Photo Credit – Chad Goddard Photography:
OKOTOKS, AB – The Okotoks Oilers of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) are thrilled to announce that 2004-born forward Conyr Hellyer (Okotoks, AB) has committed to attend and play for Arizona State University.
Located in Tempe, Arizona, the Sun Devils play as an independent NCAA Division I school under 7th-year head coach Greg Powers.
“This is a huge and deserved opportunity for Conyr to be part of a program in its pioneering stages,” said head coach and general manager Tyler Deis. “It’s also a reflection of Conyr’s commitment and resilience over the last year and a half, and a testament to his character.”
Hellyer is currently the Oilers’ third-highest scoring player, recording 16 points (7 goals, 9 assists) in 22 games in his first season of Junior A competition.
The 5’10″, 160lb forward played his last four years of rep minor hockey all in Okotoks, recording 3 points in a shortened 4-game season last year for the Okotoks U18 AAA Oilers, after a standout season with the U16 AAA squad in which he scored 61 points (25 goals, 36 assists) in 36 games, ranking 7th in overall league scoring.
“We’re extremely proud to be moving a local player on to the next level,” Deis added, “and we hope that he can serve as a great example for local players in the Okotoks area of the opportunity available to them that college hockey provides.”
Hellyer records the Oilers’ first NCAA commitment of the 2021-22 season, and is the third player on the team’s current roster committed to an NCAA Division I school, joining forwards Bowden Singleton (Calgary, AB) with the University of North Dakota and Rieger Lorenz (Calgary, AB) with the University of Denver.
Hellyer and the Oilers will hit the ice Tuesday night in Olds against the Grizzlys at 7:30 PM, before a back-to-back set with the Calgary Canucks on Friday and Saturday, with Saturday’s game in Okotoks at 7 PM at Pason Centennial Arena.