Jayce Hawryluk and Tanner Kaspick are together again.
The former Wheat Kings forwards, who won a Western Hockey League with the team in 2016, will both skate for HKM Zvolen in Slovakia this season. Hawryluk was a free agent, and was determined to nail down a place to play earlier this year. He had signed in September in recent seasons, but was contacted by Zvolen and put pen to paper in June.
“They’re a historic club in that league,” Hawryluk said. “I’ve heard good things about it from other guys and when they reached out they were pretty serious in wanting to sign me. I thought about it and then took a look at their roster and what they were made of and import-wise saw what the spots were looking like and saw they had some openings.
Former Florida Panthers centre Jayce Hawryluk, right, reaches out to control the puck as Colorado Avalanche defenceman Nikita Zadorov pursues during a National Hockey League game on Feb. 25, 2019 in Denver. Hawryluk now plies his trade in Europe. (Associated Press)
“I thought Tanner would be a great fit. You always want to connect with buddies or old teammates if you can and overseas it will be a cool opportunity and something I’m looking forward to.”
After the club agreed that Kaspick would be a good fit, it made the decision easy for both men.
“Jayce called me and wondered if I had anything in the works or what I was thinking for next season,” Kaspick said. “He mentioned this opportunity in Zvolen might be an option and if it was something I might be interested in. I was for sure. It was an opportunity to play with him and in a league I knew would be a good spot for me.
“The next day the agent we share texted me and said it was pretty likely.”
The pair, who are represented by Optima World Sports, flew out on Wednesday.
The almost 100-year-old club is one of 12 teams that plays in the Slovak Extraliga, which is the highest level of hockey in the nation. Zvolen is a city of 40,000 located in central Slovakia about 270 kilometres east of Vienna, Austria.
Hawryluk, who turns 30 on Jan. 1, was drafted by the Florida Panthers in 2014 and played 98 National Hockey League games over three seasons.
After five pro seasons in North America, he went to Sweden for the 2021-22 campaign, returned to the American Hockey League for a year and then spent 2023-24 with Bílí Tygři Liberec in Czechia and split last season between Slovakia’s HC Nove Zamky and Switzerland’s EHC Kloten.
Last season, his contract was sold to the Swiss club when it was clear the Slovakian club wasn’t going to make the playoffs.
“I felt my first year was the toughest,” Hawryluk said of his time in Europe. “Going over to Sweden I was pretty isolated in the northern region and away from pretty much anywhere besides the place I was playing. That was definitely a challenge, and it didn’t help with the climate. Basically, you’re at the Arctic Circle, so it’s very dark a lot of the time.
Brandon Wheat Kings forward Tanner Kaspick, shown celebrating his goal during the Memorial Cup against the host Red Deer Rebels on May 25, 2016, took his professional career to Europe a year ago and will play in Slovakia this season with Jayce Hawryluk. (The Canadian Press)
“It was tough because it was my first year and you’re so far away from basically anything and anyone it felt like. It was a challenge but you work through it. I was fortunate to have (his fiancee) Tori with me and that makes things a lot better. There is always a silver lining in all of it. You create all these lasting friendships and you get to see different parts of the world you never would have seen if it weren’t for hockey.
“Now I’m getting older and I find that going to different places I do find that I enjoy it more.”
The pair have travelled extensively, and with their two dogs in tow, do a lot of hiking. Last year they went to Budapest and Vienna and all over Austria. They especially enjoyed the sights in Switzerland.
“It’s fun,” Hawryluk said. “I look forward to it. There are definitely places that are on radar that I would love to go and play in. Hopefully we can make that happen.”
Kaspick, 27, was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in 2016 and has spent six seasons in the AHL. He made the jump to Italy with Asiago last fall and moved at the transfer deadline in early February to Grizzlys Wolfsburg in Germany.
“It’s different but it’s still hockey,” Kaspick said. “Obviously with the bigger ice it’s a little more of a puck possession game. It was more similar than I was expecting it to be.”
Still, it’s a new life experience. Kaspick said the cultural differences off the ice added spice to the situation rather than complicating it.
“It was honestly the exciting part of it, just knowing that away from hockey the lifestyle would be different than what I was experiencing in the years past,” Kaspick said. “There wasn’t much stress knowing the first spot I was going, Asiago, had a lot of imports. I was at that point pretty familiar with going into teams where I didn’t know many guys going in, and it’s never really something that I’ve worried about.
“One of my favourite parts of playing hockey is getting a chance to meet new guys and experience new cities. Knowing Europe would be different was exciting. The teams take good care of us over there so it’s not like we’re on our own.”
The biggest change might be the language. When he was in the AHL, he could switch cities and still communicate with people. This was different.
Brandon Wheat Kings forward Jayce Hawryluk plays the puck during Western Hockey League action against the Edmonton Oil Kings at Westoba Place on Oct, 10, 2015. Hawryluk and the Wheat Kings won the league title that season. (Tim Smith/Brandon Sun)
Since English tends to be a more universal language than Italian or German are in Canada, he was sometimes OK. But there were limits to that too.
“It definitely depends where you are and the demographic of who you’re talking to,” Kaspick said. “Where I was in Italy, there wasn’t much English at all really. Luckily, Italian is a little more similar to English where it was easier to learn some of the common phrases you would use day to day. I was able to catch onto those, and my Italian teammates would help with that as well.
“In Germany, I wasn’t there for very long so I didn’t make as much of an effort to learn the language.”
One of the biggest day-to-day challenges was in restaurants or grocery stores. Kaspick said the latter was an especially big transition.
“In Italy it was a really cool town with a lot of good restaurants,” Kaspick said. “Grocery shopping is definitely different. The first few times you go to a place you don’t know where to find anything or what products they don’t have there that I’m used to in Canada. Also, you find some cool things you might not have had before and give those a try.”
Kaspick noted the gaps in the schedule gave him a chance to do a little travelling, with he and his visiting parents heading to Budapest at Christmas, and he did Florence and Venice with his older brother.
This season will bring another new reality for the pair. For instance, after he was drafted in the WHL and NHL, Hawryluk spent five years in the Wheat Kings organization and nearly six with Florida.
Now he’s usually a free agent after every season, but he enjoys the freedom.
“I’m in a situation where it depends if I sign a multi-year (deal), but every year you’re going in and the world is my oyster almost,” Hawryluk said. “It’s cool. At this point in my career, I’m just looking forward to creating good and new experiences.
“I enjoy travelling the world and I get to do it with my soon-to-be wife (Tori) and that’s pretty special. We’re fortunate and we know that. We just weigh the pros and cons of the options that out there at the time.”
Tanner Kaspick poses for his official headshot with the St. Louis Blues on Sept. 22, 2021 in St. Louis. Kaspick was drafted by the team in 2016. (NHL images)
This time, the options included a close friend, similar to how Brandonites Nolan Ritchie and Calder Anderson have played together in Europe for the past two years. They’re set to enjoy a second season together with Heilbronner Falken in Germany3.
Kaspick can’t wait to reunite on the ice with Hawryluk, a Roblin product who owns a home in Brandon.
“That’s what I’m most excited for this season and what’s going to be most different this season than some of my past ones, going in with a guy who I’m close to as I am with him,” Kaspick said. “I’m really looking forward to not only being at the rink with him but experiencing things away from it with him.”
For his part, Hawryluk said Kaspick will make a good thing even better.
“I’m really looking forward to a full year in Slovakia,” Hawryluk said. “I had a lot of fun last year even though it was a short stint. With the team and the makeup that we have, I think it should be a special year. Obviously rhetorical cherry on top is having one of your nest buddies play with you, a guy I’ve played and won with.
“Hopefully we can bring some of that over there with us. It’s just a blessing to be able to play the game and travel the world at the same time. Wherever I land, I’m sure to make the most of it.”
» pbergson@brandonsun.com