When Mitch Adamyk steps onto the ice as the Powell River Kings goaltender in the team’s home and season opener on Saturday, September 8, he will be calm, cool and collected.
That’s his style, according to the big veteran netminder, who has an almost studious approach to the essentials of the game.
“I like to be as calm as possible and assess what's happening in front, making good reads and being aggressive when you need to but not overly aggressive,” said the affable Adamyk, who enters his third season with Kings.
It’s been a hard training camp under coach Tyler Kuntz, according to Adamyk, with twice-a-day sessions on the ice and new systems to learn.
“I just have to worry about stopping the pucks,” he said.
Last year, Adamyk was one of the top goalies in the BC Hockey League regular season with a 2.88 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. But he shared goaltending duties in tandem with Matteo Paler-Chow, who is currently on the Kings injury list after a wakeboarding accident in the off-season.
During the 2017/18 BCHL regular season against Alberni Bulldogs, Adamyk was knocked out of the lineup on February 3 with a concussion. He said he is fully recovered now and ready to go.
Until Chow returns, Adamyk is Kuntz’s number one in the Kings net.
“I'm ready to take it on. The more games I play, the better,” said the 19-year old. “As a goalie, you're always competing for the net and you always want to play. Sitting on the bench isn't much fun, so I'm ready for it.”
Adamyk said the Kings are good going into the season and the team definitely wants to win, but it’s a process.
“It's a 58-game season,” he said, “and you have to be pretty bad not to make the playoffs.”
