After taking the opening round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft in Nashville off – the cost of acquiring defenseman Ben Chiarot from the Montreal Canadiens on March 16, 2022 – Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito selected center Gracyn Sawchyn from the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds. late in the second round (63rd overall).
Sawchyn is a hard-working, but somewhat polarizing prospect among scouting services and hockey publications, who had him ranked anywhere from 13th to 90th.
EliteProspects had this to say: Sawchyn’s game is not a complex one. He sprints hard after the puck, and if he can’t outright win the race, he tries to win the ensuing battle, then, he looks for a teammate. If the pass isn’t available, he drives inside without much concern for his safety.
While Sawchyn is a meat-and-potatoes type, putting up 58 points in 58 games is an impressive feat for a slight 18-year-old. Among his strong points are his relentless forechecking, ability to force turnovers, above-average acceleration, defensive awareness and good hands. Like a lot of players his age, he will need to bulk up and add strength as he continues his journey to the professional ranks. He already seems to do a lot of the little things well, hopefully as he matures he’ll be able to become more dynamic offensively.
In his first season in the WHL, Sawchyn, a product of Shattuck St. Mary’s and the USNTDP, averaged exactly a point per game by scoring 18 goals and assisting on 40 others. Sixteen of his 58 points came on the power play and he registered three game-winning goals. His 144 shots on goal were the sixth-highest on the team and he displayed a feisty side by racking up 68 PIM, which was the third-most on the Thunderbirds.
During the postseason, he appeared in 17 of 19 games and produced three goals and 11 points as Seattle won the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions and earned a spot in the 2023 Memorial Cup.
After going 2-1 in round-robin play, the Thunderbirds beat Peterborough 4-1 in the semifinal before getting blanked 5-0 in the championship game by the Quebec Remparts. Sawchyn played in all five of Seattle’s games at the tournament, but failed to register a point or a shot on goal and finished with a minus-three rating.
Shortly after the Memorial Cup, Sawchyn attended Florida’s 2023 development camp and scored a goal for Team Red in a 6-3 scrimmage win over Team White.
Sawcyhn returned to Seattle and played 17 games with the Thunderbirds before he was traded, along with the rights to his younger brother Lukas and defenseman Tracen Ashley, to the Edmonton Oil Kings on December 27, for center Nathan Pilling, five draft picks and two conditional draft picks. At the time of the trade, Sawchyn was third in scoring for struggling Seattle with 21 points on six goals and 15 assists.
The trade did little to reverse the fortunes of both teams, who each missed the playoffs. In 37 games with the Oil Kings, Sawcyhn produced 13 goals and 30 assists to finish his second WHL season with 19 goals, 45 assists and 64 points – all personal bests. Sawychn registered 108 shots on goal, won 51.5% of his faceoffs, and 23 of his 64 combined points came on the power play.
Earlier this month, Sawchyn participated in his second development camp and scored a shootout goal in the final day scrimmage. He should be back for training camp in the fall and then return to Edmonton for his third WHL season. The smart, speedy and solid Sawchyn has averaged just over a point per game in his first two major junior seasons. Let’s see if he can take his game to another level in 2024-25.