TOP OF THE PACK
Personal and team expectations are high for Chay Genoway and the Fighting Sioux
By Gary Ahuja
The Official Magazine of the British Columbia Hockey League
Genoway was the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s Defensive Player of the Year for the 2008/09 season
He may be slight by typical standards for a top-pairing defenceman. He may be known more
for his offence. But the measurables and statistics only tell part of the story when it comes to University of North Dakota blueliner Chay Genoway.
After all, the 22-year-old begins the NCAA season as the leader among all active Western Collegiate Hockey Association defencemen with 80 career points on 16 goals and 64 assists.
But a conversation with the Fighting Sioux’s head coach quickly reveals that Genoway is a complete player whose work on his own side of centre ice is just as impactful as his ability to get the puck to the opposition net.
“The first thing you would notice about Chay is his offensive ability,” admits Dave Hakstol, who has been behind the bench for all three of Genoway’s seasons in Grand Forks. “But he actually takes much more pride in the defensive side of his game than what he does as far as his output offensively.”
Genoway received plenty of accolades following his junior season at UND, earning American Hockey Coaches Association All-American second team honours, being named to the All-College Hockey News second team, and winning the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year
award, to name a few. And while the common belief used to be that the best shutdown defencemen are those who tower over six feet and 200 pounds, Genoway, who stands 5-9 and weighs 175, is proving that size doesn’t always matter.
“Definitely for a defenceman, I’m on the smaller side, but I play a different style of game,” he admits. “I try to use my feet to my advantage and I try not to shy away from the rough stuff either.”
Hakstol says that what his captain lacks in size, he makes up for with his competitiveness, intelligence and skill. Genoway is also proving to be a force off the ice for the Fighting Sioux, as he will wear the ‘C’ this season for the perennial WCHA contenders. It’s an honour that is voted on by the team’s players, with the coaching staff having the final say.
“It was very dominant that Chay was our captain,” Hasktol says. “And I certainly backed that vote up. I think he will be a great captain for us; he has earned that respect both on and off the ice.”
For his part, Genoway was taken aback by the leadership role thrust upon him by his peers and coaches.
“You’re not always sure what your teammates and coaches think about you,” he says. “I was thrilled and surprised. I just have so much respect for this program.” Self-described as one who leads by example, Genoway insists he’s not afraid to say what needs to be said when the situation arises.
“I don’t think he’ll have a problem being a vocal leader, he won’t have a problem getting in someone’s face,” Hakstol said. “He is a pretty driven young man and he will expect that of his teammates. What I see in him is what I hope we see in all of our players: he is motivated in everything he does and he knowshow to treat the people around him.”
Genoway’s path to college hockey took him from Manitoba to Minnesota to B.C., and now North Dakota. The Morden, MB native left home to play his midget hockey at the prestigious Shattuck- St. Mary’s School in Minnesota. He spent three years there — winning a national Midget championship along the way — before spending a season with the Vernon Vipers, where his play caught the eye of numerous NCAA scouts.
Genoway called it a ‘no-brainer’ that he decided to join the Fighting Sioux, one of the top programs in college hockey. He is one of four BCHL alumni on the roster.
“Just watching a game in the rink was enough by itself,” he explained. It helped that his older brother, Colby, played at the school before embarking on a professional career. And the fact that North Dakota boasted both outstanding hockey and business programs was a strong selling point which helped persuade him to commit.
Genoway, who switched to the blueline from forward while at Shattuck-St. Mary’s, said the jump from junior to collegiate hockey was an eye opener.
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