(Photo Credit – Pederson Photographic)
Carter Zalischuk scored 16 goals and added 25 assists in 44 regular season games last year with the Parkland U18 Rangers. Then as the team made the second round of the playoffs for the first time in more than 20 years, the Dauphinite scored two more goals and added four assists in seven games.
With one year of eligibility left to play U18 hockey, Zalischuk decided to make the jump up to the junior ranks and he’s sure making the most of his opportunities.
“I’m so happy to be here and I feel great,” said Zalischuk. “I’m very excited to be on the ice every game and playing in front of the hometown fans is always special.”
As Dauphin sits in a tie for second place in the West Division with the Virden Oil Capitals, Carter has played in 10 of the team’s 15 games so far and he’s coming off his best week as a King.
Opening up last weekend on the road in Virden, Zalischuk took a beautiful pass from Aidan Brook and beat Eric Reid for his first as a King. At the time, it gave Dauphin a 5-4 lead but they ended up falling 6-5 in overtime.
“That was an electric feeling. I was so excited, especially being a young guy,” said Zalischuk. “With that said, it would have been nice to get the job done and get two points.”
Dauphin would lock down defensively the very next night as they ended their weekend on home ice against the Oil Capitals and Zalischuk played a big part in the team’s win. Rushing down the left wing, Carter put a beautiful pass on the tape of Rylan Gibbs on the doorstep and Rylan beat the Oil Capital netminder to give the Kings a 2-1 lead and that goal stood up as the winner. It was a Dauphin-to-Dauphin connection and two points at the end of the night for the home team.
“I was really happy that I was able to contribute to that win,” said Zalischuk. “Also pretty great that Rylan was the one finishing off the pass as we’re both from Dauphin.”
Zalischuk was back in the lineup earlier this week on Tuesday as Dauphin earned their eighth win of the season in a 2-1 nail-biting victory against OCN. Now the team has their focus set on a very busy weekend as they will play three games in a matter of four days.
The team is on home ice Friday against Neepawa, Saturday against Waywayseecappo and the team heads to Waywayseecappo to play the Wolverines on Monday night. Six huge points are up for grabs in what is turning out to be an extremely tightly contested West Division.
Get to know Zalischuk:
What’s your favourite moment as a King? Probably that big first win we had on the first night of the season when Anthony Bax scored two goals in that win. It was a great experience to get my first win with my hometown team that I always grew up watching
Who are your favourite sports teams? The Winnipeg Jets because they’re the closest NHL team but I’m also a big Vegas Golden Knights fan, it’s pretty cool to see Phil Kessel become the new iron-man
What’s your go-to music? I’m a big country music guy, it plays in the dressing room quite a bit and I’m also a big pop music guy
If you had to sing in front of people, what song would it be? I would probably sign Grenade by Bruno Mars, everyone would love it
Do you enjoy playing golf? Definitely, I play quite a few rounds throughout the summer
You can hear Carter’s full chat with Darnell Duff during the power play show on Friday afternoon just after 4:00 p.m.