If ever Tyler Young needs a shot of motivation, one glance at the contents inside a little glass case in his dad’s basement should do the trick.
Sitting there, “for everyone to see,” in Tyler’s words, are Scott Young’s two Stanley Cup rings, which he won as a right wing with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and Colorado Avalanche in 1996 during his 17-year National Hockey League career. And whenever Tyler has any questions about the ice sport, his father, a Clinton, Mass., native who’s now the Penguins’ director of player development, is one phone call away.
“My dad has always been there for me, and I appreciate that,” said Tyler, who turns 18 years old on May 8. “He helps me with a lot of decisions I have to make and has guided me to where I am at this point.”
Where Tyler is at this point is a special place. The 5-foot-11, 163-pound right wing just completed his second and final season at Lawrence Academy, where he recorded 39 points (14-25-39) in 28 games after totaling 37 points (15-22-37) in 32 contests last year.
Even better, he’s ranked 185th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting in its final rankings for the 2019 NHL draft, which will be held June 21-22 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. That’s four spots higher than his midseason ranking.
“Seeing your name listed gives you a little boost of confidence,” Tyler said. “It makes you feel like you belong a bit more. In-season you try not to think about it, but you’ve got guys congratulating you. It’s a good accomplishment, but it doesn’t really mean much in the grand scheme of things. I try not to think about it, but it’s getting closer. Hopefully something happens.”
Whether he’s selected or not, his plans for next season include playing in the same region where this year’s event will take place.
“Recently I made a decision — it was a tough one — to go to the Wenatchee Wild of the British Columbia Hockey League,” revealed Tyler, who’s committed to later playing for Providence College. “I talked with Providence and the people around me, such as my advisor and my dad. The BCHL is a skilled league and that’s the way the game is trending. In order to get to Providence a little faster — I’m in no rush, but to get there a little faster — I’m going to go play one year out there and then, ideally, go into college.”
As for why Wenatchee is his team of choice, he called it “a crazy coincidence.”
“My buddy Drew Bavaro (a defenseman who was the captain at Lawrence this season) is going out there (to Wenatchee), so we were thinking about it, and then Wenatchee randomly texted my dad out of nowhere the day after I was talking to Drew about it,” Tyler explained. “Then we visited and made it happen.”
To no one’s surprise, the magnificent views offered by the Pacific Northwest left their marks on Tyler. “It’s beautiful out there,” he said. “It’s just gorgeous.”
And Tyler is hoping to leave his mark on the scoresheet with the Wild by utilizing all the hockey lessons he’s learned throughout his young career, whether they were taught to him by his dad or coaches, or simply knowledge he acquired on his own.
The first aspect of the game he had to figure out just so happens to be the most important one — skating. Naturally, his father, whose playing career was winding down when Tyler was a tyke, was the person who played the most prominent role in this area.
“When I was a kid, he took me to the St. Louis Blues practice ice,” remembered Tyler, who was born in St. Louis, where his dad played five campaigns toward the end of his career. “I was always scared to skate, so I threw on shoes and went out there before every practice.”
Eventually Tyler, who after multiple moves settled in Lancaster, Mass., at age 5, overcame his fear and became proficient enough at it that he started playing competitively, suiting up for the Assabet Valley Patriots and Minuteman Flames AAA and elite clubs.
When he was 12 years old and with the Flames, he got his first taste of winning when his team won the Silver Stick tournament in Whitby, Ont. “We had a really special group with a lot of really good guys on that team,” Tyler said.
When Tyler was 15 he headed to St. Mark’s School to play for the same squad his father did over three decades earlier. He was there for only one season before transferring to Lawrence.
That move from one prep school to another goes down as the toughest challenge he’s had to overcome so far in life and hockey. “I love the people at St. Mark’s, and I owe a lot to them,” he said. “Great players come out of there, but it just wasn’t the right fit for me and I didn’t see myself excelling there. Leaving there was a big decision, so I had to make sure it was the right one.”
It’s proved to be the correct one as Tyler took his game to a higher tier at Lawrence, particularly on the leadership front. “I learned a lot about myself over the last couple of years, but certainly more this year playing on the same line with a couple of younger players, David Sacco and Riley Duran (’02s),” asserted Tyler, who’s also suited up for the Neponset Valley River Rats organization the past three campaigns. “I didn’t look at it as a challenge, but more as a good opportunity, and I developed leadership qualities and see myself as more of a leader now.”
One component of his game that’s especially improved since he switched schools is his mental toughness. “I used to let people get under my skin, which is exactly what opponents want to do, and I’d get mad in games and it would throw me off,” Tyler said. “I learned to reel it in and focus on the task at hand.”
He credits his old man for helping him navigate through those turbulent waters. “Being around the game, my dad could see it right away,” Tyler said. “He always says if chirping and that kind of stuff doesn’t work for me, to keep my mouth shut, take a deep breath on the bench, relax and play my game.”
When the right-handed shooter is performing at his best, he considers himself “a very competitive playmaker.”
Elaborated Tyler: “I like to make plays, make things happen off the rush, and when I have to shoot, I’ll shoot. If I’m not making plays, I’m making up for it by working hard and finishing checks.”
Tyler doesn’t compare his style to a particular NHL player, but if he had to pick one, he would choose one of the forwards with his dad’s NHL team in Pittsburgh. “A less-scoring Jake Guentzel,” he said. “The playmaking side of him.”
The next step for Tyler is to create offense on the West Coast of North America. But before he prepares to embark on the cross-continent trip, he took a moment to verbalize his gratitude for everything his support system has provided him.
Most notably, he’s thankful his father has never put any pressure on him, and for the family rock his mom, Mary, always has been while his dad is away.
“My dad just wants me to be happy and enjoy the game like he did, no matter how far I go and how good I do,” Tyler concluded. “He reminds me of that a lot. And with him being on the road a lot with Pittsburgh, my mom drove me everywhere, took care of me and stayed in hotels with me. She’s played just as important a role as him, and I can’t thank her enough for that.”
