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Brantford is recognized around the world for being the birthplace of the ‘The Great One,’ and visitors immersed in the field of athletics know Brantford as the ‘Tournament Capital of Ontario.’ Brantford welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, particularly for sports due to our large number of tournaments and some of our larger hosting responsibilities, such as the 2017 Ontario ParaSport Games and the upcoming 2021 Ontario 55+ Winter Games. It’s a great place to play sports and develop your skills, and Paul Szczechura, a professional hockey player from Brantford, can certainly attest to that.
Szczechura, 33, is one of the City of Brantford’s 2019 Tourism Ambassadors. He was raised in Brantford and grew up playing minor hockey within the city. He continued his game with the Brantford Golden Eagles in the Junior B league while he attended North Park Collegiate High School. He was awarded a full hockey scholarship to Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he studied and played for four years and graduated with a Bachelors degree in Marketing. “My friend and former teammate from Brantford, Daryl Moore, was finishing his first year at Western Michigan and highly recommend I accept a scholarship offer from that University. This was a big decision for me, and having another Brantford boy there with me made the transition easier,” Szczechura explained.
After accomplishing his academic goals, Szczechura went on to play five seasons in North America between Iowa Stars (AHL), Norfolk Admirals (AHL), Rochester Americans (AHL), Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL), and the Buffalo Sabres (NHL). He then decided to take his game overseas to Russia and has spent the last seven seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Dinamo Riga, Dinamo Minsk, and Traktor Chelyabinsk. He is currently going into his fourth season with Traktor Chelyabinsk.
Szczechura has been playing hockey professionally for the last twelve years, and some of his proudest accomplishments include: MWJBHL League MVP, MWJBHL Scoring Champion receiving a full athletic scholarship, NARCh Champion, Playing in the NHL and scoring his first NHL goal, KHL Nadezdha Cup Champion, and playing in the KHL All Star game. He has led a very fulfilling, successful career and it all started here in Brantford:
“I grew up playing hockey with my friends on competitive teams. I excelled and took advantage of the opportunities that came with that success. Brantford is a big hockey city, and receives a lot of attention because of Wayne Gretzky and other successful players from the area. So, I, like most kids in the city, was always hoping to follow in those footsteps,” Szczechura said.
“Growing up [in Brantford], the place I spent the most time was the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre. Most of my training and games were in that facility. But, as every hockey lover knows, the best place to play is an outside rink. Thankfully, many locals volunteered to build and maintain outdoor rinks throughout the winter, and my friends and I always made good use of those.”
A pillar in the sport community, the Wayne Gretzky Sports Center welcomes over a million visitors annually and registers program attendance over the 300,000 mark. The biggest hockey tournament that the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre hosts is the Wayne Gretzky International Hockey Tournament that takes place annually in the days following Christmas leading up to the New Year. Local players like Szczechura grew up playing in this four-day tournament, but it also welcomes teams as far as Finland. In 2018, 304 games were played by 127 teams across 12 rinks in 7 facilities. With 2,286 players, along with their family and friends visiting Brantford, this tournament has always been impactful in driving tourism to our accommodations, restaurants, shopping centres, and other attractions. The estimated economic impact of this tournament alone in Brantford is over $800,000.
Szczechura lives in Russia with his wife, Sandra, and their two-year-old son. When he’s not playing hockey, Szczechura likes to donate his time and resources to both children and animal organizations overseas in the city he plays in. In Chelyabinsk, he hosts an annual outdoor game for neighborhood kids vs. Traktor players, and he and his wife like to visit and donate to the children’s hospital throughout the season.
Szczechura spends 8-9 months a year travelling and says there is always a sense of relief when he finally gets to come home: “Brantford will always be home to me. My mom still lives in town. My brother, who plays professional hockey in Poland, spends his off-season here. Most importantly, my large core group of friends live here and are raising their families in Brantford. It’s a big city, with a small town feel and, after a long season overseas, that feeling is exactly what I want to come home to.”
Brantford is proud to be the hometown of hardworking athletes like Paul Szczechura. When asked what piece of advice he has for young kids in Brantford with big goals, Szczechura replied, “the grass is not always greener somewhere else. Brantford has a lot of resources and programs to help you reach your goals, as long as you use them efficiently.”
Keep up-to-date with Paul and his family by following them on Instagram.
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