Update: Parenteau gets win in opening Telus Cup game

Rylan Parenteau won’t soon forget this season.

He played in the U17 World Hockey Championships, carried his Saskatoon Midget AAA Contacts to league and regional champions and appeared in his first game in the Western Hockey League.

But his season is far from done.

Parenteau and his Contacts will be making their second straight Telus Cup National Midget AAA Championships after getting a bronze medal at the big tourney last year, a team that also featured current Raider Reid Gardiner.

With all he’s already accomplished in his first year as a starter at the Midget AAA level and what may lie ahead with the Raiders in the coming years, Parenteau said a Telus Cup gold medal would make an already memorable season that much sweeter.

“That’s exactly it, icing on the cake to top off an amazing year that’s definitely improved my hockey career and definitely allowed me to step up to the next level and hopefully play up in the next level in PA,” said Parenteau, a third round choice by the Raiders in 2011. “Overall, I’m definitely blessed to have all these opportunities given to me, I just have to make sure to make the most of them.”

Last year, Parenteau appeared in two Telus Cup games on the way to the Contacts bronze medal finish in Leduc, Alta., and feels that experience help his this season.

“The experience helped me to get in there and get the feel,” said Parenteau. “The atmosphere there is unbelievable, the amount of fans and the support—the way we were treated was surreal. ”

“It’s obviously going to be another amazing experience like last year,” added Parenteau. “There’s a little more pressure on me to live up to the expectations that Mack (Shields, then the starter) left last year. I’m ready to accept that challenge and play the best I can. Our team’s looking forward to it and there’s going to be great competition there, as well.”
Parenteau came into Raiders camp a few months away from his 16th birthday but impressed the coaching staff so much they debated on promoting him to the WHL then.
“If you look back at our training camp last year, Parenteau made a bid to actually stick around and by his play, it was probably warranted,” said Dale Derkatch, Raiders director of player personnel. “We just felt he needs to be a starter and you saw even with Andy (Desautels), he did not play a lot.”

That seemed to be the perfect plan. Parenteau developed throughout the season as evidenced by his gradual increase in his statistics. He started the season with a .903 save percentage in the first half of the season only to skyrocket that stat to .921 save percentage in the second half. His playoff numbers are even better with a .944 save percentage with two shutouts.

He was all smiles as he posed with the provincial banner on the Art Hauser Centre ice, but Parenteau said the team’s Telus Cup Western Regional win in Kenora, Ont., April 4-7 was even better.

“It was even sweeter than provincials,” said Parenteau. “Provincials was the first of the three stages we wanted to get (to), regionals was the second and now we’re fighting for a chance to win a national championship.”

The Telus Cup begins today in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., with the medal games taking place on April 28.

jdandrea@panow.com

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea

by Jeff D'Andrea

Update: Parenteau gets win in opening Telus Cup game

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