The road less travelled
By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter
Doug Taylor Photo
Bracko is one of 15 18-year-olds who make up this overhauled Kings roster. And, unlike the majority of that grouping of players, he isn’t local – he has a Swiss passport.
Born in Calgary, Bracko spent his first two years 25 minutes west of Strathmore until his dad, Barry-Lee, signed with the EHC Schaffhausen of the Swiss Ice Hockey Regio League.
Barry-Lee was a Calgarian who played for the Calgary Canucks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League and the Calgary Wranglers of the Western Hockey League back in the early 1980s.
Undrafted after supplying 178 goals and 231 assists in 239 junior games, Barry-Lee stayed local and played for the University of Calgary Dinos, before inking his first deal with the Swiss League two years before Kyle was born on May 30, 2000.
His dad went on to play a 10-year career in Switzerland, so Kyle was transported back and forth from Calgary to Berneck, Switzerland. Kyle spent his previous 10 years in Switzerland, before coming back to Canada to pursue hockey and a post-secondary education.
“Changing schools was tough and I didn’t know that much English when I came back the first time,” said Kyle. “Now I’m fluent in German and English, and used to moving around, so it isn’t as big of an adjustment for me now.”
Growing up in Switzerland was great for his hockey upbringing, as he played in leagues and has some memories of tagging along to his father’s games.
Switzerland also offered him the opportunity to play baseball, which he did on the national stage for four years.
First at the U15 level, then moving up to the U18 squad for three years, Kyle toured Europe with the national team, appearing in tournaments in Poland, Slovakia, Serbia and locally in his home country.
Kyle wasn’t known for a thunderous bat, but he was athletic enough to patrol the outfield. He was commonly in the squat, catching most games and was known for his blocking ability. That is part of the reason he doesn’t fear putting his body on the line on the penalty kill, blocking shots in the slot.
But his first love was hockey, and with his dad knowing the benefits from playing junior hockey in Canada, Kyle knew this is where he wanted to be to pursue his athletic and academic career.
Of course, it also helps when your older brother blazed the trail first and can help provide some pointers.
Jacen Bracko, Kyle’s older brother by three years, also grew up in the Swiss hockey program and made the Kings his first Canadian destination, when he came over for the 2015-16 season.
“Jacen was a great player with us. It was nice to have an international player in our dressing room,” said Kings Assistant Coach Chris Williams, who spent one season as a player with Jacen. “With Kyle’s ties to Calgary and the fact that his brother played here, it gave us a connection and a chance to sign him in the summer.”
Kyle tried to make the jump to junior A immediately and tried out for his brother’s former team, the Dryden Ice Dogs of the Superior International Junior Hockey League.
Luckily for the Kings, Kyle did not make the team and was able to sign with the Kings.
“He’s the centre point on our power play right now and he has quite a bit of skill,” said Williams. “He might not be the biggest guy, but he’s smart and not scared of the corners. He brings a lot of our offence up front.”
Kyle might be off to a slow start, by his standards, with only a pair of goals in six games. But he feels he is getting more comfortable in the offence and is hoping to help lead the team out of their 2-3-1 start.
“I always want to contribute to the team more, but it has taken time adjusting,” said Kyle. “The game is a little more physical over here and a little dirtier after the whistles with all the cross checking and whatnot. But it’s coming around and I like the team we have.”
Kyle is hoping he can turn success this year into a chance to jump up to junior A to possibly earn recognition by colleges in Canada or in the United States.
Kyle definitely has a different background than the heavy subscription of local talent in the Kings’ dressing room, but he is fitting in right at home, whether it’s 50-kilometres (km) or 7,811 km from the places that raised him and brought him to this point.