You can grow pumpkins until you’re 100. Hockey careers don’t last that long. Even Gordie Howe only made it into his 50s. Krygier is in town on a two-way AHL contract with Bridgeport and arrived with a great hockey pedigree
WORCESTER—Hockey history is loaded with stories about kids graduating from life on the farm to life in the National Hockey League, but those days are becoming a more distant memory with passing years…and computers.
Now, here we have Railers rookie defenseman Christian Krygier. When his playing career is over — that seems years away — he may go from the rink to the farm.
Krygier is a native of Michigan and a graduate of Michigan State. He played five seasons for the Spartans and got his degree in 2022, majoring in agribusiness.
“I’ve developed a great passion for that over the last couple of years,” Krygier said. “I’ve found another part of my life that I enjoy. After my freshman year in college I met a farmer who did specialty organic crops like tomatoes, onions and peppers.
“The last couple of years I’ve been working with a guy who does cattle. Angus beef, certified beef. Last summer I partnered with that guy and we did five acres of pumpkins.”
Trick or treat.
You can grow pumpkins until you’re 100. Hockey careers don’t last that long. Even Gordie Howe only made it into his 50s. Krygier is in town on a two-way AHL contract with Bridgeport and arrived with a great hockey pedigree.
His dad is Todd Krygier, who scored 100 NHL goals and was one of the longest of longshots to even make it to the National Hockey League. As a college player, Todd Krygier was cut by Div. 3 RIT and moved on to UConn, also a Div. 3 school.
He became the first UConn grad to play in the NHL and had career stops at Hartford, Washingon and Anaheim.
Todd Krygier has a place in Worcester hockey history. He began the 1997-98 AHL season with the Portland Pirates, who hosted the IceCats for the season’s first game. Exactly 18 seconds after the opening face off, Krygier scored to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead. Portland won the game in overtime, 5-4, Krygier getting an assist on the goal.
Before Portland played in Worcester that season, though, Krygier was called back up to the NHL by the Capitals and never returned to the AHL.
Christian Krygier has a twin brother, Cole, who was a teammate at Michigan State and is a rookie with the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League.
“We’re not identical twins, we’re fraternal,” Christian said, “but we look identical.”
Christian was not a big points producer in college but scored a goal for the Railers on opening night. He was off to a good start with a 1-2-3 line in eight games before being sidelined by an injury.
Even so, he sees himself mostly as a defender, not an offender.
“I think along the lines of,” he said, “maybe I can score, but if I’m risking or taking off or not taking care what needs to be done, it’s gonna hurt me more. My favorite defensemen have always been the guys who are tough, who defend well. It’s easy to love the guy who scores all the points. That’s the most entertaining part of the game.”
Although he played five seasons at Michigan State, Krygier is just 23. The Islanders took him in the seventh round of the 2018 draft. Including a brief stint in Bridgeport at the end of last season he has still played just 10 pro games.
“I definitely was an adjustment,” he said of his time in the AHL. “It still is an adjustment, tyring to figure it out, and I don’t think I’ve gotten there yet. The biggest thing is that the margin of error gets really thin the higher up you go and the errors you make are pretty costly.”
His dad never told Christian he had to be a hockey player. It sort of evolved naturally. Given how how Todd Krygier traveled a road nobody else had ever traveled before to get to the NHL, he is able to pass on some sound advice.
“He has always said,” Christian said, “that every setback, everything you think is bad, can be good and you have to use it to your advantage.”
Krygier is one of three Railers on this season’s roster with pro hockey in their backgrounds. Jake Pivonka’s dad, Michal, had a long NHL career. John Copeland’s father, Todd, had a long career in the AHL and old IHL.
All three are rookies this season, but only one can tell you everything you need to know about pumpkins.
Bill Ballou covered the Red Sox for the Worcester Telegram from 1997 through 2018. He has covered pro hockey in Worcester since 1994 and currently does a weekly column for the Worcester Red Sox. Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
