Hockey is definitely a family affair for Virden Oil Capitals forward Kirklan Lycar.
Lycar’s parents strongly supported his sporting dream. They backed him leaving his hometown of Gillam to play midget hockey at a higher level with the Eastman Selects in Beausejour.
He lived with his grandparents in Elma. Of his grandparents, Lycar said “Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
His younger brother, Kasey, is the equipment manager for the Oil Caps’ Manitoba Junior Hockey League foes, the Steinbach Pistons. It is a position for which Lycar recommended his brother, a Winnipeg Blue Bombers equipment manager, to the Pistons trainer, who he knew.
“Family has been so important to me. Obviously, I mentioned my grandparents, but without my parents (Mark and Leah) I wouldn’t be where I am. They’ve sacrificed so much to get me to the level I’m at.”
Lycar has been big this month for his Oil Capitals family. With eight points in three games, Lycar was a runner-up for Recycle Everywhere MJHL Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 15.
This past week the Oil Capitals fell 4-1 at home to Portage and beat Winkler, 3-2, on the road. As of Monday, the Oil Capitals were 28-13-2-0 this season. They sat third in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League standings.
“We have had a good January so far,” Virden head coach Troy Leslie said. “This week is going to be hectic.”
The schedule is packed with four games this week. The squad played Neepawa on the road on Wednesday. They play at Swan Valley on Friday and return to Virden to host that team on Saturday and Neepawa on Sunday.
This season Lycar is averaging more than a point a game. The 6-foot, 200-pound forward has 44 points, including 10 goals, in 43 games. He is tied with Kyle Salaway for second on the team in points.
Of his success this season, Lycar said, “Producing points is something I take pride in and, over my career, I’ve been able to do so consistently. A large part of that, this year in particular, is my teammates. We have so much skill within our team that my teammates make it so easy on me to put up points. My linemates, Rylee Zimmer and Landyn Cochrane, deserve a lot of credit.”
Lycar’s junior career included two games with the major junior Brandon Wheat Kings, parts of three seasons in Dauphin, and five games with Portage before coming to Virden last season. He was a member of the MJHL All-Rookie Team in 2015.
“He is a creative player who knows how to create when he is in the offensive zone,” Leslie said.
Education is important to Lycar. Next season he’d like to study and play hockey at the post-secondary level. Wherever he ends up, Lycar certainly will remember his time with the Oil Capitals.
“Playing in Virden has been such a great time. I’d say the thing I enjoy most would be specifically the guys. We have such a great group here, and we’re all super tight. On top of that, I have the best billets in junior hockey, Greg and Cathy Tough. It’s not as though I’m living in a stranger’s home. They’re family and they will always be a part of my life.”
Showcase
At the first ever MJHL/Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Showcase, eight Oil Capitals got to strut their stuff in front of scouts. The Jan. 15-16 event in Regina featured the 60 top college eligible players from the two leagues.
“Bonding with players from around the league is a nice aspect in these types of games, when most of the time you look at those guys as enemies,” said Virden forward Kolten Kanaski. “The SJHL did a very nice job putting on the whole tournament and we were very well accommodated in a professional manner.”
The SJHL squads won five of the showcase’s six games. In the MJHL victrory, Kanaski scored for Team Garbutt as it beat Team Schwartz, 5-2. Leslie served as an assistant coach on the team. It also included Justin Lee and Jayden Wojciechowski. In addition, Riley McVeigh and Tristen Cross suited up for Team Belfour. Team Zajac featured Tyler Kirkup, Salaway and Ben Dalke.
Terriers 4, Oil Caps 1
At the end of the first period on Jan. 18, the game was knotted at 1-1. The Terriers were able to score one in the second session and two in the third to win 4-1 on the road. Zimmer had Virden’s goal. McVeigh made 36 saves for the Oil Caps. Portage netminder Lasse Petersen stopped 27 shots.
Oil Caps 3, Flyers 2
After a 1-1 first period, Winkler went on top 2-1 with just over 12 minutes gone by in the second. Later in that period, Kirkup scored for Virden on a power play and Kanaski lit the lamp to give the Oil Caps a 3-2 lead they would never relinquish.
“We were just really solid the whole game,” Leslie said.
Jeran Knorr had Virden’s first goal. McVeigh had 37 saves, while Winkler’s Troy Martyniuk made 31.
