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At the end of August late in the evening, men's hockey head coach Gordon Burnett received an unexpected call that shifted the layout of his roster in a positive way. That call was from Regina, Saskatchewan native Blake Swetlikoff, who'd come off a year playing pro in the ECHL with Idaho.
 
The 22-year-old forward's relationship with Burnett – also a Regina native – went way back to the former's teenage years, and on an August night, way late in the recruiting cycle, he elected to run it back with his former Canada Winter Games coach.
 
It's not often you get a request from a seasoned pro and WHL veteran of 233 games to join your roster less than a month before school starts, but rest assured, the call was music to Burnett's ears.
 
"I was lucky I was still up," laughed Manitoba's bench boss.
 
"I was actually in bed but my phone was one vibrate and I heard it. We just felt real fortunate to have a player like Blake decide that he wanted to come to school and develop his game at the U SPORTS level and get a first class education. Now we feel fortunate that he's here and contributing to the program the way he has."
 
Swetlikoff had always kept in touch with Burnett, and they were in talks after his final year of eligibility in the WHL with Kamloops in 2023-24. When he decided school was his best option for the fall, Manitoba just made sense.
 
"Gord has been talking to me basically since I was 15 years old when he coached me at the Canada Winter Games, so I've known him for a long time.Throughout my junior career I saw him over the summers and we always kept in touch. When I was trying to decide what my best option was going to be I was in quite a few talks with him, even throughout my time in the ECHL we were in touch," said Swetlikoff.
 
"When I did decide that school was going to be my best option, it was pretty last minute but I knew that I could trust Gord, and that I had a solid relationship with him. I'm very thankful for that. Had it not been the U of M I'm not sure what my U SPORTS time would look like or where it would be, just having to build those new relationships. To have Gord and his trust has been fantastic."


 
'He worked his way up the lineup'
Swetlikoff was the 12^th and final recruit in Manitoba's class of 2025. And despite his late arrival, he fit in seamlessly with the roster, in part because Burnett knew exactly what he was getting in the former assistant captain for Spokane and Lethbridge.
 
When Burnett was scouting players to be on Team Saskatchewan for the Canada Winter Games, Swetlikoff was high on his list. His playing style and consistency has remained at a high level from his teenage years forward.
 
"I liked his maturity within the game, his responsibility that he had during the play and I felt that he would fit in to what we were trying to do," Burnett said.
 
"As we went through the process I just got to know and like him more. Where we projected him to fit into our lineup completely changed after game one. We thought he'd kill some penalties, be a checking, third line responsible forward, but by the end of the game he was on our first line."
 
Not only was Swetlikoff on the first line, he also contributed to the game-winning goal against Alberta in game one in overtime. It was an enormous upset for a Sask squad that was projected to finish tenth, compared to an Alberta unit that was favoured to medal.
 
"We win a faceoff, we go down and score [in overtime]. Blake made a play on the blue line to [NHL First Round Draft Pick] Nolan [Allan] who goes and scores and we beat Alberta," recalled Burnett. "He worked his way up the lineup in one game just with his responsibility on the ice."
 
Swetlikoff's responsible play, and maturity from his pro and WHL experience, has made an immediate difference for Manitoba.
 
He recorded an assist on the Herd's first goal of the season against Regina, helping the program begin the year 2-0 for the first time under third-year head coach Burnett. Last Saturday against perennial powerhouse Calgary, Manitoba scored four goals, the most the Dinos have conceded in a game all year, with Swetlikoff playing a key role five-on-five and on special teams.
 
"First and foremost he's playing in every situation. Those are big holes that needed to be filled. We're happy that he's able to handle those kinds of minutes and that kind of responsibility," said Burnett.
 
"The next part of it for me is the way he prepares and approaches training for our games, and our on ice training. When you take care of those two things, your game should be a little bit easier for you. When you're in the condition he's in, and how he prepares, I think it helps. Those are the biggest things I've noticed right away. He can contribute in all areas, and just by how he approaches life and our program and our game, it rubs off on guys who want to be where he's already been for one season, and where he's going to go back to."
 
"I take a lot of pride in being a responsible player," added the centre.
 
"I'm not overly flashy. I do like to make plays and create offence, but I'm someone that can be relied upon in tight games and tight moments. I want to be the guy that can be trusted upon to be put out there. Defensive, offensive I don't really focus on one area more than another. It's taking pride in doing things the right way so that you know what's expected."