First-year men's hockey head coach Gordon Burnett is no stranger to building a winning program. In 2019-20, he was appointed head coach of the MHJL's Winnipeg Blues, leading the team to the playoffs. 
 
And while their final result was successful, the Blues started the year 1-6 and only won four games in the first two months of the year. Nonetheless, Burnett trusted his process and it worked. The team won 13 games from December onward to reach the post-season. 
 
Now starting from scratch once more at Manitoba, the veteran coach with over a decade of experience at a variety of levels sees parallels between the Herd and his time with the Blues.
 
"I was just saying this the other day. We lost a bunch of games at the start of the season, and then we started to get better after that. The way we did it was just teaching every day. Right now it's just about what do we need to work on, and what happened yesterday that needs improvement that we can try and teach them today? What happened in the game that we can teach them today? What's going to happen next weekend that we need to teach them today," he says. 
 
"Right now it's just about teaching. That's all it was with the Blues. By the end of the year, the teams that were beating us at the start of the year, we're making the playoffs and they're not."
 
The Burnett-coached Bisons – who begin their season at home tonight at 7 pm against Saskatchewan – will have a heavy focus on structure. 
 
"The game is chaotic by nature. All we're trying to do is create some organization to the chaotic game. Can we execute when we have the puck and are all five guys or six guys in the d-zone on the same page? Some teams have offensive structure, some teams have defensive structure. Here we're going to have both. We need to have a plan in what we're going to do."
 
With top-scoring forwards Devon Skoleski and Brett Davis now playing pro, the leadership group for 2022-23 consists of captain Jonny Hooker, along with alternates Dylan Thiessen and Colton Veloso. 
 
Thiessen and Veloso combined for 32 points a year ago, and as the lone fifth-years, they bring over 150 games of U SPORTS experience to a roster that includes nine rookies. Hooker dons the 'C' as a sophomore, after previously being the captain for Prince George in the WHL. He had ten points a season ago. 
 
Top six forward Hayden Ostir, who had three multi-goal games in the back half of 2022-23, will also be looked upon for production. He had ten goals and 19 points a year ago, while offensive defenceman Chase Hartje and shut-down blue-liner Ryan Gottfried will anchor the top line on defence.
 
Of the new additions at forward, one of the most intriguing is former OCN Blizzard captain Riley Zimmerman, who will be a critical piece for the team's bottom six. At 5'11" and 208 pounds, his size creates problems on both ends of the ice. 
 
 "He's been really good. He's impressed a lot," said Burnett of Zimmerman. 
 
"He works hard, he's got a really good shot. It's very heavy. He's a mature kid, a pleasure to have around and talk to. He played four years [in OCN]. That says a lot about you. And he was the captain. I'm glad we brought him in."
 
In net, Ross Hawryluk, who made 738 saves a year ago, returns as does Simon Harkness. Kolby Thorton (6'1", 180) transfers from the Lloydminster Bobcats and will also be in the mix for playing time.