pairing, Izyk would tally 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 20 games to close out the ’22-23 regular season, with the pair also counted on to play heavy matchup minutes throughout the team’s run to the SJHL championship.

Alex Izyk and Tanner Gold, pictured here with the Canterra Seeds Cup, following the North Stars’ championship win last spring. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

However, as his coach alluded to, the league championship run was just an appetizer for Izyk’s true coming out party at the Centennial Cup, an experience the defenceman himself credits as playing a major role in his development.

“I think that’s when the confidence really started coming and I started realizing I can play with anybody,” Izyk said. “Throughout this year I’ve started to realize that even more, and with the confidence my coaches have in me, allowing me to play, week throughout week I’m just trying to get better and grow my game every day. I think lots of it is just getting older and realizing that you’ve got to try things to see if you can do them.”

As the North Stars continue down their final stretch of their schedule, and embark on what they hope to be another lengthy playoff run, one thing is for certain, Izyk can be expected to be a big part of the team’s success moving forward as far as they may go.

—

Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @MartyMartyPxP1