Sports stats

WHL Tri-City Americans

Prospect Profile: Mason Mykichuk

May 13, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Tri-City Americans News Release


Some of Mason Mykichuk's fondest hockey memories came during his time playing spring hockey when he was around 10 years old.

"My three spring years with the Manitoba Stallions were so much fun," he said. "One year we went 32-0-1 and you're playing with all your best friends, guys that I still talk to all the time. I loved hockey right from day one, I played soccer in the summers too, but hockey was always my number one. My parents have always been my biggest supporters and really helped me fall in love with the game."

Years later and now a signed WHL prospect, he's hoping the best is yet to come.

Following his first year of U15 with the Winnipeg Thrashers, Mykichuk knew he needed to step up. After 11 goals and 24 points in 29 games he wasted no time putting in the work to prepare for his WHL draft year.

"Basically right after that season ended I started working hard for the following year," he explained. "I went to Sport Manitoba and Evolution Hockey and worked with them to help myself get better. I just knew my season wasn't too good and I really had to step up if I wanted to get drafted, which was my biggest goal."

The work paid off in a major way as Mykichuk went from 11 goals to 41 in his 2022-23 draft year, finishing sixth in the Winnipeg AAA U15 league in scoring. He added an additional 21 points (13-8-21) in just seven playoff games, positioning himself well for the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.

Last year's draft just so happened to be at the same time as the Top-40 tryouts for Team Manitoba ahead of the 2023 WHL Cup, giving Mykichuk a unique story about his draft day experience.

"We were in the hotel room and watched the first round before heading to the rink," he said. "As we were pulling into the parking lot of the arena my mom screamed, "Tri-City Americans, Mason Mykichuk, 56th overall!". Before the draft one of my best friends, Ben Brambilla, said he was going to be the first person to call me after I got picked, and he did."

While some players are weary at the idea of playing far away from home, not to mention in another country, Mykichuk couldn't have been happier about where he had been drafted.

"I didn't know a lot about them before the draft, but obviously I was really happy about getting drafted by an American team," he said. "Hopefully I'll be able to move to America and play hockey there. Training camp last year was really good and it just seems like a great, fantastic organization."

Before he made his first visit to Tri-Cities Mykichuk had already put pen to paper and signed a Scholarship and Development Agreement with the team.

It was a no-brainer for the Winnipeg native.

"For me, it didn't matter where I was drafted," he stated. "My goal was just to get drafted into the WHL, so whatever team I went to I was happy with that. Once the talk with the team about signing started to ramp up in June, I was happy to get it done right away."

Committing to the Americans also meant that he could become teammates with another good friend of his, Carter Kingerski, who was drafted 21 spots ahead of him.

"He's such a great guy, he was at Evolution that same summer I was and we just grinded it out together," Mykichuk said. "He's a great person and a great friend and we ended up winning a gold medal together at the WHL Cup in Red Deer."

Knowing the level of competition that awaited him at his first WHL training camp, Mykichuk continued to work hard in the summer of 2023 to prepare himself.

No matter how hard they work, the first camp is always an eye-opening experience for WHL prospects.

"It's such a big change compared to what you're used to," he said. "You're jumping out on the ice with guys who have beards, but I'm a fast guy with a long stride so I think I was able to keep up with them. Physicality has always been a big part of my game, but there are some big guys on the ice during camp that really put me to work. The pace of the game was way different than what you're used to, coming from U15 in Manitoba, but I think I was able to handle it pretty well. Being able to share a locker room with those guys and share all those laughs and stories was a great experience."

After receiving encouraging feedback from the Americans at the end of camp, Mykichuk returned to Winnipeg and joined the U18 Winnipeg Thrashers for the 2023-24 season.

His offensive production from the year before carried over smoothly while playing against older competition as he would finish the year with 28 goals and 53 points in 41 games. His 53 points placed him third amongst all 2008-born skaters in the Manitoba U18 League last season.

"Right off the bat I think what helped me was being used to the fast pace of the WHL training camp," he said. "I had some close friends on the team which helps with creating chemistry on the ice. I had a goal in the first game of the year which helped me settle in and we just went from there."

Early in the year was the 2023 WHL Cup which pits the top 2008-born players from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba against each other.

After dropping their first two games, 4-2 to Alberta and 7-2 to British Columbia, Team Manitoba beat Saskatchewan 3-2 to set up their semi final matchup against B.C.

Despite being outshot 32-23 in the game, Team Manitoba held on for a 3-2 win with Mykichuk assisting on the eventual game-winning goal to push Team Manitoba to the championship game against Alberta.

It turned out to be a game for the ages with Manitoba prevailing 6-5 in a six-round shootout, claiming their first ever gold medal at the event.

"We made history," Mykichuk said. "Words can't even describe what the feeling was. We had a tough round robin and we had a meeting where our coach told us we really needed to dial in. Our goalie, Peyton Shore (Red Deer Rebels), stood on his head in the gold medal game and Brek Liske (Everett Silvertips) scored the shootout winner for us."

Mykichuk finished with two assists in five games during the tournament.

Americans prospects Mason Mykichuk (left) and Carter Kingerski pose with the WHL Cup.

While he didn't find the back of the net during the tournament, Mykichuk says his shot is what has helped him become a dangerous goal scorer over the past few seasons.

"I think I'm really good at shooting from the outside," he said. "It doesn't take me much to load up and really release my shot. My inside edge footing and accuracy all combine together to give me a really good shot."

Throughout the season he always stayed on top of how his future team was doing, and noticed one player in particular.

"I really like Cash Koch's game, he's a dog," he said. "I was checking every game and watching all the highlights to see how things were going. It's unfortunate they didn't make the playoffs, but they just had the third overall pick which is big for the team."

An all-around strong 2023-24 season has Mykichuk poised to return to the Tri-Cities and make his case for a roster spot in the fall.

"I'm focusing a lot on my footwork over the summer," he said. "When it comes to camp I'm just trying to focus on doing what I do best and putting in the work to help things go my way. I play a strong two-way game, my offence is good and my defense is good. I like to score goals and I'll play any style of game that's needed to win games."

Check out the Tri-City Americans Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from May 13, 2024


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Tri-City Americans Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central