The Surrey Eagles are excited to announce that 2001-born Ryan Suzukovich has committed to the team for the upcoming 2019-20 BCHL season. Suzukovich comes to Surrey from the Burnaby Winter Club Academy of the CSSHL. He is the fourth player to join the team that was signed out of this year’s spring identification camp.
Eagles fans will be familiar with Suzukovich, after he appeared in the maximum 10 games as an affiliated player last season. He did not record a point in those 10 games, but amassed 4 penalty minutes and provided a steady hand on the back end defensively. With BWC he recorded 5 goals and 13 assists for 18 points in 30 games.
“I’m looking forward to the season,” Suzukovich told SurreyEagles.ca in an interview. “Coming in, I know a couple of the guys from last year and some of the new commits, so it’s nice.”
Suzukovich is known for his physical play, ability to move the puck up ice, and positional flexibility as he is able to fill a need both defensively and offensively. He was primarily a defenceman during his stint with the Eagles in 2018-19.
“I’ve played defence pretty much my whole life,” Suzukovich explained. “It’s my go-to, but I will do whatever the team needs. Forward is fun, but D is probably where I feel I’m better suited and I’d like to stick to. Whatever the team needs, I can do.”
Before joining the Burnaby Winter Club last year, Suzukovich was a member of the Vancouver NE Chiefs program of the BC Major Midget League. He played alongside fellow Eagles recruit and Spring Camp signee Cody Hough.
“Cody and I are really good friends,” Suzukovich revealed. “We’ve talked throughout the summer a little bit and we’re both looking forward to the year. It would be pretty cool to line up with him again because I know how Cody plays and what he’s going to do. I need to be reliable defensively when he skates up with the puck, and I know he’ll have my back when I want to skate the puck up too.”
Through the experience gained last season as an AP, Suzukovich brings a rare comfortability to the roster that is not usually seen with new recruits. He’ll be playing for a new head coach in Cam Keith, but he already knows what the coach is looking for in order to receive more ice time.
“[Coach Keith] wants me to be strong defensively and earn my ice time through playing smart and playing strong, being hard to play against. The offence will come throughout the whole year, and I know I’ll have the whole year to do it.”
Suzukovich also realizes that his 18-year-old season will be a important one in terms of his career. He’s excited to be joining a young group that consists of players that will be drawing a lot of attention from scouts – including the five already-committed players on the Eagles roster.
“I’d love to get a scholarship. We’ll be getting a lot of exposure because we have so many commits on this team now, there should be some more scouts compared to last year. I just have to play my game and I hope they like what they see.”
Welcome to the team, Ryan!
The Surrey Eagles exhibition schedule has been announced! Join us for three home games in August as the team prepares for the 2019-20 BCHL season. We will be hosting games at South Surrey Arena on August 24th, 27th, and 31st. Please click here for more details.
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