With recent contract in hand, and knee harm within the rearview, Jets’ prospect Bauer targeted on turning into WHL champ
Breadcrumb Trail Links
Tyrel Bauer retreats during Winnipeg Jets minicamp at Bell MTS Iceplex in Winnipeg on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. Photo by KEVIN KING /Winnipeg Sun
Article content
Two things happened this past Tuesday to register the day as the most significant thus far in Tyrel Bauer’s young hockey career.
Advertisement 2
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Earlier in the day, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound captain of the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds put pen to paper on a three-year, entry-level contract with the Winnipeg Jets, mere hours before he would have become an unrestricted free agent.
“I got the opportunity and the Jets felt the confidence in me to see me in their system,” Bauer said during a phone interview on Thursday, the eve of Game 1 in Edmonton.
That night, the towering defenceman, who was taken in the sixth round by the Jets at the 2020 NHL Draft, stepped onto the ice in Kamloops and helped his team dispatch the Blazers in Game 7 of the Western Conference Championship series, booking a ticket to the WHL final against the Edmonton Oil Kings with a spot in the Memorial Cup on the line.
Advertisement 3
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
In retrospect, it’s entirely plausible Bauer wasn’t even supposed to be on the very same sheet of ice Tuesday that, back in December, was the backdrop to a devastating knee-on-knee that tore the Cochrane, Alta., native’s MCL.
“At the time, my timeline (for recovery) was putting me out to right about now,” Bauer said. “It was a tough pill to swallow at that time.”
Disappointed he couldn’t play and be on the ice to help lead his team into the second half of the season, Bauer now had a new sport he had to excel at — recovery.
Surgery was needed to repair the ligament, which was severely torn. Bauer negotiated a deal with one of the team’s doctors and Bauer’s orthopedic surgeon, Andrew Merritt.
The terms were simple: if Bauer could earn a medical green light early, it would be given.
“That became the goal,” Bauer said.
Advertisement 4
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Documented in I’m Back — Behind the Scenes of Tyrel Bauer’s Recovery — a 14-minute documentary the Thunderbirds put together during Bauer’s time away from the game — the 20-year-old was permitted to begin skating again in late February.
A month later, the light turned green.
Bauer stepped onto the ice at the Langley Events Centre against the Vancouver Giants on March 25 — six weeks earlier than the initial five-month prognosis he was handed.
“You learn what you’re made of,” Bauer said. “Something like that, it was crushing for me. It was the first (injury) of my career at, what some might say, was a very pivotal time for me. A lot of things were going really well.”
Bauer also learned how to overcome.
“You learn how to battle, you learn how to re-adjust your focus,” he said. “There are a lot of different things that happened throughout the year, and injuries are one of them. You just got to roll with it. So re-adjusting my focus and putting my best foot forward.
Advertisement 5
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“Rehabbing, I had to make that, essentially, my new sport. I was coming to the rink every day to do that instead of playing hockey.”
For those who knew Bauer, seeing him back in the lineup didn’t come as much of a surprise.
“It kind of just leaned toward what we already knew about him — incredible character, incredible work ethic,” Thunderbirds head coach Matt O’Dette said. “Since Day 1 of his recovery, he’s attacked it head-on.”
O’Dette said there was an unwavering determination from Bauer to get back into the lineup.
He witnessed the long hours Bauer put in, going above and beyond what he was being asked to do to try and beat the five-month recovery timeline.
Bauer played the final eight games of the regular season, finishing his truncated year with five goals and five assists in 32 games.
Advertisement 6
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
He’s played each of Seattle’s 18 playoff games to date, contributing four assists so far.
Having committed his future to Winnipeg, and with the knee injury now distant in the rearview mirror, the focus is now solely on the Oil Kings.
Seattle has faced elimination five times in the playoffs so far, emerging victorious in each of those instances, including battling to back-to-back series wins that needed all seven games.
It’s the road to the WHL final that’s hardened Seattle’s resolve as they venture to Rogers Place to face an Edmonton team they have seen since prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s going to be interesting,” Bauer said. “We have our game plan, and I’m sure they have theirs. We’re both in the final for a reason, we’re both really good teams. It’s now a matter of execution and who is willing to battle it out more.”
The Oil Kings come into the series having lost only a single game in the playoffs now, a 12-1 record that included downing the WHL’s top-ranked Winnipeg Ice in five games.
“We know what to do. We have a lot of confidence in this group,” Bauer said. “We’ve dealt with adversity all year, as so many teams do — we’re no exception to that. But we’ve handled it very well. We have a lot of character in this room, a lot of belief in each other, and a lot of love for each other. And we never quit. We’re never out of a fight.”
Twitter: @scottbilleck
Share this article in your social network
Advertisement 1
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300
Thanks for signing up!
Comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.
Comments are closed.