Fifth-year men's hockey captain Adam Henry has had a rather exhaustive list of destinations during his career, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

Originally taken in the Western Hockey League (WHL) draft by Lethbridge, the defenceman played five games as a 15-year-old in 2009-10. He then played five games as a 16-year-old before heading back to the Winnipeg Thrashers, a local AAA midget team.

The following season Henry made Lethbridge's roster, recording 21 points in 60 contests. He was primed for a breakout year in 2012-13, which was also his draft year, but an unfortunate injury resulted in him missing half the season. The following year he got traded to Seattle, where he stayed until 2014-15, when he was shipped to Saskatoon and then Portland.

Instead of being run down by all the movement, Henry saw the positives.

First off, the trade to Portland resulted in a deep playoff run, where the squad made it all the way to the conference final before losing to Kelowna. Henry was impactful all the way through, with 18 points in 31 regular season games, as well as 15 points in 17 playoff tilts.

Through his entire WHL career, the well-rounded blue-liner played in 239 regular season contests, with 115 points.

"Honestly it was awesome. I got to meet four different groups of guys, I got to play in three different divisions, so I got to see a lot of parts of the league. It was good life experience," he says of his time in the WHL.

"Playing in the States Division is an absolute blast. Arguably the best rivalry in that league is Seattle and Portland and I got to play on Seattle and Portland and when I was on Portland we played Seattle in the first round of the playoffs and we beat them in six games. It was pretty cool. I got to kind of do it all."

After spending an immense amount of time away from home, it was an easy decision for Henry to play his university hockey for the Manitoba Bisons starting in 2015-16.

"For me, probably because I played on four different teams it made it easier for me to want to come back home. I also had a girlfriend back here and I don't think she would've been interested in me agreeing to go somewhere for five years. I talked to a few different schools, but I just really wanted to home come and I like Winnipeg. It was pretty much a no brainer once [head coach] Mike [Sirant] reached out. I was all in."

Henry played in all 28 regular season games as a rookie, tallying 14 points en route to being named to the Canada West and U SPORTS All-Rookie teams. His abilities as a power play quarterback were an asset right from the jump.

"I guess I got kind of lucky when I came in that first year. There wasn't really a power play guy and that was something that I had done most of my career in the WHL. It was an easy fit for getting those minutes and I think from there things just worked out well.

Being at home I just enjoyed playing here and through some hard work I've been able to keep my position and tried my best not to give any reason to move me down in the lineup."

It didn't take long for Henry to assume a leadership role with the Bisons, being given an 'A' starting in his second season in 2016-17 where he notched 15 points in 26 regular season games.

It was also during that year that assistant coach Ryan Bonni joined the program. A stay at home, gritty defenceman when he played, he helped the offensive minded Henry develop his all-around game.

The offence certainly hasn't evaporated though, as Henry was named a Canada West All-Star in 2017-18 after finishing second among all defenceman with 25 points. In his career he has now tallied 79 points in 116 regular season contests.

"[Bonni's] outlook on the game was different than mine was, and to learn from him how to play the game has actually opened things up. It's the oldest cliché. Good defence leads to offence and that actually is true. If you're forcing the issue all the time, it's not there. But if you take care of your own end first and play good defence then you have the puck more and have the opportunity to make more plays."

Not only is Henry — who was also a member of Team Canada's bronze medal squad at the 2019 Winter Universiade in Russia — excelling on the ice, he's also a stalwart in the classroom. He's in the process of finishing off his degree in the world class Asper School of Business with the hopes of getting into finance after graduation.

"The big thing in Asper is group projects," he says.

"You're working with people all the time and I think [as Bisons athletes], we have a huge advantage because we play on a hockey team. I'm used to working with people, that's what I've always done. It seems like a bit of a drag sometimes having to work in groups, but the reality of it is if you want to make money in business, you've got to work with people. That's part of the reality of it."