Business Bronco nets degree before heading to training camp with NHL’s LA Kings
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—For as long as he can remember, Grant Slukynsky has loved hockey.
“My dad played, and there are pictures of me at 9 months old where I have skates on and my parents are holding me up,” he says. “As soon as I could start walking, I was skating.”
Now, after winning a national championship with Western Michigan University’s hockey team and signing a professional deal with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, he’s ready to take his career to the next level.
Best of all, achieving his hockey dreams hasn’t put the student-athlete’s academic career on ice. Slukynsky officially nets a bachelor’s degree in finance at Western’s summer commencement on Saturday, June 27.
“That was always the goal,” he says. “I like to finish things I start, so it’s nice to be able to finish up my degree before my pro career really gets going.”
Putting up numbers
In just two years with the Broncos, Slukynsky racked up 20 goals and 56 assists. The Bronco co-captain’s prolific performance on the ice goes hand in hand with his finance major and fascination with the stock market: Both involve putting significant numbers up on the board.
“I’ve always liked numbers and got into the stock market because of its competitive nature and computing and figuring things out,” he says. “I feel like finance is a solid degree to have where it’s pretty well-rounded and gives me the flexibility to go into a multitude of different fields.”
A two-time National Collegiate Hockey Conference Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and recently recognized College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree, Slukynsky has translated his intensity on the ice to the classroom.
“Despite the intense travel demands of WMU’s incredible hockey season, he stayed ahead of schedule and not only submitted high-quality work on time but often worked ahead, completing his Bloomberg Market Concepts certification before many of his peers,” said Dr. Matthew Ross, associate professor of finance, during Slukynsky’s national championship hockey run. “His time management and commitment to academics are truly outstanding.”
One of Slukynsky’s favorite classes at Western challenged him to create a mock portfolio during his final spring semester, monitoring the stocks he chose and watching them change in real time with the markets.
“Getting that hands-on experience in class was really great,” he says.
Empowered to succeed
While the demands of being a Division I student-athlete can be daunting, Slukynsky says the faculty and staff at Western helped him stay on track.
“It boiled down to time management: taking care of schoolwork on Sundays, doing as much as I could, attending every class I was able to and really communicating with my professors,” he says. “When you go into college, it can be overwhelming thinking about it all. But at Western, we have so much help around us and so many resources. It’s not easy, but it’s absolutely possible to be successful both in the classroom and on the ice or whatever your sport may be.”
Slukynsky credits Ross and other finance faculty members—including Dr. Bolortuya Enkhtaivan, Dr. Edward Kim and Dr. Tim Scheu—for challenging him and helping him to make the most of his experience.
“They all had different teaching styles, but they did a great job of making everything we learned feel as real and applicable as possible,” he says. “They were also really easy to communicate and work with, and I’m just really grateful.”
In addition to coursework, Slukynsky also built his professional playbook through Broncos EmPOWERed, a holistic program for student-athletes that focuses on professional and leadership development, financial education, community service and personal brand management.
“Anyone I talk to, I tell them Western is the best place in the country to go, both academically and athletically,” he says. “What I love about Western is the people there just care so much about you as a person—obviously as an athlete, too, but the person comes first. I grew so much, both as a person in my maturity and definitely my game on the ice. I wouldn’t be a pro if I didn’t attend Western Michigan.”
From Western to West Coast
Slukynsky and his brother, Hampton, didn’t waste any time making the transition from college to pro; after signing with the LA Kings in April, they went straight to Ontario, California, to play for the Kings’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Ontario Reign. Next up is Kings training camp in September.
“The people in the LA Kings organization are fantastic, and getting that first taste of being pro was great,” Slukynsky says. “I’m excited for what’s to come.”
Still, he’ll miss his teammates and members of Bronco Nation who became family—including the fiercest fan section in all of college hockey, the Lawson Lunatics.
“The Lunatics are the best in the country, I can say it hands down. In the summer, I would be training or skating with guys from different schools who we played, and they would all tell me Lawson is the toughest place to play in the country, and we were the hardest team to play against.”
Outside of the intimidating environment of Lawson Ice Arena, Slukynsky says the welcoming atmosphere across campus is hard to beat.
“Obviously, I’ll remember the national championship—that was really great—but I’ll also miss how close-knit everyone at Western is and how they treat people,” he says. “I loved every second at Western Michigan University, and I’ll be rooting for the athletic teams and the school departments to do as well as possible. I’m forever a Bronco.”
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