Cougars prepare for new challenge
It’s a nervous excitement, like a child starting classes in a brand-new school.
But once they step onto the ice in a meaningful Canada West hockey game, the Mount Royal University men’s squad will have to toss the nerves aside and focus on one thing: continuing to put a quality program out there.
And if winning comes along with it, that’s just dandy.
“It’s true we often talk about the character of our program and make sure it stays intact,” said Jean Laforest, head coach of the Cougars’ team that makes the transition from the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference to CIS hockey.
“Obviously we were a strong program in the ACAC and we have the components to be strong in CIS. I’m not sure what the statistical outcome is going to be; I’m not sure where we stand. I know we were competitive in the pre-season, but how that translates into the regular season … that’s still unknown.”
The Cougars enter into this new fellowship with a reputation for excellence. They’ve won the ACAC title twice in the past seven seasons and last year (22-1-3) finished their residence with a bronze medal. But taking in the entire picture — on-ice as well as off — this is a brand new kettle of fish for MRU.
“We fly to Winnipeg, we fly to Vancouver … even the logistics of a road trip is totally different,” agreed Laforest. “The amount of organization that goes into it … drastically different. The venues we play in are larger than the ones we traditionally played in. The cities, they’re all major centres in Western Canada. It’s a whole different environment from where we were.
“We’re very fortunate we have some close geographic rivalries with Lethbridge, the U of C, the U of A … it is exciting. We’re writing a new chapter, forging new rivalries. And secondly, it’s all novel, it’s all new. It’s the unknown of where you fit into the conference. We knew in the ACAC where we fit in and now we’re trying to establish exactly our position within a new conference.”
The Cougars couldn’t have asked for a greater challenge. Canada West houses some of the best programs in the country, including perennially top-10 ranked Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the defending conference champ and season-opening opponent Friday and Saturday at Flames Community Arenas. Add to the mix a tough Calgary squad and you have a recipe for great fun every weekend. But Laforest insists it isn’t about this year, or even next year. It’s about the process of becoming like those other institutions; a school where players will want to come.
“For some players,” he began, “because there isn’t a history in CIS, they look at the program and they say ‘ah, I’d rather go to a program that has a long-standing history’ and you don’t have to go far in Alberta: U of A, U of S, strongly entrenched programs, U of C, and as we move forward we’ll be able to recruit stronger and stronger classes as our worth as a program builds.
“It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. The long-term benefits and long-term growth is what we’re envisioning. For us, I don’t want frustration to creep in because we’re not winning 20-plus games a year like we have in the past and that’s something that’s new to our student-athletes that are making the transition with us.”
Recruitment began in earnest this past off-season as Laforest added 10 newcomers to his roster. Included in that list are Matthew Brown and Devin Gannon, both from the Cowichan Capitals of the BCHL. Add to that captain Kevin Knopp and fellow forward Eric Galbraith for leadership, as well as the goaltending duo of Justin Cote and Dalyn Flette, and the Cougars are starting off on the right foot.