SHERWOOD PARK, AB – The Sherwood Park Crusaders have acquired '98 forward Ethan Kopyczyn from the Humboldt Broncos of the SJHL in exchange for '00 defenceman Payton McIsaac.
“We're looking forward to having Ethan with the Crusaders; he's a Sherwood Park guy, and we're excited to bring him into the mix,” said general manager Kyle Chase at the time of the trade. “From all reports, he's got fantastic character and is a great teammate. Bringing in guys like him and (Riley) Perka is great for us from both a leadership perspective and adding to our existing group of guys”.
Kopyczyn, 20, finished the 2017/2018 season as a member of the Melville Millionaires, scoring 7-23-30 in his 57 games with the organization. In his junior career, Kopyczyn has also played for the Calgary Mustangs of the AJHL, picking up 21 points in 58 games across two seasons.
Kopycyzn is a name that local hockey fans may be familiar with; the 5'11 forward played minor hockey in Sherwood Park, culminating in his team-leading 47 point season with the Sherwood Park Sandy's Oilers in 2014/2015.
“Payton was a fantastic teammate and defenceman for us last season who obviously filled a lot of minutes, (but) we felt we had to upgrade our offence as far as forwards go. Losing guys like Dylan Stewart, Ty Readman, and Ryan Cox we felt we were losing some quality scoring. We felt Ethan can bring a little of that offence we're going to need”.
“The guys are going to miss Payton, and we will as well. We wish him the best in his future”.
Crusaders fans will have their first opportunity to see Kopyczyn on the ice on August 24th at the Sherwood Park Arena at Crusaders training camp.
For more information, please contract Crusaders marketing and media director Spencer Love at 780-913-2185.