Photo Credit: Patrick Garriepy-Patrck Garriepy Photography

This offseason for Alex Tertyshny is one of transiton. The proud alum of the Northeast Generals program is working on building his game to compete for AIC this fall. Last year, he helped lead the Generals in the midst of a pandemic and a consistent roster churn that took them from a team with no postseason aspirations, to ones fighting for a playoff spot down the stretch.

This summer, Tertyshny, as he has done throughout his career, has found another way to honor his father, the late Philadelphia Flyer,Dmitri. This summer, AIC Associate Head Coach Matthew Woodard let Alexander know available numbers for his incoming class. Wanting to grow up and be like his dad, this moment meant even more to him. Just like his dad with the Flyers, Alex gets to wear the same number with AIC this fall

As he said, “we picked numbers a couple months ago, Coach Woodard called me and told me what numbers were available. I’ll be wearing #5 which I’m really excited about, special number to me. I haven’t wore it since I was a kid… it’ll be really special.”

If you don’t know about Tertyshny, you will get to see him at the NCAA level this year. Like his dad, he is a smooth skating defender with a keen hockey sense. Alex is working on building out the physical part of his game this summer, gaining muscle the right way while keeping his skating skills at the level that propelled him to AIC. He is going to have to earn a top six spot this year, as the Yellow Jackets have a strong defense group coming back, despite losses of Jeff Baum and Brennan Kapcheck to the pro ranks.

Tertyshny knows things will be tough. Like his father, he will have to earn every second of ice. Dmitri shocked many in the hockey world when he made the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1998 season, and Alex has the potential to do the same thing at the college level this season. As Alex said of the group he is joining “Also watched quite a bit of AIC games from last season, watched what the defenseman did last year to contribute to the teams success. I just want to be ready, the team is full of guys that are looking to improve and succeed and I want to do my part in chipping in to the teams success.”

Tertyshny is appreciative of the support from the AIC family he has already received. The accident that took Dmitri from this earth happened in late July, and every year this month is the toughest for Alex. He said ” I think I’ll most enjoy being a part of the community. It was a tough end to July. It always is at it marked 22 years since my father passed away. Coach Lang actually reached out on behalf of the team and said they were thinking of my family that day, I really appreciated it. Just excited to be part of that family.” The community of good humans is one of the things that drew Alexander to AIC. He is carving his own path, learning from his father every day (he frequently watches highlights of Dmitri, and plays a similar game to his father), and ready to take the next step this fall, playing Division One Hockey.

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