Former Greyhound Boris Katchouk has spent two seasons with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch
Boris Katchouk has never lacked for confidence.
He displayed it on a regular basis during his three standout seasons with the Ontario Hockey League’s Soo Greyhounds.
After two seasons in the American Hockey League, the 21-year-old remains steadfast in his belief he’ll soon get a shot with the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning.
“I’m confident I can make the jump,” said Katchouk, who has played both left wing and centre for the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. “I’ d like to believe I’m getting closer to making the Lightning,”
After first suspending play, the AHL cancelled the remainder of its season on May 10, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m training as hard as possible to make myself a better player,” added Katchouk, who was born in Vancouver and now calls Kitchener home. “Hopefully, one day I can crack the lineup.”
The six-foot-two, 205-pounder took strides in that direction this season.
In 60 games before play was halted, he had produced 14 goals and 18 assists for the Crunch.
That followed an 11-12-23 stat line in 75 games as an AHL rookie in 2018-2019.
“There were some key guys who left the team after last season,” Katchouk said in an interview with The Sault Star. “There were big shoes to fill.”
Noting how having a season of pro hockey under his belt was important, Katchouk spoke of how head coach Benoit Groulx had more confidence in him.
The importance of that experience “was massive for me,” he added, saying Groulx used him more in key situations. “I had the right mind set to come in and prove myself and produce throughout the season.”
Katchouk received some power-play time and was a member of the club’s No. 2 penalty-killing crew.
As a rookie, he served on the Crunch’s top PK unit, but as he received more ice time in Season No. 2, that responsibility lessened.
“My first season was a year of learning,” Katchouk said. “I progressed as a hockey player and took more of a defensive role.”
That was a definite change from his high-scoring days in the OHL.
“But that’s what I expected,” he added.
With his second pro season in the books, a couple of things stand out for Katchouk.
“Bigger guys and smarter players. That’s the biggest difference between pro hockey and juniors,” he said. “There’s a lot less space on the ice. In the pros, spaces close quickly and the gaps shrink.”
During both seasons, Katchouk has lived with his buddy, former Greyhound Taylor Raddysh.
Raddysh, a longtime friend of Katchouk, joined the Hounds in a deal with the Erie Otters just prior to the 2017-2018 trade deadline.
“We’re pretty much brothers now,” he said of the relationship.
As an OHL player, Katchouk was chosen the Western Conference’s top penalty killer in the annual Coaches Poll in each of his final two seasons.
During the 2017-18 campaign, he was also named the conference’s most dangerous player in the goal area.
That, undoubtedly, was a result of scoring 42 times and assisting on 43 others — plus producing a plus-minus of plus-53 — in just 58 games, during a season in which Katchouk also skated for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship in Buffalo.
There, he notched three goals and three assists in seven games.
Taken by the Greyhounds in the second round (No. 33 overall) of the 2014 OHL Priority Selections draft, Katchouk spent the 2014-15 season with the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Soo Thunderbirds.
He shone with the T-Birds, registering an 18-27-45 stat line in just 29 games.
One season later, he scored 24 times and helped set up 27 others in 63 OHL games.
After that 2015-16 campaign, the Lightning grabbed Katchouk in Round 2 (44th overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
In his second OHL season, he put up a 35-29-64 stat line in 66 games.
Katchouk spoke of how his season with the Thunderbirds “really started my career,” while noting how he made wonderful memories here.
“The Sault is my home away from home. I spent four years there and it was the best time of my life.”
He also talked about how he “can’t thank the people I met there enough. They all mean so much to me.”
The cancellation of the AHL season was obviously disappointing for Katchouk.
The Crunch owned a 30-23-4-5 (wins, losses, overtime losses, shootout losses) record, good for fifth in the North Division, three points back of fourth-place Binghamton, which held the final North playoff spot.
“But this is about the safety and health of people,” Katchouk said. “It was a tough way to end the season, but it was the right decision.”
It’s been over two months since he was on the ice and Katchouk talked about keeping in shape by working out at home.
When asked about the process he’s going through in order to become an NHLer, Katchouk spoke of how he’s a better defensively player today and how he’s determined to shine in all three zones.
“Good offence begins with good defence,” he added.
Getting to the Lightning will come down to “consistent production,” Katchouk noted. “And that’s not just points. You have to be a sound player, playing a 200-foot game and competing hard every night.”
When he does put the Tampa jersey on for the first time, the feeling will be like none he’s experienced.
“Dream come true,” he said of that day. “When it happens, I’ll celebrate with my friends and family.”