( Photo Credit: Ed Fonger / Swift Current Broncos Boston Pizza Recap 1/31/24 )

By: Mark Allred | Follow me on Twitter @BlackAndGold277

Yesterday, the American Hockey League Providence Bruins announced that the team signed Boston Bruins goaltending prospect Reid Dyck to an Amateur Try-Out Agreement. The 6′-4″ 195-pound netminder was selected by the Bruins in the sixth round (183rd Overall) of the 2022 National Hockey League entry draft held at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.

Dyck, a 20-year-old Manitoba, Canada native, has spent the last three seasons playing in the Western Hockey League with the Swift Current Broncos. The 2023-24 regular season was his best year of development in the Canadian Hockey League. In 35 games played last season, Reid posted a 25-7-2 record with a 2.70 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage, helping his Swift Current team to a Central Division Championship and a return to the postseason, a place the Broncos have not been since 2018.

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In the 2024 WHL playoffs, Dyck appeared in nine games and posted a 5-4-0 record with a 3.38 GAA and a .901 Save Percentage. In the year’s postseason, Swift Current swept the opening-round series matchup against the Lethbridge Hurricanes but lost the second-round best-of-seven series against the Moose Jaw Warriors 4-1. With this being Dyck’s 20th year on this planet, it’s likely his last year of CHL development.

This is the second ATO agreement that Dyck has signed in the last two seasons after his regular-season commitment to Swift Current was over. This time, it’s heavily rumored that Reid will sign an entry-level contract after being close to the Bruins top minor-pro affiliate as Providence gets set for the Calder Cup Playoffs after earning a first-round bye. It’s doubtful Dyck will get into any postseason games vs. the unknown second-round opponent, but it’s not a bad idea to have another netminder around in case of emergencies.

Last season, Dyck was among the best in the league despite two significant injuries he sustained throughout the year. He ranked seventh in overall goaltenders, seventh in goals-against-average, fifth in save percentage, and eighth in shutouts. Reid has strong attributes as a developing netminder and seems ready for the next challenge in his hockey career. Next season’s Providence Bruins team seems set in goal with Michael DiPietro, who signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with the NHL Bruins last month, and netminder Brandon Bussi, who’s a restricted free agent at the end of the season and expected to return for another year.

While riding three goaltenders in the AHL isn’t ideal for development purposes, the next best thing for Dyck is an entire season in the ECHL with the Bruins “AA” ECHL minor-pro affiliate in Portland, Maine, with the Maine Mariners. It remains to be seen if the three netminders currently on the ECHL Maine roster will return for another year of service, so this would be an excellent destination for Reid to get his first pro action.

Either in Maine or Providence, Rhode Island, former NHL netminder and current Bruins Goaltending Development Coach Mike Dunham will regularly travel Interstate 95 to continue working on Dyck’s pro upside, a significant reason why he was taken in the sixth round in 2022. Dunham is in his seventh season with the Boston Bruins organization, and his arrival back in July of 2017 was an integral addition to the B’s training staff. Working alongside longtime Bruins goaltending coach Bob Essensa, Dunham has added tremendous insight to the position’s future and continues to be one of the league’s best at bringing younger talent through the ranks.

Dyck is no exception here, with the expertise and knowledge coming from the Bruins goaltending coaches. They didn’t simply look at Reid’s numbers, which didn’t blow anyone away in his previous two years before last, but they identified attributes that can be worked on as he continues to develop. He’s also one of the best puck handlers as a netminder and good at stopping the puck behind the net and advancing to an open player for that quick transition.