Penny anxious to learn on ice and in classroom
May 5, 2010 - Regina Leader-Post
By Ian Hamilton
University of Regina Cougars recruit Tyler Penny plans to work hard as a rookie next season.
And he'll be diligent on the ice, too.
"Going back to school, you have to go in there and give an honest effort," the 21-year-old Weyburn product said Tuesday, when the U of R announced he had committed to the Canada West men's hockey team. "If you have that willingness to want to learn, you'll do fine.
"I'm looking forward to the challenge of going to school again."
Penny hasn't been a full-time student since graduating from Grade 12 in 2007, but he did take courses at Red Deer College during his 11/2 seasons with the WHL's Red Deer Rebels.
"It'll be a little different going back to school," admitted Penny, who spent the past 11/2 seasons with the SJHL's Weyburn Red Wings. "The (hockey) schedule won't be as vigorous as it was in junior. At the same time, I'll have to try to manage both school and hockey.
"I want to have my best effort in hockey and my best effort in school."
The 5-foot-10, 170-pound Penny had 25 goals and 21 assists in 57 games with the Red Wings during the 2009-10 SJHL regular season. He's also a specialist who can kill penalties and play on the power play.
"He's a real workhorse," said Cougars head coach Blaine Sautner. "He plays hard every shift. He plays smart, too. He's one of those kids you don't have to coach very much because he has such a good understanding of the game."
"Making the jump from junior A, I just want to contribute and work hard every game," added Penny. "I don't expect to come in and get a lot of time on the power play right away. I'm just going to work hard -- and when you work hard, you get results."
The Cougars also announced the additions of former Manitoba Bisons forward Terrance Delaronde and goalie AJ Whiffen, who was one of Penny's teammates in Weyburn.
Delaronde, 23, had stints in the WHL with the Regina Pats, Kamloops Blazers and Moose Jaw Warriors, scoring 42 goals and registering 497 penalty minutes in 258 career regular-season games. He went to the U of M for the 2008-09 Canada West season.
When the Bisons made a coaching change after that campaign, Delaronde lost his spot on the roster. He didn't play last season.
"I tried to get him when he was in Moose Jaw (in '07-08)," Sautner said. "But he's from Winnipeg and had played away from home for four years, so he wanted to go back there.
"When things didn't work out, he picked up the phone and called. It seems the work I did years ago paid off."
Sautner said the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Delaronde is a hard-working, gritty forward who'll work the corners. His single-season high for goals in the WHL was 17.
"He's the kind of hard-nosed player we need," Sautner said.
Whiffen, a 20-year-old product of Grand Falls-Windsor, N.L., posted an SJHL-best 2.26 goals-against average last season with a .924 save percentage, a 22-5-0-3 record and four shutouts. He spent three seasons in Weyburn.
"Goaltenders need to play in order to get better -- and he has played a lot," Sautner said. "I don't think it matters where they come from (in terms of the level of junior), it's how much they play."
Whiffen joins presumptive No. 1 Adam Ward and Shayne Barrie in the Cougars' goaltending stable.
The Cougars' recruiting class now numbers four, with Penny, Delaronde and Whiffen joining former Pats regular Matt Strueby.
"We've got some other guys on the line," noted Sautner, whose team graduated forwards Caine Pearpoint, Tanner Shultz and Blair Stengler after last season, lost goalie Brant Hilton to the pro ranks this off-season, and may lose more players to academic ineligibility.
"We're still looking."