Sawchuk Excited to Learn and Play in Grand Rapids

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – On February 21, the Grand Rapids Griffins signed center Riley Sawchuk to a professional tryout for the remainder of the season and to a standard player contract for the 2023-24 season. 

Since coming to Grand Rapids, Sawchuk has proven to be a welcome addition to the Griffins’ forward pool. His ability to quickly skate through traffic without being seen has allowed the Griffins to set up multiple plays which ended in the slot or the crease. On top of that, Sawchuk has been able to come out on top in puck battles against some of the biggest and strongest players in the league. Plus, as games roll along, Sawchuk adjusts his play to fix the mistakes he made earlier in the game. Every day, Sawchuk becomes more of an asset to the Griffins. 

Around The AHL

• Wranglers End Season in Series Loss to Firebirds
• Wranglers Advance, Set To Play Coachella Valley This Week
• Eagles Lose Game 5, Eliminated From Playoffs
• Expanded AHL Playoffs Don’t Quite Pay Off
• Firebirds Tie Series on True’s Shorthanded Stunner

I sat down with Sawchuk on March 3 to discuss his first professional goal, what it’s like to have Ben Simon as a coach, and the support his agent offered him throughout the process.

Full Press Hockey: You scored your first professional goal tonight. Can you walk me through how you made it happen and what was going through your mind after you made the goal?

Riley Sawchuk: I think they shot the puck in our zone and one of our players — can’t remember who — blocked it and it ended up turning into a two-on-one with Shiner. We got over the blueline and I opened up and he laid it in there for me to get off a nice one-timer.

It was kind of a relief to get the first one out of the way, but not really satisfied at this point because it would have been a lot nicer if we had won the game. But like I said, nice to get it out of the way but there’s bigger things here right now. 

FPH: What do you personally want to do to help the team reach that goal of playoffs? 

RS: I think playing consistent. Like I said earlier, I struggled in the d-zone tonight. I think I have to be better in that aspect. I’ve got to bring a more physical game to our team. Be hard pressuring in our o-zone. I think just giving guys chances to score and getting shots on net myself. 

FPH: Now you signed with the team last week and it’s going to become a SPC next season, what went into the decision to sign here with Grand Rapids? 

RS : I think I went through a long road through the WHL and COVID kind of messed things up a little bit . So, I ended up going to school for a little while. I had two decent years in school playing hockey and then ended up finding a new agent that was willing to work with me. I think he really had my back and wanted me to succeed and see me go somewhere.

Kudos to him. He put in a lot of work to get me here. It was a pretty easy decision. 

FPH: Do you feel like that support has really helped you get to where you are at now? 

RS: Yea, I think for sure. I mean in terms of my agent, he’s always been somebody to talk to and go to for advice after games. Instead of going to your family all the time to get biased advice, I guess. I think he’s been really good to me.

I’m just looking forward to the opportunity to play here. 

FPH: Coach Simon coached in his 300th game today. What is it like for you as a newcomer to come in and have him as a coach and what are you looking forward in the future out of him? 

RS: I really respect him. I think it’s been a new but good relationship so far. Congrats to him on his 300th game. That’s amazing.

I look for good feedback and things like that. I’m just always willing to learn. So, I think he puts a lot of work into the details of the game. Any little thing I can pick up off of him would be awesome.