Courtesy: Huskie Athletics

By Wray Morrison

Learning from last season

Brandin Cote is deep in to preparations for 2023-24 season

May 9, 2023 | 1:31 PM

“You like to think it’s a lot of down time…but it’s not.” That’s Brandin Cote’s response when asked what he’s been busy with this off-season. Cote is already busy preparing for his second full season as head coach of the men’s hockey program. The U of S finished in fifth place in the Canada West standings in 2022-23 with a 14-10 and 4 record. The team was one win away from advancing to the USports Championships in Charlottetown in March of 2023, when a February 25^th, 6-1 loss to the Calgary Dinos dashed the hopes of a University Cup appearance.

Saskatchewan had an early 1-0 lead in the third game of that semi-final series, before the Dinos rallied with six unanswered goals. Cote says that was one of a few teachable moments from the 2022-23 season that can be put to good use for the upcoming campaign. “Put the pedal down, stay on the pedal…close things out”, he said. (The Huskies won the opening game of the best-of-three series against Calgary, and the teams were tied 2-2 in the 3^rd period of game two.)

Next season’s returnees will be one year older and garner knowledge from the challenges of last season. Saskatchewan battled injuries and lost two key players (forward Jared Dmytriw and goaltender Roddy Ross) for an extended period time for the FISU Games in Lake Placid, New York. The Huskies won 6 of their first 7 games, before losing 5 of 7 to round out the first half of the season. The team won 6 of its final 14 games, before getting healthy for the playoffs. “We were real close”, said Cote. “It was a great experience because we do have a bit of a younger team.”

Cote believes the Huskies’ special teams and defense were solid last season and says his returnees can make big strides offensively. “Chantz Petruic is in year three. He had a good taste of the playoffs. He’s a guy that is super, super talented that can take it to another level. Justin Ball is another guy who can take another step. Liam Keeler came in as a rookie and did well down the middle with his speed and his tenacity. He’s another guy that’s going to be really important on our offense. There’s a lot of guys there that can take steps offensively that have the ability.”

Not many newcomers commit to a university hockey program by mid-May, but Cote is diligent in selling potential recruits on the benefits of playing at the University of Saskatchewan. “It’s a lot of phone calls, a lot of scouting, and really sort of doing your homework on the people that are available to you. It’s a bit of a waiting game at times too, but we’re really encouraged by where we are at in that process. It takes patience.”

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While skill is important, Cote believes teams need to do more than just score to be successful. “Relentless” is one of the coach’s favourite qualities of a team. “Wave after wave, we go after them”, he said. “We have that already…we want more people that play like that. Nobody outworks The Dogs”!

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wray.morrison@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @wraymorrison