Bisons men's hockey keeping busy both on and off the ice
 
During team Zoom meetings during late summer and fall last year, head coach Mike Sirant introduced his team to some interesting guests that included New York Islanders bench boss Barry Trotz – whose coaching career began over three decades ago with the Bisons – and also Winnipeg Jets assistant coach Jamie Kompon to lend their expertise.

 "The talks involved insight into what they're doing with their team, and what makes certain players so good at what they do, such as their work habits and personality traits," reflected Sirant. "It would be some technical and some tactical info but also just some good stories about players that would serve as motivation and inspiration for our players. Coach Trotz and Coach Kompon really emphasized things like what makes a good person and what makes a good player. It was a really good combination of things that were motivational and inspirational for our guys to help get them excited about playing again when that time came."

Sirant also took some time for himself in the summer for professional development through the National Hockey League Coaches Association and shared some of his own experiences with the Australian Ice Hockey Association.

"It's summertime right now in Australia, so they run national team programs for their under 18 and under 15 groups. They couldn't do that in person this year, so they did it virtually. They did a really good job with a lot of presenters from Australia, the United States and Canada. I did a couple of presentations for them and I also sat in on as a participant for several of the presentations."

Fitness-wise, the team did online training with Cole Scheller, the lead strength and conditioning coach for the Bisons. Sirant also got the group on the Nike run app to keep up with their cardio.

"We set targets for each week that guys would have to go out and run or bike so many minutes per week. And I was involved with that, so the guys could see what I was doing, too."

Back on the ice
When classes resumed, the team got together in the gym and on the ice three times a week.

"It was it was outstanding. Although we knew we weren't playing any league games, we were still optimistic that by the second half, we would be able to play schedule some exhibition games in places that would be safe. Obviously now that that has materialized. But although we didn't have any games in the immediate future, we were having some great practices," commented Sirant.

"I was really impressed with the attitude of our players, really. They just tried to stay positive and showed a lot of resiliency to our situation. They were having some really productive, really efficient and really enjoyable training sessions in the gym and on the ice where we were really focusing on individual development. That took us through to November."

Throughout the process, Sirant and his staff received consistent feedback from the roster in terms of what they wanted the on-ice sessions to look like. Key areas of focus included competitiveness, individual skill development and team development.

"When we were going three times a week, one day was more team oriented where we do a lot of tempo, pace and drills. The other day we would work on individual skills or we would do small stations and just work on the fine details of the game. And then then the third day on the Friday, we'd do a competition day where the guys just played a variety of small ice games. But, you know, our players, it's not fun games. It's fun because it's competitive, so there was a real focus and a real intensity."

Leadership and community outreach
Manitoba's roster includes 17 first or second-year players, and therefore Sirant decided not to name a captain or assistant captains. Instead, a leadership group of seven or eight players was selected.

"I'll consult with them regularly and really involve them in the decision-making process, so they get a lot of input in terms of, everything surrounding our program here," he says.

"Obviously, the coaching staff will make final decisions, but we really respect and count on the input from our leadership group. They're all very intelligent, enthusiastic guys who are really passionate about our program, really care about their teammates and always look at providing input and making decisions that are in the best interests of the whole team and not themselves or small select groups."

Included in the leadership group were forwards Keaton Jameson and Geordie Keane, each of whom has been with the team for numerous seasons. Jameson helped coordinate the team's annual Christmas hamper drive, while Keane was the men's hockey lead for the blood drive for Canadian Blood Services (organized by the men's basketball team). The roster also took an active role in spreading awareness for Bell Let's Talk Day and did spectacularly in their fall classes.

"That was one way that we kept connected with each other," noted Sirant of the group's outreach.

"I was really pleased that we were able to continue with our annual Christmas hamper drive, because we felt with this pandemic, more than ever there would be people needing that support and that assistance. Our players and staff, we put together, I think it was a hamper for ten families and delivered them, so I was really proud of our guys' effort there. Our vision of our program is to be leaders and play championship caliber hockey, but it's also to pursue excellence in academics and community service. And that's just a big part of who we are."

Looking ahead - new recruits
Eight new recruits were integrated into the program as well, all of whom have a lion's share of experience on the ice, as well as leadership off of it.

On the blue line, Sirant addressed a void following the graduation of captain Adam Henry and assistant captain Sean Christensen. Entering the fold are WHL veterans Reece Harsch from the Winnipeg Ice, Samuel Stewart of the Edmonton Oil Kings and Chase Hartje from the Moose Jaw Warriors.

The 6'4", 201-pound Harsch is a 22-year-old native of Grande Prairie, Alberta. He has six years of WHL experience, including last year with the Ice where he was an assistant captain, logging 26 points. Stewart, a 6'0", 180-pound Winnipeg native has played over 160 games at the WHL level. Most of his career was spent with the Tri City Americans, where he was a leader and showed strong skating and puck-moving ability in transition. Hartje is a 5'11", 172-pound native of Minnesota who's spent time with the Warriors, Winnipeg Ice and Brandon Wheat Kings.

"All three players bring a really strong pedigree to our program, and experience playing at an elite level," added Sirant. "They are really good guys and good teammates who can all play. They're all skilled, have a really good understanding of the game and are all reliable defensively and up front."

Sirant also added four players at forward in Hayden Ostir (245 career WHL games), Linden Mccorrister (173 WHL games), Alec Malo and Noah Basarab.

"Hayden is from the Swift Current Broncos and brings a great skill-set, while Linden is a transfer student from the University of Regina who prior to that played several seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings. He was their assistant captain in his final year of eligibility," noted Sirant.

"Alec's commitment marks the first time we've had a player from Quebec on our team. He's from Laval and played major junior with the Gatineau Olympiques, but he played last year with the Flin Flon Bombers in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. We knew that if he could spend the winter in Flin Flon, that he could handle a Manitoba winter. Noah is an experienced player from Gimli who played last season with Johnstown of the North American Hockey League. It's an outstanding recruiting class."

In net, Manitoba added Liam Hughes, who was spectacular for the Ice in 2019-20. The 6'3" goalie finished the season with a 21-11 record, along with a .914 save percentage and three shutouts. He joins second-year Jeremy Link between the posts, as Riley Lamb and Tyler Brown are no longer on the roster.

"Goaltending was a priority and we were really excited to get Liam Hughes from the Ice. He was the team's number one goalie and one of their most valuable players," says Sirant.

"The time that he's been with us, he's shown how good of a goaltender he is. He's outstanding and really competes hard. He's a really great addition along with Jeremy Link, who's returning."

The reopening of the high performance training centre last month has given the team the chance to re-focus while also setting expectations heading into the spring.

"We'll start off with small group workouts in the gym and also look at ways that we can maybe do individual training on the ice, which then we hope will lead to small group training on the ice to at least get us back to where we were in the fall before code red put everything on hold," mentioned Sirant.

"We've already informed the guys that to make up for the lost training time this year, we're going to keep training as a team on the ice until the end of April. Typically our season is done in early to mid-March, but we're going to go the extra six to seven weeks right to the end of April. Our players are in school anyways. Of course, we will have flexibility during exam time. They'll be obviously permitted to miss the training, but we'll try to try and keep the guys together as much as we can."