A Diamond (Burchuk) in the rough - Red Bull Crashed Ice, Edmonton

Edmonton, Alberta
March 10, 2018


(Photo courtesy of Andreas Langreater and Red Bull Content Pool)

Last spring Head Coach Brad Tippett crossed paths with an 18-year-old defenceman from Winnipeg, Manitoba and the player turned out to be nothing short of "A Diamond in the rough."  Skyler Diamond-Burchuk was the Captain of the Kelvin High School Hockey Club and he had shown some interest in attending the Panthers Spring Camp.  He, along with mate Matt Lawrence, impressed at the Panthers Camp and were signed by the Organization.  And both have been tremendous additions to the youthful squad.

"We were really hoping that the two Winnipeg kids would come in and be a big part of the squad and they were exactly what we had hoped for," said GM Pete Zubersky.  "As we came into the 2nd half of the season, they continued to get better and better and were a force in the playoffs.  But more importantly, they are two great people and we are really hoping that we see both of them back here in September as leaders on the Club."

Diamond-Burchuk surprised the Panthers when he advised that he also competed in the Red Bull Crashed Ice series that runs throughout North America and Europe during the winter.  And the fiesty rear guard flew out to St. Paul, Minnesota in mid-January to compete.  Once the Panthers were eliminated from the playoffs, Diamond-Burchuk decided that he would head out to Edmonton this past weekend to compete in the International event once again.

 “The course was extremely fast and exciting but the ice condition was very rough in places," said Diamond-Burchuk.  "I fell in time trials and wound up in a pretty tough quarter final heat with last choice for starting gate. After the first quarter of the track I ended up passing in to first position but lost an edge on a turn and was moved back to 4th. All in all the weekend was amazing despite a couple bad breaks and it lines me up well to have a great season in 2019!”

The Panthers' defenceman decided that he wanted to showcase the Peninsula Panthers and the Peninsula Eagles Minor Hockey Orgainzations and wore the 3rd jersey that was used on December 17th for the PMHA Appreciation Game.  The Panthers logo was front and centre on the Team Canada Red jerseys as well as the Eagles logo on the shoulder.

"I thought it was a great touch from just a great kid," said Zubersky.  "I always love when kids remember where they came from and it was awesome that Skyler decided to highlight the Panthers and PMHA.  He goes to the beat of his own drum, he is his own man."

Skyler's race is available on Red Bull TV website under the Crashed Ice World Juniors.  And fans on the Peninsula will certainly be hoping to see Diamond-Burchuk crashing around once again in September!