As the Western Hockey League regular season winds down, a number of 20-year-olds can see their junior eligibility coming to an end.
Ty Edmonds is one of those players.
Edmonds junior career is testimony to the concept of determination and hard work. Selected in the ninth round, 186th overall, at the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft, Edmonds battled early on with Prince George as the team brought in goaltender after goaltender. All told since Edmonds rookie campaign, at least eight other goalies have come and gone.
Edmonds is still standing tall for the Cougars, nearing completion of his fourth full season. In 43 appearances this season, he has posted a 2.51 goals against average and a.914 save percentage. His record is 26-13-2-1, backstopping a veteran-laden Cougars team that has spent almost 20 weeks this season ranked among the top ten teams in the entire CHL.
Edmonds emerged from the Winnipeg Wild program and began his junior days with the Virden Oil Capitals of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. He appeared in 26 games that season before Prince George came calling.
Since then, the 6’2, 180-pounder has appeared in over 200 games for the Cougars and is on pace to break the organization’s record for career wins by a goalie. He currently shares the standard of 95 decisions with Scott Myers, who toiled in Prince George from 1996 to 2000. With 12 regular season games remaining, Edmonds is certain to have an opportunity to pass Myers.
Edmonds arrived in the WHL as a young 16-year-old and he will graduate as a mature 20-year-old. He has committed to the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns program for next season. He will begin his post-secondary education in the college of arts and science with assistance from the WHL’s scholarship program.
In Lethbridge, the Pronghorns will graduate two goalies at the end of this season, making room for Edmonds to join former WHL netminder Garret Hughson to present a formidable young tandem.
Edmonds family resides in the Winnipeg area, his father Brian with the RCMP and his mother Kim is a nurse.
DUBNetwork spoke with Edmonds at the team’s hotel while the Cougars prepared for a two-game road trip through Kelowna and Kamloops.
(Note: Special thanks to Ty for making time for DUBNetwork. Also, thank you to Dan O’Connor, Manager of Broadcasting, Media and Team Services for the Prince George Cougars, for his assistance over the course of the 2016-17 season.)
