On and off the ice, men's hockey forward Jonny Hooker is a problem solver.
 
In the classroom, he's taken an interest in environmental remediation, which involves the removal of pollutants or reversal of other environmental damage, in an attempt to return something to its natural state.
 
Hooker – an Academic All-Canadian in the Faculty of Environment, Earth and Resources – is particularly passionate about "fixing what we have done through mining, and making it as close to what it was before as possible." He's taking an environmental geology course this semester touching on the subject.
 
Hooker's academic interest relates directly to his love for the outdoors.
 
"I just think it's very interesting. I've always loved nature. In my off time I like to be outside and at the lake fishing, and hiking. It was sort of a natural fit. When I first came to the university I didn't really know what I was going to do, but then I took a couple classes in the earth sciences department and thought this is interesting, so I took a couple more and then a couple more."
 
This past spring, Hooker and his girlfriend took a trip to Canmore, where he happily educated her about rock formations, directly applying what he's learning about in school.
 
"It's funny, now that I know more about the mountain formations and that stuff, I talk about it a lot. I think my girlfriend might be a little tired of me giving her lectures when we're on hikes," he chuckled.
 
"When we went there, I could see the folding and faulting in some of the rock formations, the outcrops are what they're called. I actually have a piece of coal that I brought back from an outcrop. I knew exactly how it formed and where it came from in Alberta and how it came to be there. I learned about it in one of my geology classes. It was cool."
 

'When we're doing well it's all open conversations'
On the ice, the multiple-year captain excels in getting the most from his teammates. He's a trusted leader who others can rely on, and also an excellent communicator.
 
"Every player is different, and every person is different. You have to look at the person and what motivates them and what they need and what they want, and try to satisfy that as much as possible. If all the guys are happy then we'll win more games."
 
Special teams, in particular, requires excellent communication. On the power play specifically, adjusting to what the opposition is doing in real time can make or break the success of the man advantage.
 
Manitoba has done a great job in that area. Led by assistant coach Ryan Bonni, and put into practice by the roster, the Bisons have scored 16 times with the extra skater, tied for the fourth-most in Canada West.
 
Hooker – a key contributor on Manitoba's first power play unit – leads the Bisons with ten goals (one shy of first in the conference), nine of which have come on the power play. That's the second-most in a season in school history, just five shy of the record set in 2005-06 by Paul Deniset. Overall, Hooker has scored 16 goals with the man advantage over the last two campaigns.
 
"When we're really doing well it's all open conversations. We all talk to each other about the power play. It's just strategy back and forth. The game of hockey is very fluid five on five, but when it's passive on the power play it's sort of like chess. The penalty kill does one thing and you have to counteract and talk with your teammates. We're all very open to the conversation and changing things for what's best for the team," he said.
 
"The combination of guys where they're comfortable is really good. My natural position is on my one-timer so I can get quick shots off. [Riley] Stotts on the other side, he really likes to handle the puck and move the puck. He makes great plays from over there. That seals up those two sides. We've had [defenceman Parker] Malchuk and now [forward Dawson] Pasternak on the top of the power play and they're both very comfortable up there and have good shots and are good distributors of the puck. [Forward Eric] Alarie you can't really move him off his spot once he's locked in, and he's made some great plays down low, he's had some awesome passes."
 
Hooker, a student of the game, can happily dissect the different roles on the power play. A versatile force, he's previously manned the bumper spot, and he saved his description of that spot for last.
 
Essentially, the bumper player on the power play is someone who's positioned in the center of the ice, helping to set up shooting and passing lanes for others. It's a thankless position at times, but invaluable.
 
This year, rookie sensation Skyler Bruce (second on the team with 14 points) has manned the bumper on the top power play unit, excelling for the Herd.
 
"Bumper, it's almost the hardest position. I think it is the toughest on the power play. You really have to read where everyone else is on the ice. If you're standing in the middle and that's where the PK guy is, you're sort of ineffective and it's a four-on-four. But that guy in the middle can offer such a different dimension. You look at the best power plays in the NHL and they use that guy a lot," noted Hooker.
 
"Even if he's not getting the puck, he's taking a guy away that thinks he's getting the puck. A lot of times it's a very selfless position. A lot of times you're doing something like lifting a guy's stick or taking a guy away from the play and it opens up Eric, or me. Skyler, he has the puck on a string when he's out there. He's got the skills and the smarts and he makes great passes."
 
With 36 percent of Manitoba's goals coming on the power play, Hooker and company know what they need to improve upon in the second half of the season – scoring five-on-five, while executing for a full 60 minutes.
 
Their mission begins this weekend when the Herd, sitting ten points behind MacEwan for the final playoff spot in Canada West's East Division, welcome Trinity Western to town.
 
"It's just about execution at a high level. You watch the teams that beat us, and they just execute a bit more. The difference isn't large. We just have to bare down on our chances, and score a little bit more five on five for sure. We're sort of on that hump and we just have to get over the hump."