Cochrane-born hockey player Tyler Wong is making strides off the ice in his second year of professional hockey with the American Hockey League's (AHL) Chicago Wolves, but it's what he's doing off the ice that's earning recognition as he was named the Wolves nominee for the AHL's Man of the Year award.
According to the Wolve's website, "The 23-year-old forward earned this honour for his unwavering willingness to be a positive force throughout the Chicago area. Wong joined the Wolves in 2017 with a reputation for eagerly donating his time and energy to multiple causes — he twice won the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference Humanitarian of the Year Award — and he has maintained his brisk pace with the Wolves while establishing his professional career.
"Never one to waste free time, Wong has been a leading light at every Wolves charity event in addition to spending hours helping with Feed My Starving Children and Bernie’s Book Bank. The 5-foot-9 Cochrane native also has made several visits to local libraries as part of the team’s long-running Read to Succeed program. Not only does his voice carry weight when he extols the virtues of recreational reading and the importance of setting and achieving goals, Wong’s personal story of how he ignored others’ doubts about his size to continue to pursue his hockey dreams makes an impact with the children he meets.
Wong is one of 31 finalists for the AHL’s 2018-19 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, which honors the overall IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year. The league’s award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward and AHL All-Star who died in 1997 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. The winner of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, which was won by the Wolves’ Scooter Vaughan last season, will be announced by the American Hockey League at a later date."
"It's a huge honour for me. Giving back to the community is very important to me and it be recognized for that obviously feels good but that's not the reason I'm doing it," Wong said. "I believe that I've been very blessed to be able to be where I am, and there are lots of others who aren't as fortunate as me that, given my platform, I can help out. I think it is crucial to do as much as I can to use the opportunity that God has given me to help out others."
Wong won numerous awards over the duration of his time with the Western Hockey League's (WHL) Lethbridge Hurricanes including being named the WHL’s Humanitarian of the Year for the final two seasons of his junior career to go along with this nomination. He said they're all special to him in their own way.
"It's tough to put a ranking because they all mean a lot to me, but I don't help out in the community to get awards," said Wong. "Obviously it feels great to be recognized but I believe that I have just done what is right by using my gifts to bless others."
While succeeding off the ice, Wong and his teammates have also found success on the ice as well. The Wolves currently sit atop the Central Division with a 43-21-9 record with only three games remaining before playoffs. Wong has suited up for 65 games this season, scoring five goals and eight assists for 13 points in those games.
"It's been a really good season. There's been some ups and downs but overall I've learned a lot and improved my game," Wong said of this season.
"Our team clinched first in our division last weekend and playoffs start in about a week. We have a great group of guys here who push each other every day and we all believe we have what it takes to go on a long playoff run."
