'Carry With Me Every Day'

LOS ANGELES – The honour, said Ethan Wyttenbach, “changed his life.”

Wyttenbach became one of the newest members of the Flames Saturday when they selected him in the fifth round (144th overall) of the NHL Draft.

The honour he was referring to was being named the first recipient of the The Gaudreau Award earlier this year, now to be bestowed annually to a USHL player that ‘best embodies the legacy of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.’

Wyttenbach meet Johnny and Matthew’s parents, Guy and Jane, when he was announced as the award winner back in April.

“I think for me, obviously, winning the award is something special that kind of ties my name (to them) for the rest of my life, but I think, more so, just meeting his family and kind of establishing a relationship with them is something I won't forget,” he said. “You hear the stories about their boys and just how special they were as people. I really try and look up to him. John playing in Calgary pretty much his whole career, it's just crazy how those stars kind of align. Obviously, his family are such amazing people and I'm so grateful for what they did for me, and now to hopefully one day carry on his legacy in Calgary.

“It changed my life,” he added. “It’s just such a huge honour that I carry with me every day.”

According to the USHL website, ‘the award criteria are grounded in the personal and professional lives of the Gaudreau brothers, combining elements of on-ice excellence with joy, enthusiasm, care and responsibility.”

Wyttenbach was second in scoring for the USHL’s Sioux City Stampede, notching 24 goals and 51 points in 44 games. The team leader, Reid Varkonyi, had 52 points in 59 games.

But off the ice, Wyttenbach made just as big or, perhaps, an even bigger impact.

The release for the Gaudreau Award stated: ‘Wyttenbach has made a commitment to serve the Sioux Falls community. Prior to his injury he led the team in community service hours. On top of being a mentor to his younger brother and local youth hockey players, Ethan filled food bags at Feeding South Dakota, served dinners at the St. Francis House and rung bells for The Salvation Army. He made school visits and assisted at youth practices after his own.’

“I think it's it just goes back to my parents and kinda how they raised me,” he said.

Everything he does, he explained, is rooted in his passion for hockey and making a difference.

“Once I got to Sioux Falls, it was just an instant connection where I fell in love with the community right away,” he said. “I just felt I felt at home and obviously once you see our fan base, we got 6-7,000 people at every game, it's just unbelievable. You connect with them. You fall in love with Sioux Falls. I think it just made me wanna help and just kind of give back for everything they were doing for me.”

Switching gears to his draft day experience Saturday watching from home, it was a bit, let’s say, unique.

“I was on a commercial break for the live feed and one of my best friends texted me and was like you just got drafted,” he explained. “All of a sudden it gets back and my name is up there and I was like ‘wait, I just got picked.’ It's crazy.

“I didn't really know how to react - but it's unbelievable.”

On the ice, the 5-foot-10, 181-lb. forward is an effective player with offensive upside.

“I think my strength comes from my hockey IQ and just my offensive ability,” said Wyttenbach, who plans to go back to Sioux Falls next year and is committed to Quinnipiac University. “I think as I've grown older, I’ve put the puck in the net and I’ve put up points. There’s been some kind of doubts on my defensive ability and those types of things, but I think those are things I'm aggressively working to get better at and something I will get better at through the next couple years.

“But, yeah, I think my offensive ability to score is just something that's always set me apart.”

The Roslyn, N.Y. product has a heckuva mentor being good friends with fellow Long Island native and Flames standout Matt Coronato, training with him in the summer.

Coronato was skating at his dad’s rink two days ago, he said.

“I knew him before even got drafted by the Flames, and obviously before he even made it to the NHL,” said Wyttenbach, “and you see him grow as a player and as a person and you kind of just start to anticipate what the next step of my life is going to be. Obviously, my goal is to play NHL one day, so I think having him as a mentor and someone especially who is now in Calgary is unbelievable for me.

“I know he's gonna play a big role in the next couple years, especially as I'm on my journey to hopefully be playing next to him one day.”