His passion for the game reignited, reigning CJHL MVP Onyskiw showing his potential with the Griffins

EDMONTON – The save deserves to be on Canada West season-ending highlight reels.

With 42 seconds left in a 4-4 tie against UBC – a team that had won nine in a row coming into that Nov. 15 contest – Zac Onyskiw put his impressive lateral movement on display, pulling off a full splits blocker save on Ty Thorpe that brought the house down.

It allowed the Griffins men's hockey team to get to overtime at the Downtown Community Arena where Logan Dowhaniuk scored the winner and ended the Thunderbirds' win streak.

"I noticed there wasn't much time left in the game and guys had been battling the whole game," said Onyskiw, who stopped 40 of 44 shots he faced in the contest. "I thought I'd put that extra couple percentages of work to get over and make that save. We eventually came out on top of that game."

Onyskiw will lead the Griffins into a weekend home-and-home series vs. cross-town rival Alberta as they close out the first semester with games on Friday (7 p.m., DCA) and Saturday (7 p.m., Clare Drake, both Canada West TV).

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Or bring your minor hockey team for free on Friday as part of the Griffins' Minor Hockey Night – contact Jen Zandstra (zandstraj@macewan.ca) for more details

Onyskiw's big save against UBC might have never happened, if not for a junior team making an effort to reach out to him just over a year ago.

After playing 13 games for the Spruce Grove Saints during the 2023-24 season, his third with the then-Alberta Junior Hockey League team, Onyskiw decided to hang up the pads. 

Then came a phone call from the Whitecourt Wolverines that pulled him back in.

"At one time in my career, I just wasn't feeling it and decided to hang them up for a little bit," explained the product of the Southside Athletic Club and Edge School. 

"It just wasn't feeling like my passion anymore, and then I got a phone call in the summer from the Whitecourt Wolverines asking if I wanted to come play for them that season. I just decided to go and play for them and eventually had a great season."

It turned out to be a game-changing decision as Onyskiw posted perhaps the best season ever by an AJHL goaltender.

His sizzling .939 save percentage in 37 games with the Wolverines in 2024-25 broke an 11-year-old league record, previously held by Jesse Gordichuk (.935 in 2013-14). After leading the AJHL in wins (26), goals against average (1.87) and save percentage, he won the league's MVP and top goaltender awards. 

Later, he won Canadian Junior Hockey League Top Goalie and MVP honours, only the fourth goaltender to win the prestigious MVP award – a list that includes Buffalo Sabres prospect Devon Levi, who captured it in 2019-20.

"It definitely meant a lot," said Onyskiw. "I had lots of support coming back to the game after giving it up for a little bit the year before that. It was definitely an emotional and great year to come back and do all those great achievements."

The season also reignited his passion for hockey that's continued into his rookie season with the Griffins.

"I would say I definitely got my passion back for the game," he said. "I love the game and love playing for the MacEwan Griffins. It's been a great year so far. All the teammates are great."

He's formed a good relationship with veteran Griffins goalies Eric Ward and Carson Ironside, learning lots from them.

"We definitely support each other every day," he said. "I've taken into account how calm and composed they are with the situations they get put into every game. 

"Not every game goes great and it can battle your mental game a bit. They're just really calm, cool and collected."

 Zac Onyskiw leads the Griffins with 226 saves in eight games so far in 2025-26 (James Maclennan photo).

It's been a bit of an up-and-down battle for Onyskiw so far this season as he rides the rookie learning curve that hits nearly everyone coming from junior. He leads the Griffins with 226 saves and three wins through eight starts, but his numbers offer room for growth as he gets even more acclimated to the level (4.15 GAA, .873 save percentage). 

It's important to note that half of his starts so far have been against U SPORTS top-10 teams (UBC is ranked first, while he's also faced No. 3 Calgary once and No. 7 Saskatchewan twice).

"He did have a great stretch last year and was definitely a highly-touted recruit coming in," said Griffins head coach Zack Dailey. "I thought/knew it would be a bit of a transition period. U SPORTS is a really high level and definitely a step up from juniors. I know it takes players a while to get adjusted, so my thought is it would take goalies a little bit as well. 

"Obviously, his first game there didn't go the way he wanted, but I liked that he wanted to stay in net, wanted to get through it. I've been impressed with his commitment to want to be good. He works hard in practice, he's a good teammate and you've seen the results on ice as of late. He's had some really strong efforts and given us a chance to win games."

Onyskiw has the potential to be among the top goaltenders in Canada West someday, which could set him up for a pro career.

"I don't want to put too high of expectations on anyone and stress him out, but he's someone I see being a very good goaltender in this league – someone who gives himself a shot at playing pro when his U SPORTS career is finished," said Dailey. "We're very excited to have him, very excited to grow with him and know he's going to be someone who helps us win games for a long time here."