Dallas Drysdale was a big part of a lot of hockey teams. In 2009-10, he helped the Dauphin Kings win an MJHL Championship. Fast forward to the 2012-13 season and Dallas helped the Minot State University Beavers win the ACHA National Championship.
To cap things off as a player, he had 10 playoff points for the Grandview Comets in the 2017-18 season as they went on to win the North Central Hockey League title.
Now, the Dauphinite is set to take the next step. Dallas will be an assistant coach this season for the U18 Brandon Wheat Kings.
He joins head coach Curtis Brolund and Travis Mealy as the group that will lead the club.
"I'm really excited about this. I played junior hockey with Curtis and we got along really well," said Drysdale. "I'm excited to see what he can do behind the bench."
"It's really good to be back behind the bench. I didn't coach the last two years, so it's nice," he continued. "It's going to be nice to be able to pass on some knowledge as we try to win some games this year."
When Brandon begins their regular-season late next month, the entire league will be gunning for them. They're the defending Manitoba AAA U18 League Champions. They beat the Winnipeg Wild to win the title last season. With only three players eligible to return from that roster, Dallas knows it'll be tough, but he's up for the challenge.
"I'm sure we're going to be competitive. Brandon always pulls a lot of quality kids," he added. "We'll definitely have some work cut out for us, but I'm sure we'll be able to put a good team together."
Brandon will open up their training camp on September 6 and it runs through September 8. When it does start, Dallas knows exactly what he wants to bring to the team.
"I'm not really focusing on one aspect, I'll be looking at both the forwards and defence," added Drysdale. "My goal is to get the kids to produce every night and battle. What I don't like is when players expect to get lots of ice time just because they're wearing the jersey. That's not the case. I'll push them to get the most out of them at all times."
Brandon begins their title defence on September 28. They're in Brandon for back to back games against Kenora. The first time you can see Dallas in Dauphin is on November 13, when his Wheat Kings take on the Rangers.
"We're definitely going to be leaning on the three kids that were a part of the winning team last year," he concluded. "I don't think the other guys will be feeling a lot of pressure, but we always expect to compete and be up there. It should be an exciting season."
Dallas will also be in town on Sunday, February 9.
