A year ago, despite a strong training camp with the Prince George Cougars, Terik Parascak found out he was going to back to Alberta.
As a 16-year-old, he didn’t quite have what it took to make the Cats’ roster and was one of the last cuts before the season began.
He didn't get mad. He went home and got to work.
In 30 games with the EDGE School U-18 Prep team in Calgary, he racked up 32 goals and 66 points and kept up the pace in the playoffs, scoring six goals and 12 points in five games to lead Edge to the Canadian Sport School Hockey League championship.
“For me it was just better to go back home and get that experience, get more ice time,” said Parascak. “ I think here if I would have stayed the full year I would have been limited with opportunity with how good the team was last year and just being that young of a guy.”
The Lethbridge native carried that momentum into this year’s Cougar camp and he’s been nothing short of phenomenal, winning WHL rookie-of-the-week honours the first two weeks. His 12 goals in 10 games leads the WHL and with 19 points he ranks third in league scoring, two shy of left-side linemate Zac Funk and one off the pace of his centreman, Ondrej Becher.
“Our line just has a lot of chemistry right now, we’re playing our game and it’s working out,” said Parascak. “The production of it comes from both ends of the ice. Just being able to produce like that for our team is a big deal.
“The IQ and speed (Becher) has is next-level – he’s probably one of the fastest players in the league with an unbelievable amount of skill and he plays a two-way game as well. (Funk) is a bigger body out there who adds that physical piece to our line and he can shoot the puck, he’s a goal-scorer.”
Parascak and Becher work together as penalty-killing forwards and each has two shorthanded goals for the Cougars, who host Kamloops Blazers in their next game at CN Centre Saturday (6 p.m.).
Drafted by the Cougars in the fourth round in 2021, Parascak averaged 2.2 points per game with Edge to finish second in the CSSHL scoring race. The only player to top him was Gavin McKenna, who put up 77 points in 26 games with Southern Alberta Hockey Academy. Now with the Medicine Hat Tigers, having obtained exceptional player status, McKenna has 15 points in 10 WHL games.
Sunday at CN Centre (5 p.m. start) they will face other when the Tigers come to town.
“I played against him a lot last year, he’s a really good player, just a guy you have to watch out for and play hard against,” said Parascak. “He’s a special player, he brings that much skill. Just his passing ability is the biggest thing, he’s so deceptive with everything he does.”
