Alberta’s Boy Impresses at Sabres Camp

Mark Pysyk, who captained the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings to a Memorial Cup bid this past postseason, spent last week in Buffalo along with 39 other prospects at the Sabres’ development camp and is making his way up the minor-league ladder until he reaches the NHL.

The 20-year-old native of Sherwood Park, Alberta has been with the Oil Kings since the beginning. He was the first draft pick of the current incarnation of the Edmonton Oil Kings, selected third overall in the 2007 WHL Bantam Draft. Since then, he’s played parts of five consecutive seasons with Edmonton, and has made his way up to captaincy of the team.

Pysyk is a smart, offensive defenseman who has scored 20 or more points in each of the last four seasons with the Oil Kings. His first season (07-08) was not a full season; he played 14 games and had one goal and two assists. Despite his high draft status, he also ended the season with a minus-8 rating.

His first full season in the WHL was the next one, as he played in 61 regular season and 4 playoff games with the Oil Kings. Five goals and 15 assists proved for a decent season, but Pysyk still couldn’t get that plus – he ended the year a minus-5.

He’d have one more minus season in 2009-10, but once again his point production improved. In 48 games, the defenseman scored seven goals and 17 assists, but have a minus-19 rating. The Oil Kings missed the playoffs, but no matter – Pysyk had a great offseason, as the Buffalo Sabres drafted him 23rd overall. He attended the Sabres’ training camp later that summer for the first time.

In September of that year, he was also named captain of the Oil Kings, and it seems that being named to a leadership position sent a spark into Pysyk. His first year as captain was his best to date: he had six goals and 34 assists for 40 points in 63 games and ended the season with a plus-29 rating. That season, he also took part in the selection camp for Team Canada’s 2011 National Team, but didn’t make the cut.

This past season however, he DID make it, and as part of Team Canada, won a bronze medal at the IIHF World Junior Championships, held in none other than Alberta.

In addition, in his second year as Oil Kings captain, Pysyk scored six goals and tallied 32 assists in 57 games. He was named WHL player of the week for the week ending May 13th, and also had a plus-15 rating and led Edmonton to the WHL championship as well as the Mastercard Memorial Cup, where the team finished fourth.

Keep an eye on Pysyk, as he’s sure to have a bright future ahead of him.

Oh, and follow him on Twitter, too.