"Tye represents a great development story," said Bylsma. "Undrafted, unheralded, he has done nothing but come to training camp, find out what he needs to work on, and put in the work on and off the ice. Tye is consistently working in practice on the details and habits of his game. The results are evident in his play."
Kartye, who signed an NHL entry-level contract with the Kraken exactly a year ago on March 1, said he is learning from all of his more experienced teammates, especially "everyone's attention to detail about like how the body feels."
"I am picking up all of the little things that pros do and how they act around the rink," said Kartye, who is now fifth in scoring for the Firebirds thanks to his high production in 20 games during January and February.
Like any player upgrading from major juniors level hockey, Kartye quickly noticed the AHL represents a big jump.
"Obviously the game is a little different than juniors," said Kartye, whose breakout season with the Ontario Hockey League's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (45 goals, 34 assists for 79 points in 63 games) earned the undrafted winger an entry-level contract with Seattle. "The speed and the physicality are the biggest differences.
"Everyone's a man in this league and that's not the case in junior. Going to the corners and winning puck battles and battling in front of the nets is definitely a lot different than it was last year."
The 5-foot-11, 202-pound Kartye is clearly learning the ropes of physical two-way play while understanding aggressive defense portends scoring chances and offensive production. He is top-five among the Firebirds in both overall points (14 goals and 20 assists for 34, tied with defenseman Brogan Rafferty) and goals (14). The other top four goal scorers, recently called up Jesper Froden (25 goals), McCormick (21), Lind (20), and Hayden (15) all have varying degrees of NHL appearances on their hockey databases.
When asked about where he feels the most improvement in advancing from a stellar amateur career to the pro ranks, Kartye points to his skating speed and agility: "I worked really hard on that over the summer, especially smoothness and overall technique. It's nice to feel good out there and be able to keep up with the pace [of the AHL] and not feel like the game is too fast for you."
Like all of his teammates, Kartye is also feeling good about the training and living situation while playing for the first major pro sports franchise in Coachella Valley. "It's a big difference from growing up and playing in Ontario."
"You can wake up every morning and there's not a cloud in the sky," said Kartye, laughing when suggested to him the weather in the desert is "not bad." "You can do stuff outside, which is not possible in a lot of places in our league and certainly everywhere I've played before. You don't dare step outside in winter to do anything."
Along with the sun and natural weather refresher away from the rink, Kartye figures to be an important part of the Firebirds' first-ever postseason in the making during a hockey year in which the team played its first 22 games away from home. Having fun is still part of the equation in Kartye's impressive pro debut.
"It's super fun to come to the rink when you're winning," said Kartye. "When you have great teammates like we have here in Coachella, it makes it even better."
