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Riley Sawchuk

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Riley Sawchuk
Born (1999-03-18) March 18, 1999 (age 26)
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 181 lb (82 kg; 12 st 13 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Right
KHL team
Former teams		 Lada Togliatti
KooKoo
Toledo Walleye
Grand Rapids Griffins
NHL draft Undrafted

Riley Sawchuk (born March 18, 1999) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre. He is currently playing for HC Lada Togliatti of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). His grandfather was the cousin of the Hall of Fame goaltender Terry Sawchuk.[1][2][3]

Playing career

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Junior career

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Riley Sawchuk began his junior career in his hometown of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. He was drafted in the 6th round (115th overall) in the 2014 WHL draft by the Tri-City Americans.[4] Sawchuk played for the Prince Albert Mintos in the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League before debuting for the Americans in the 2015–16 season, then played three more full seasons for them before being traded to the Edmonton Oil Kings in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick.[5]

In the 2019–20 season, his final in the WHL, Sawchuk was the top scorer of the Oil Kings with 76 (25+51) points in 64 games, was named the league's Player of the Month in January[6] and selected to the second All-Star team of the WHL's Eastern Conference.[7]

After playing in the WHL, Sawchuk committed to Mount Royal University. As the 2020-21 USports season was cancelled, he debuted for the Mount Royal Cougars in the 2021-22 season, leading the Canada West conference in assists and winning its Rookie of the Year honor. He was also named to the USports All-Canadian Second Team and All-Rookie Team,[8] and was called to the USports All-Star team for Canada's National Junior Team Selection camp.[9] Next season, he led the conference in points as well as assists, and was named Canada West's Player of the Year[10] as well as a member of the USports All-Canadian First Team.[11]

Professional career

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After the end of his season with the Mount Royal Cougars, Sawchuk signed a professional tryout contract for the rest of the 2022–23 AHL season and a standard player contract for the 2023–24 AHL season[8] with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League. His professional debut was on February 24, 2023 against the Chicago Wolves, and on March 3 he scored his first goal in the AHL against the Iowa Wild.[12]

Before the 2023-24 season, Sawchuk attended the training camp of the Detroit Red Wings[13] and played in the 2023 NHL Prospects Tournament.[14] During the season, he played for the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL as well as their ECHL affiliate Toledo Walleye, contributing to the Walleye's run to the Western Conference Final of the 2024 Kelly Cup playoffs with the team's highest 18 (10+8) points in 14 playoff games.[15]

For the 2024-25 season, Sawchuk signed a 1+1 contract with KooKoo in the Liiga.[16] Sawchuk scored 32 (15+17) points in 55 regular season games and no points in 4 playoff games, and after a first-round elimination by Vaasan Sport he left the team.[17]

For the 2025-26 season, Sawchuk signed a 1-year contract with Lada Togliatti in the Kontinental Hockey League[18] with the salary of 30 million rubles a year[19]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2015–16 Tri-City Americans WHL 3 0 0 0 0 - - - - -
2016–17 Tri-City Americans WHL 55 2 5 7 13 4 0 0 0 0
2017–18 Tri-City Americans WHL 70 15 9 24 31 14 2 3 5 6
2018–19 Tri-City Americans WHL 67 20 33 53 34 5 0 0 0 2
2019–20 Edmonton Oil Kings WHL 64 25 51 76 23 Playoffs cancelled
2020–21 Mount Royal Cougars CWUAA Season cancelled
2021–22 Mount Royal Cougars CWUAA 20 15 23 38 8 5 1 1 2 0
2022–23 Mount Royal Cougars CWUAA 27 20 29 49 24 3 3 1 4 4
2022-23 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 23 3 0 3 4 - - - - -
2023-24 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 12 1 0 1 4 - - - - -
2023-24 Toledo Walleye ECHL 50 25 27 52 24 14 10 8 18 8
2024-25 KooKoo Liiga 55 15 17 32 66 4 0 0 0 2

References

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  1. ^ "Wings prospect Sawchuk takes road less traveled to Grand Rapids". The Detroit News. 4 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Walleye rookie Sawchuk embracing role as clutch and productive performer". Toledo Blade. 19 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Riley Sawchuk siirtyi SM-liigaan – on sukua NHL-legenda Terry Sawchukille" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat. 11 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Western Hockey League".
  5. ^ "Oil Kings acquire Riley Sawchuk from Americans". Canadian Hockey League. 16 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Riley Sawchuk named McSweeney's Player of the Month for January". Canadian Hockey League. 11 February 2020.
  7. ^ "WHL Announces 2019-20 Conference Second All-Star Teams". Canadian Hockey League. 6 April 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Griffins Sign Riley Sawchuk". Grand Rapids Griffins. 21 February 2023.
  9. ^ "Five players & three coaching staff to represent MRU in U SPORTS Men's Hockey All-Star Series". Mount Royal Cougars. 7 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Former Oil King Riley Sawchuk named Canada West Player of the Year". Canadian Hockey League. 22 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Sawchuk named to U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian List". Mount Royal Cougars. 15 March 2023.
  12. ^ "2022-23 Player in Review: Riley Sawchuk". Grand Rapids Griffins. 26 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Red Wings release 2023 Training Camp roster and schedule". Detroit Red Wings. 20 September 2023.
  14. ^ "Red Wings release 2023 NHL Prospect Tournament roster and schedule". Detroit Red Wings. 24 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Former Americans, Oil Kings forward Riley Sawchuk dominates in first professional season". Canadian Hockey League. 29 May 2024.
  16. ^ "Kanadalaishyökkääjä Riley Sawchuk Kouvolaan" (in Finnish). KooKoo. 7 June 2024.
  17. ^ "13 pelaajaa jättää KooKoon – joukossa pudotuspeleissä epäonnistuneita ulkomaalaisia" (in Finnish). Jatkoaika.com [fi]. 3 April 2025.
  18. ^ "Райли Савчук стал игроком «Лады»" (in Russian). HC Lada Togliatti. 7 June 2025.
  19. ^ "Сумма зарплат легионеров «Лады» — 80 миллионов рублей" (in Russian). Sport-Express. 9 June 2025.
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