(Photo: Kylee Meter/WCSN)
From on the ice to off it, Brinson Pasichnuk has seen much growth from when he first began his playing career at Arizona State.
The defender finished the season last year with 14 points and has already surpassed that total by two this season with ten games remaining. While he left without getting taken in the 2017 NHL draft, Pasichnuk’s personal development has translated into multiple career accomplishments.
Before making the decision to become a Sun Devil, the Bonnyville native was committed to Vermont.
“One day I woke up and realized, I have the chance to play college hockey with my brother,” Pasichnuk said. “I talked to Vermont and they didn’t have room so I decommitted from there. A week later, we get a call from Arizona State, Steenn (Pasichnuk) and me, and they offered us a full ride. I don’t know, something felt right. We committed without even flying down, It was just like a feeling in our heart that this is where we’re meant to be.”
That instinct is proving to be correct.
(Video by Kylee Meter/WCSN)
Brinson was named tournament MVP at the Ice Vegas Invitational, NCAA Hockey’s second star of the week and was recently given the alternate captain’s patch to add to his jersey.
“Everything he’s got, he’s earned and he’s going to continue to,” head coach Greg Powers said.
Powers and Brinson have both stated that maturity away from the rink has led to maturity on the ice.
“It’s been really cool to see his growth as a human being,” Powers said. “And that’s what we say. If you take care of your life away from the rink and outside of these walls, do all the right things, treat people the right way and you’re a good person and a good human being, it all translates and then you can start to play really, really high level hockey, if you’re just out on the ice playing free without any distractions or anything on your mind and I think that’s what we’re seeing with Brinson. He’s got his affairs and orders in every way and the sky’s the limit for him.”
This aligns with the reason why Powers placed Brinson in a leadership role: his behavior and character on and off the ice as well as his development as a teammate. Powers has stated multiple times that Brinson is the teams best player, though Brinson doesn’t necessarily agree.
“I never think of it like that,” he said. “This team’s a team. It’s not just one player doing their job, its everyone. I don’t think we have a best player. It’s everyone contributing every single night.”
Even though it is a team effort, Brinson likes to be a go-getter during games. As a defender, he currently leads the team in points, stating that playing offensively will take him to the next to the next level, but being strong in defense will keep him there.
Brinson has recorded six multi-point series so far this season.
“I’ve ben thinking about that a lot lately,” he said. “It seems like whenever I get a goal or assist early in the game, for some reason my confidence goes through the roof and the rest of the game goes really, really good for me. It seems like I get those lucky bounces every once in a while.”
Brinson hopes that luck carries on as he tries again for the NHL draft this year. Even though he wasn’t picked in the last one, he views it more as blessing.
“It’s always been something I’ve wanted to do since day one,” Brinson said. “Getting on the ice, since I want to make the NHL, that dream definitely hasn’t gone away or gone down in any means. That’s still the goal, just taking it day-by-day, seeing what I can do everyday to get there.”
