Battlefords North Stars’ forward Rylan Williams approaches hockey like he has observed his parents’ approach with their family farm in Kyle, SK.

With resilience and relentlessness and without excuses.

“I think this summer we picked between 500 and 600 bales of hay on top of our other chores,” he says.

“(I was taught) that you do everything with a purpose, and go with the mindset that even if you don’t want to do something you need to do, you do it anyway, and you do it with pride.”

The Williams family farm, River Bend Acres, works 4,000 acres of lentils, peas, canola, and durum. Rylan’s father, Danny, is an alumnus of the Melfort Mustangs and, with the family, splits his time between agriculture as a production superintendent at an oil company in Kindersley, SK, called Baytex Energy. His mother, Dawn, is a self-employed entrepreneur who helps on the farm.

An incredible work ethic runs deep in his blood.

“I look up to my dad a lot,” Rylan says.

“He gets back from his job and goes straight to the farm, hops on the sprayer, or wherever he needs to, and makes no fuss about it. He’s the hardest-working person I’ve ever met. My parents, to see what they do daily and not ever complain about it, has given me a powerful mindset, and I know I’ve learned so much from them through farming.”

Williams, 19, was picked by La Ronge in the 2020 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League draft out of the Battlefords Stars AAA but was moved to the Junior North Stars soon after completing U18 with Swift Current.

A powerfully built 6-foot-1, 185-pound right winger, he took little time making a significant impact on the SJHL as a rookie a year ago, when he posted 32 points in 44 games and established himself as a physical presence.

With the likes of back-to-back SJHL MVP Kian Bell, as well as 20-plus goal scorers Ben Portner and Brad Blake, among others, Williams had a lot of quality experienced players to learn from and play with and armed with that experience, is expected to be a significant contributor in all areas for the North Stars this campaign.

“I think I just did all the little things as best as I could,” he says, “and just kind of trusted the process.”

“I drove the net all the time and just crashed it hard. I went to the dirty where some players don’t want to go, and I’d get some bounces here and there, and I just felt like I could take advantage of those chances. I’m still that grinder guy who will go into the corners, that big, and power forward. I have more chances on the power play this year, so I have a little more responsibility with that. I’m still on the penalty kill, so there’s a little difference. Other than that, I don’t see my role as different from a year ago.”

Williams and the other Stars veterans have had to deal with a bit of adversity to start this campaign with the departure of head coach and general manager Gary Childerhose. The fact that the Stars have been able to rally to a record of three wins to one overtime loss since that happened in late September is a testament to the leadership group and the mindset inherited from the core that has experienced so much winning in the black and silver the last decade.

“It’s tough,” he says, “and we wish Gary the best.”

“But the guys have been excellent; our leaders like (captain) Jackson Allan and (assistant captain) Jordan Grill have stepped up, as have all the rest of the guys who were here last year. We banded together and ensured everybody was still here mentally and obviously had a job to do, no matter what happened.”

“That’s what I was shocked about,” he adds.

“Everybody still came to work the next day and went after practice like any other.”

Williams’s maturity and focus are evident, like those of Allan (who was profiled in a Canterra Seeds Golden Sheaf piece a year ago), and the desire to maintain the same winning mindset as in past years remains strong.

Those lessons he has learned and continues to learn as a North Star will serve him in great stead when or if he follows in his family’s tradition of tilling the good Saskatchewan earth.

“I have the mindset that I would love to fall back into farming one day,” he says.

“Once I’m done hockey and schooling, I would love to help my dad on the farm and maybe even take over if he ever gives up.”

“Not sure if he’ll ever quit, though,” Rylan chuckles.

Rylan’s sister Kaylee is a talented left winger for the Swift Current Wildcats U18AAA, a serious barrel racer in her spare time, and plays with that same balance of skill and snarl.

Together, they have learned that the secret to success in anything is to fight with everything one has to give.

“My parents have always told me if I was having an issue, just to work harder and have consistently held me accountable,” he says.

“If I ever take shifts off or not go as hard as they know I can, they get on me about that, and so definitely, I’d say my parents have so much to do with the fact that I try to go hard every shift, and from their focus is where the maturity of my game comes from.”