It was a busy off-season and pre-season for Bisons men's hockey.
 
Second-year head coach Gordon Burnett – hired in June of 2023 – had a full year to build and develop this year's squad, addressing multiple areas in recruiting.
 
Throughout his travels across the country, Burnett secured the commitment of ten talented student-athletes, all of whom have WHL experience. Their addition, along with a number of key returning student-athletes, created a roster with a breadth of talent, experience and skill.
 
"We were the lowest scoring team in the country last year. We feel like we've addressed some of those needs in our recruiting. We're excited about how that looked in the pre-season. Now it needs to translate to Canada West, which is a lot different in how games are coached and played in the pre-season compared to the regular season," said Burnett.
 
"We have players who can finish plays and put the puck in the net. Experience is important, especially at this level coming from junior. We'll see how it plays out, but we do know they have the ability to score. We want to put them in good positions that should give them the ability to use their assets."
 
Included in this year's recruiting class are forwards Eric Alarie (Moose Jaw Warriors and Seattle Thunderbirds, plus the ECHL's Adirondack Thunder), Skyler Bruce (Winnipeg Ice, Vancouver Giants, Edmonton Oil Kings), Caden Zaplitny (Everett Silvertips), Dawson Pasternak (Victoria Royals, Brandon Wheat Kings), Riley Stotts (Calgary Hitmen, Calgary Dinos), Grady Lane (Victoria Royals) and Mitchell Joss (Saskatchewan Huskies transfer, redshirt).
 
On defence, the Bisons signed Dexter Whittle (Everett Silvertips) and Ben Bonni (Spokane Chiefs) and in net Braden Holt joins the fold (Victoria Royals, Everett Silvertips).
 
Notably, Alarie scored 79 goals dating back to 2019-20, while Pasternak scored 72 points in 62 games last year for the Royals, and was named Team MVP. Meanwhile, Bruce scored at least 15 goals in three different WHL seasons.
 
Additionally, Stotts – a natural centre who was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs – recorded 27 points for the Dinos at the U SPORTS level a season ago, and has 80 points over three university campaigns.
 
In net, Holt joins a talented group of returnees Ross Hawryluk and Kolby Thornton.
 
Holt, a Montana native, won 72 games at the WHL level, while Hawryluk and Thornton combined for 1,073 saves in 2023-24.
 
Overall, nine of the ten recruits for this season are from Manitoba.
 
"We feel fortunate to have been able to attract some high quality players and people. Our focus was to try and bring home Winnipeg guys and Manitoba guys that were playing elsewhere in the country, and fill other positions where we couldn't accomplish that," said Burnett.
 
"One of our goals was scoring, and the other was goaltending. Those were pretty clear areas that needed to be addressed in recruiting."
 
Returning players at forward include captain Jonny Hooker, assistant captain Jackson Arpin and Hayden Ostir. Hooker led the team in goals last season, with 12 and points, with 23, while Arpin and Ostir combined for six goals and 18 points.
 
On defence, offensively gifted Parker Malchuk tallied eight points in 2023-24, and he's joined by a physical, experienced group on the blue line that also includes the likes of Evan Toth and Kian Calder.
 
For Hooker, this will be his second season donning the 'C' in his third year of eligibility. He has 33 points in 52 games for the Herd.
 
"I appreciate that he just shows up and does his job every day. He takes care of things that the coaches don't have to worry about. That helps to set a good example," said Burnett of Hooker.
 
"The players respect him immensely. He comes from a level and pedigree of the highest level of hockey that we recruit from. He has that respect because he was a captain at that level as well. Guys have no problem understanding that he has that experience, and he wants to do his job, and take care of himself as well as his academics."
 
Arpin will don the 'A' for the first time for Manitoba. The 6'2" Rainy River, Ontario native played in all 28 games in his rookie campaign, and was previously an assistant captain in the MJHL for Winkler.
 
"Jackson came in in terrific shape. His development as a hockey player has been exceptional from when I got here to today," added Burnett.
 
"He's a mature man who's very articulate. He's also taking on a challenging course load and he's managed all those things at a very high level. He embodies what we're trying to do, and project out there. We feel like he was a guy that stood ahead of some others."
 
A busy pre-season saw Manitoba compete in ten games against Canadian and American competition. Stotts and Bruce developed immediate chemistry on Manitoba's top line, including four goals in their first two games.
 
"We have a number of new players this year. The plan was to play as many exhibition games as we could to try and get the new players up to speed in the way we play as quickly as possible," said Burnett.
"There was a little bit of a method to the madness. We feel like every game out we got better, as far as the new guys gelling with the guys who have been here for a while. We're really happy with our progress."
 
Manitoba kicks off the regular season tonight at 8 pm CT against Alberta. Catch the action live on canadawest.tv.