Dylan Willick is running out of ring fingers.
This fall, when he's back in Fredericton, N.B. playing university hockey with the New Brunswick Varsity Reds, Willick will be presented his second University Cup championship ring to commemorate the Reds going back-to-back as national champions.
On Saturday in Kamloops, the 24-year-old Willick will be sporting a different kind of ring when he makes it official and marries his longtime girlfriend Keyanna Sowden.
They met while he was playing junior hockey in the WHL for the Kamloops Blazers.
"I can say 2017's been a pretty big year for me, personally," said Willick. "I graduated from university, a national championship, marriage - a lot happening in a short time."
Willick grew up in Prince George and still calls the city home, but his parents, Blaine and Melissa, moved to Lake Country in the Okanagan a year ago. He brought the University Cup with him on his trip back to B.C., which included a visit with the P.G. buddies last weekend, where he survived his bachelor party.
Willick graduated last spring with a degree in computer science. Heading into his fifth season with the Reds, he's continuing his studies in the masters business program at UNB.
Because he played four seasons with the Blazers, his tuition and books were covered under the WHL's scholarship program throughout his four years of his undergraduate studies.
Last season with the Reds he finished with five goals and five assists for 10 points in 30 games.
The Reds lost 5-4 to StFX in the Atlantic University Sports championship game but they went undefeated as hosts of the eight-team national tournament in March, playing in their home arena in the New Brunswick capital. In the U Sports national final they beat former Prince George Cougar Jesse Forsberg and the Saskatchewan Huskies 5-3.
"This year felt pretty special because we were the host team playing in front of a sold-out crowd (of 3,374)," said Willick.
"It's the only big hockey team in town and it was huge. Friends and family came on the ice afterward and got to celebrate on the ice.
"We basically had the same team the last two years before that, so it was a confident group of guys going into the season. Everybody had their roles and just accepted it and played the way they were supposed to. We were the highest-scoring team in the country and I ended the season with 10 points. I didn't need to worry about scoring goals, I was worried about penalty-killing and keeping the puck out of our nets."
The Reds' roster included Jordan Murray (who won back-to-back U Sports defenceman of the year honours) and forward Philippe Maillet (U Sports male athlete of the year in 2017). Both have signed two-year pro deals to play in the AHL, Murray with the Binghampton Senators and Maillet with the Ontario Reign.
"The majority of players in the league are former CHL players and it's very similar hockey (to the WHL), just a lot stronger hockey players and older guys," said Willick.
"It's really fast, really strong hockey. We're not allowed to fight, so it slows down that kind of pace, but hockey-wise it's a great league. Four of our guys signed AHL tryout deals. A lot of people use it as a stepping stone to pro hockey somewhere."
The Reds have lost significant amount of firepower with 10 players having graduated. They won't likely be favoured to repeat as national champions, as they were last fall, but Willick figures he will have a more significant role at centre in what will be his fifth and final university season.
He's been a prolific point producer most of the his hockey life. In his third junior season with the Blazers he had 28 goals and 54 points in 72 games and likely would have topped that as a 20-year-old but broke his ankle in a collision with former Cougar defenceman Marc McNulty and missed 21 games. He still sees McNulty, who plays in the same conference at St. Mary's.
Willick, a Duchess Park secondary school graduate, is hoping to attract an offer or two to play pro hockey in Europe in 2018 and will continue to try to find the right fit overseas for him and his newlywed bride.
"I'd like to have some pro offers on the table at the end of the season and it's starting to look like it will be somewhere in Europe," he said.
"It would be fun just to say I played pro, even if it's just for year or two."
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