Riley Sawchuk

Riley Sawchuk (born March 18, 1999) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre. He is currently playing for HC Lada Togliatti of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). His grandfather was the cousin of the Hall of Fame goaltender Terry Sawchuk.

Playing career

Junior

Riley Sawchuk began his junior career in his hometown of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. He was drafted in the 6th round (115th overall) in the 2014 WHL draft by the Tri-City Americans. Sawchuk played for the Prince Albert Mintos in the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League and represented Saskatchewan for the 2015 Canada Winter Games before debuting for the Americans in the 2015–16 season. He scored his first goal in the WHL on January 6, 2017, visiting his hometown Prince Albert Raiders. Sawchuk played three more full seasons for Tri-City before being traded to the Edmonton Oil Kings in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick.

In the 2019–20 season, his final in the WHL, Sawchuk was the top scorer of the Oil Kings with 76 (25+51) points in 64 games and was selected to the second All-Star team of the WHL's Eastern Conference.

After playing in the WHL, Sawchuk committed to Mount Royal University. As the 2020-21 USports season was cancelled, he debuted for the Mount Royal Cougars in the 2021–22 season, leading the Canada West conference in assists and winning the University of Alberta Hockey Alumni Trophy, its Rookie of the Year honor. He was also named to the USports All-Canadian Second Team and All-Rookie Team, and was called to the USports All-Star team for Canada's National Junior Team Selection camp and to the Seattle Kraken development camp. Next season, he led the conference in points as well as assists, and was named Canada West's Player of the Year as well as a member of the USports All-Canadian First Team.

Professional

After the end of his season with the Mount Royal Cougars, Sawchuk signed a professional tryout contract for the rest of the 2022–23 AHL season and a standard player contract for the 2023–24 AHL season

Before the 2023–24 season, Sawchuk attended the training camp of the Detroit Red Wings and played in the 2023 NHL Prospects Tournament. During the season, he played for the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL as well as their ECHL affiliate Toledo Walleye, contributing to the Walleye's run to the Western Conference Final of the 2024 Kelly Cup playoffs with the team's highest 18 (10+8) points in 14 playoff games.

For the 2024–25 season, Sawchuk signed a 1+1 contract with KooKoo in the Liiga. Sawchuk scored 32 (15+17) points in 55 regular season games and no points in 4 playoff games, and after a first-round elimination by Vaasan Sport he left the team.

For the 2025–26 season, Sawchuk signed a one-year contract with a Russian club Lada Togliatti in the Kontinental Hockey League with the salary of 30 million rubles a year. Before the season, he was named the team's alternate captain. During the season, he beat Lada's scoring records for goals and points with 45 (23+22) and was selected for the 2026 KHL All-Star Game. Before the 2025-26 KHL season, he signed a one-year extension with Lada, with a salary of 40 million and a performance bonus of 5 million rubles.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2015–16 Tri-City Americans WHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2016–17 Tri-City Americans WHL 55 2 5 7 13 4 0 0 0 0 2017–18 Tri-City Americans WHL 70 15 9 24 31 14 2 3 5 6 2018–19 Tri-City Americans WHL 67 20 33 53 34 5 0 0 0 2 2019–20 Edmonton Oil Kings WHL 64 25 51 76 23 — — — — — 2021–22 Mount Royal Cougars CWUAA 20 15 23 38 8 5 1 1 2 0 2022–23 Mount Royal Cougars CWUAA 27 20 29 49 24 3 3 1 4 4 2022–23 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 23 3 0 3 4 — — — — — 2023–24 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 12 1 0 1 4 — — — — — 2023–24 Toledo Walleye ECHL 50 25 27 52 24 14 10 8 18 8 2024–25 KooKoo Liiga 55 15 17 32 66 4 0 0 0 2 2025–26 Lada Togliatti KHL 68 23 22 45 10 — — — — —Liiga totals 55 15 17 32 66 4 0 0 0 2KHL totals 68 23 22 45 10 — — — — —