Like most brothers, the Kryski’s found heated competition in all aspects of life growing up.
Depending on which one you ask, the answer changes when trying to figure out who was the better tennis, golf, mini stick, ping pong and Yahtzee player.
“There was always a sore loser in the house,” said Murray Kryski, the father of Jake and Max. “They were always so competitive; neither wanted to lose at whatever it is they were doing.”
That competitive fire pushed the two brothers in the sport of hockey, as they both raced towards the goal of achieving success in the Western Hockey League.
Jake, the older brother by two years and current Calgary Hitmen winger, was the first one of the two to break into the league when the Prince Albert Raiders selected him 13th overall in the 2013 Bantam Draft.
Growing up in Vancouver, Jake was timid about the thought of living two provinces away from his hometown as a 16-year-old. To make things easier on Jake, the Raiders dealt him to the Kamloops Blazers before the season for Cole Cheveldave. Four years and four teams later, Jake has appeared in 238 games, racking up 51 goals and 135 points.
The ability to create offence was always there; Jake scored the clinching goal in the B.C. Major Midget AAA Hockey League semi and final, en route to a bronze medal at the 2014 Telus Cup.
Now in his second year with the Hitmen, Jake has really taken off following the mix up of their locker room.
On Nov. 25, the Hitmen sent their two leading scorers from last year, Matteo Gennaro and Beck Malenstyn, to the Swift Current Broncos for a package of players.
Shipping 136 points out the door created a new challenge and a demand for players to step up and help carry the load for a team that was already in the bottom third in offence, all while fighting for a playoff spot.
Faced with his newest challenge, Jake flourished.
One of the key pieces coming to the Hitmen was 17-year-old centre Riley Stotts. Jake was slotted alongside the Winnipeg native and the two have heated up quicker than leftovers in a microwave.
In the six games Stotts has played with the Hitmen, he has eight points, which is a dramatic shift in his play as he only netted three points in his first 20 games with the Broncos.
Jake got the ball rolling slightly before the trade, but Stotts was the gasoline that turned his spark into an inferno.
In the past nine games, Jake has 14 points.
“We’re able to find each other on the ice and make some plays,” said Stotts about Kryski. “He handles the puck so well, he is a skilled forward, he’s good in the d-zone and gets the puck out quick. He finds players and makes good passes.”
The two have played five of the six games together, combining for 13 points.
“Jake is a great offensive player with a good stick, great IQ, has great pucks skills and knows where his teammates are on the ice,” said Hitmen Head Coach Dallas Ferguson. “We put him with Riley because the (Mark) Kastelic line is playing well right now and we slotted Conner Chaulk into Gennaro’s old spot. They both think well and like to make plays with the puck. They have been a good pair so far.”
It could be the new chemistry that has lit a fire under Jake, but it could also be the fact that he enjoys playing in the month of December.
As the saying goes, Novembers come and go, but mustaches live forever — at least they live longer on Jake’s upper lip.
He is the only member of the Hitmen to continue to sport his Movember mustache, hanging onto the handlebars as long as he can hang onto this scoring streak.
“He did the same thing last year, he carried his mustache into December and he played really well,” said Murray.
The current tear Jake is on is only bested by a 10-game stretch last season that saw him score 14 points and be named the Player of the Month for the Kelowna Rockets.
“I always try to push my hardest before Christmas to try and get as many points for myself and for my team as possible. If the handle bars help, I’ll keep them around,” said Jake.
It’s not just his play in the offensive zone that has improved this season, it’s his play in the other two zones that has caught the eye of his new head coach.
“I like the way he is tracking the plays, strong on the forecheck and creating turnovers in his own end,” said Ferguson. “The better he is without the puck, he is then put in a better position to have more offensive opportunities and be successful on those opportunities.”
The numbers certainly back it up. Last year in 34 games with the Hitmen after arriving in the Carsen Twarynski deal, Jake posted a minus-17 rating. This year, he is on pace for a career high in points while playing with a plus-two rating.
“We sat down and had a couple meetings at the beginning of the year and talked about working harder without the puck and letting everything else fall into place,” said Jake. “I realized that I need to keep my feet moving and be involved in the plays in order to be successful at the other end.”
Jake is one of the reasons the Hitmen sit 4-3-0-0 since the Gennaro trade, but he isn’t the only Kryski making waves in the WHL.
It has been a slow start to brother Max’s career. Undrafted, he was listed by the Prince George Cougars after an executive in the organization remembered him from the Burnaby Winter Club as a kid, followed by a pair of strong seasons in the Okanagan.
On Tuesday night in Prince George, Max netted his first career goal and the game-winner in a 5-4 victory over the high-flying Victoria Royals.
The two brothers don’t chat much during the season due to their hectic schedules, but with mom and dad in the stands at the CN Centre, word spread quickly about Max’s heroics.
“I follow his season whenever I can. It’s tough at times, but it’s nice to hear some good news every now and then,” said Jake. “I heard that mom and dad took him out to a nice dinner afterwards. It’s pretty cool having your brother play in the WHL with you; we never played in the same league growing up.”
It’s been a difficult go for Max this season. Buried beneath a few 20-year-old centres in the lineup, Max was promoted to the second line against the Royals with the injury to Brogan O’Brien. Max has two points in 24 games this season.
“I like him at centre better than him on the wing. It allows him to see the ice better and make more plays,” said Cougars Head Coach Richard Matvichuk and former Saskatoon Blade defenceman. “He’s so skilled with his vision, has great work ethic on and off the ice, he’s holding himself responsible and we see him being a huge part of this program for the next three-to-four year.”
Like most kids, Max got into hockey after being dragged to the rinks as a kid to watch Jake play before he was old enough to play.
Once they were both consumed in their separate hockey seasons, it didn’t take long for the mini stick battles and road hockey duels to take place in the backyard.
Jake had no problem admitting that he pulled the seniority card as a kid and forced Max into the net so he could wire some shots at his brother.
“I always scored on him,” claimed Jake.
It hasn’t always been a stiff competition in the Kryski household. As Max makes his way through his first WHL season, Jake is there with years of advice for whenever his brother needs it.
“He was a role model for me. I liked that he played a solid 200-foot game and took the time to put his teammates in scoring positions,” said Max.
The Kryski’s grew up running around the Pacific Coliseum watching the Vancouver Giants play, wanting one day to play in the league.
Too old to share the same team growing up, the brothers skated opposite of one another for the first time Oct. 10 when the Cougars thrashed the visiting Hitmen 7-1.
“We probably only skated three or four shifts against one another, but it was still a pretty cool experience,” said Max. “For both of us to be in the WHL is a dream come true.”
Of course, the WHL isn’t the end game for the brothers. Both stated that they will peruse professional or collegiate hockey one day once their time in the WHL is up.
Surely one day, they will look back and compare careers, trying to determine who was the better player.
“That will absolutely be the biggest challenge now and I think that Max might have the upper hand. Jake went out and set the pace, so Max knows what he has to do to try and top his brother,” said Murray.
Both Max and Jake acknowledge the fact that the brotherly competition helped them get this far. The competition still exists today when they share an apartment overlooking Okanagan Lake in the summer. They workout, train, golf and play tennis together, forever keeping score. Perhaps the toughest challenge will be figuring out who was benefited more from being pushed by the other brother.
