From the WHL ...
Tyler Dyck got used to high-speed collisions on the ice during his days playing in the Western Hockey League. Now, the 27-year-old from Calgary, AB, makes his living analyzing the physics of such collisions as a Forensic Engineer.
“We do forensic engineering, and I’m primarily involved in low and high-speed collision reconstruction,” said Dyck, who has been with SAMAC Engineering Ltd. in Calgary since graduating from the Engineering program at Halifax’s Dalhousie University in 2009 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
“We are hired by insurance companies and law firms to go and reconstruct an accident, and we are looking for things like velocity and speed changes on the vehicle, potential for injury, potential to avoid the collision, and things like that,” he said.
Dyck’s job as a Forensic Engineer is fascinating and challenging. However, it’s far-removed from lacing up the skates and hitting the ice night in and night out as he got used to during his five years playing in the WHL.
So, how did Dyck’s focus change from battles on the ice to answering complex questions surrounding the physics of motor vehicle collisions?
“I don’t know that engineering was a big interest, right off the bat,” said Dyck, spent three years at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, NS, and another two years at Dalhousie after finishing his WHL career in 2004.
“My dad is a mechanical engineer, and I was always good with math and sciences in high school, so one thing led to another.
“I actually enrolled with the intention of finishing an Engineering diploma at St. FX and then, over the next few years, finishing a Science degree in Kinesiology.
“Halfway through Engineering, though, I knew I wasn’t going to stop…I had to finish,” said Dyck.
Of course, going through an intense five years of schooling isn’t cheap. Luckily, and like many graduating WHL players who don’t go on to a professional hockey career, Dyck chose to access his WHL scholarship.
For every year a player plays in the WHL, they receive one year of tuition, books and compulsory fees at a post-secondary institution of their choice. For Dyck, that meant he had five years worth of WHL scholarship funds to pursue his education.
“Having that scholarship for tuition and books sitting there made my decision very easy after I finished in the WHL,” said Dyck, who won a WHL Championship and played in the MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament with the Kootenay Ice in 2000.
“There was some (professional) contract offers there after my 20-year-old year in the WHL, but with five years of scholarship money there, I felt it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
“I also knew that, if I wanted to pursue a professional hockey career after graduating, I could probably do so, but being able to go to school essentially for free was a terrific opportunity,” he said.
Dyck also knew that, by attending a Canadian university, he would also be able to continue playing hockey at an elite level in the CIS. During his three years at St. FX, Dyck suited up for the X-Men and helped the team to a berth in the National Championship in 2007. He also suited up for the Dalhousie Tigers in his two years at Dalhousie University, scoring 10 goals and 23 points in 24 games in his final season in 2008-09.
Now nearly seven years removed from his time in the Western Hockey League, Dyck appreciates how big of an impact his WHL experience had on where he is today.
“Playing in the WHL, there are a lot of things you learn that benefit you down the road,” said Dyck. “You learn discipline, especially when it comes to time management and balancing hockey with your school work.
“You learn a lot of life skills beyond what you learn on the ice in terms of respect, communication skills and being responsible.
“Obviously, an experience like winning a WHL Championship with Kootenay is something that is definitely up there, in terms of life experience, but my whole time in the League is something I really enjoyed,” he said.