Dru Mushumanski is very thankful for the opportunity that the Parkland U-18 Rangers provided him.
From Rossburn, Dru played the past two seasons with the region's lone AAA team where he finished with 58 points. 45 of those came last year when he found the back of the net 19 times and he also added 26 assists. Winning the team's scoring title, Dru paired his great skating ability with a brilliant shot as he also finished in a tie for 25th when it came to league scoring.
He spent hundreds of hours over the past two years travelling to practices and games to play with Parkland and for the now 17-year-old, every moment with his teammates were special.
"It was an honour playing with Parkland, we had a tight group which was great," said Mushumanski. "We also had a great coaching staff led by Tyler, he always pushed me and believed in me. I firmly believe he was a big reason for my success."
Dru also played in a pair of games with the Waywayseecappo Wolverines of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. While he was auto-protected by the Wolverines, Dru was drafted by the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League in the seventh-round of the 2021 WHL U-15 Draft.
He got his first taste of the Western Hockey League lifestyle last year when he attended their camp before returning to play with Parkland. After spending the summer in the gym and on the ice, Mushumanski once again made the 299 kilometre trip from his hometown to Regina for training camp and while he entered with little expectation, Dru believed in himself entering camp and over the course of a few days, he made a name for himself.
"I knew that I needed to have a good camp to stick around," offered Mushumanski. "I feel I did just that. As the camp rolled on, I scored a couple goals and I was feeling really good about where my game was."
Following a rigiourous camp, the Pats were set to open their preseason by playing a home-and-home against the Brandon Wheat Kings over the weekend. Dru was in the lineup for both games after he signed his first Western Hockey League Scholarship and Development Agreement. For Mushumanski, signing on the dotted line was a dream come true and it was a day that he was hoping would arrive and it ultimately did.
"It's great, the way we get treated here is incredible, it's such a first-class organization," said Mushumanski. "I am very happy to be a Pat and it's time to move ahead and continue to show the organization why I should be here."
On tap for Regina is a pair of preseason games as they play Saskatoon on Wednesday before heading to Prince Albert on Friday for their final tuneup game. Their regular season then opens next Friday in Brandon before their home opener the following night against Saskatoon.
