Carsen Twarynski (born November 24, 1997) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who is currently playing under contract with the Abbotsford Canucks in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL). He played in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

for the Kelowna Rockets and

Calgary Hitmen The Calgary Hitmen are a major junior ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Hitmen play in the Central Division of the Western Hockey League (WHL). They play their home games at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Bret "The Hitman" ...

before being drafted by the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

in the

2016 NHL Entry Draft The 2016 NHL Entry Draft was the 54th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. The first three selections were Auston Matthews going to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Patrik Laine go ...

Early life

Twarynski was born on November 24, 1997, in St. Albert,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada to parents Kim and Rob. His older brother Brayden was also an athlete; he most recently played as a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

for the

Saskatchewan Huskies The University of Saskatchewan began in 1907 and has operated teams that compete with others since 1911. The term Huskie Athletics is defined as those student athletes from the University of Saskatchewan that compete in elite interuniversity ...

Playing career

Junior

Growing up in Alberta, Twarynski played with Calgary’s Bow Valley Hockey Association until he reached Atom level, in which he transferred to the Blackfoot Chiefs Minor Hockey Association Pee-Wee team for two years. As he aged out of pee-wee, he competed with the Calgary Bantam AAA Blackhawks and the Calgary Bantam AAA Bisons of the Calgary Buffalo Hockey Associations. After going overlooked in the

(WHL) Bantam Draft, he played one season with the Okotoks Oilers in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and Midget-AAA Buffaloes in the Alberta Midget Hockey League before signing with the

as a 16-year-old. Twarynski recorded his first career WHL goal during a 9–2 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on September 29, 2014. During his first year of draft eligibility, Twarynski recorded 20 goals for a total of 45 points and described himself as a "power forward that is good two ways." As a result of his play, he drafted by the

82nd overall in the

. After spending two seasons with the Hitmen, Twarynski was traded to the Kelowna Rockets in exchange for Jake Kryski on January 9, 2017. When reflecting on the trade, Twarynski said, "it was a good move. I was very happy and I think Kelowna has turned out the best, so I was very fortunate." Upon the conclusion of the season, Twarynski joined the Flyers'

(AHL) affiliate, the

Lehigh Valley Phantoms The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are a professional ice hockey team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The team competes in the American Hockey League (AHL) and serves as the primary development team for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey Lea ...

, but was returned to major junior hockey near the start of the 2017–18 season. In his first full season with the team, the Rockets made it to the Western Conference final before eliminated in six games by the Seattle Thunderbirds. On March 11, 2018, Twarynski concluded his major junior career by signing an

entry-level contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the Flyers.

Professional

After attending the Flyers' 2018–19 training camp, Twarynski was re-assigned to the Phantoms to start the season. He made his NHL debut on October 4, 2019, which was played in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

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as part of the

NHL Global Series Throughout the history of the National Hockey League (NHL), there has been a long-standing tradition of international games played by NHL teams. The following is a list of games played by NHL teams against other NHL teams and non-NHL teams outside ...

. Although he played the majority of the 2019-20 season with the Phantoms, Twarynski was included in the Flyers' training camp for the 2020 playoffs, but did not make the roster to travel with the team to the bubble. On July 21, 2021, Twarynski was selected from the Flyers at the

2021 NHL Expansion Draft The 2021 NHL Expansion Draft was an expansion draft that was conducted by the National Hockey League on July 21, 2021, to fill the roster of the league's expansion team for the 2021–22 NHL season, 2021–22 season, the Seattle Kraken. Backgrou ...

by the

Seattle Kraken The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and began play during the league's 2021–22 season. ...

. As a free agent at the conclusion of his contract with the Kraken, Twarynski was unable to attract a contract to remain in North America. On September 27, 2023, Twarynski signed his first contract abroad in agreeing to a deal with Austrian club, Vienna Capitals of the ICE Hockey League. He began the 2023-24 season with the Capitals in adding 6 goals and 13 points through 27 regular season games. He left Austria through the mid-point of the season after securing a contract in a return to the AHL with the

Bridgeport Islanders The Bridgeport Islanders (previously known as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the f ...

, the primary affiliate to the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

, on January 8, 2024. As a free agent at the conclusion of his contract with Bridgeport, Twarynski was signed to a one-year contract to continue in the AHL with the Abbotsford Canucks for the 2024–25 season on July 24, 2024.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Twarynski, Carsen 1997 births Bridgeport Islanders players Calgary Hitmen players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Charlotte Checkers (2010–) players Coachella Valley Firebirds players Kelowna Rockets players Lehigh Valley Phantoms players Living people Okotoks Oilers players Philadelphia Flyers draft picks Philadelphia Flyers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Ice hockey people from St. Albert, Alberta Vienna Capitals players