Slowly but surely, the Manitoba U18 AAA hockey season is approaching, and coach Tanner Lewis is excited for what this year could bring for the Southwest Cougars.
Excitement building
Heading into his 4th year behind the bench, Lewis can't wait for things to get things going. "It's always a great time of year. You get to see new kids come into our program, you also get to see a lot of returning guys come back to us, too. You turn the clock from the summer with golf and camping, then go right into hockey, walking right into the rinks. It's an exciting time of year, even when you go from playing to coaching, it's the same feeling. It's like the day before Christmas, we're all just excited to get things going."
Constant communication
Throughout the summer month, Lewis admits no matter what he's doing, he always has at least a couple of thoughts about hockey, and usually bumps into hockey people all over the place. "As the head coach, it never stops throughout the off season. We're always talking as a staff, whether it be when we're out on the golf course, or talking about kids coming in and where they are. Same with the managers, we tend to stay in constant contact. It'll be great to re-connect with the kids again, see what kind of steps they took over the summer, and build some new relationships, too. The new kids coming into our program, we've watched them from afar, but it'll be good to get a personal relationship with them. Looking forward to see what kids are coming to battle for spots, too. Camp is always fun, preseason is always good because there is an intensity to it, and we'll be able to knock down to our team sometime in mid September."
Cougars identity
"First thing's first, we always mention to our kids that we want high compete," Lewis details when talking about what he wants his to to be. "We want kids that come into the camp that take pride in winning their battles, work hard, move their feet, getting in on the forecheck, going to the net, going to the dirty areas, that's all things we pride ourselves on as a Cougars organization. We're a team-first organization, we always have been. We feel that we're a respected organization throughout our league, and in the province. That's something that Grant Moffatt built when he took the program to Souris, and it's something I take a lot of pride in, continuing Moff's legacy with that, especially now that he's gone and it's in new hands. We want to make sure everyone feels welcome in our program, too. No matter if it's the first time you're putting on the jersey, or it's your last year, we want everyone to feel welcome, and we all take a collective responsibility of building that legacy that Grant Moffatt built."
Training camp
With camp approaching, Lewis says he and the staff have put a lot of thought into how it'll run and what they're looking for out of the ice times. "The first day will be, the first half hour will be about getting the guys feet underneath them, getting adjusted to the speed of practice that we run. The second half will be some battle, some compete. We want to see kids how they compete when we're pushing them. We want to make sure our vets are split evenly throughout the teams throughout the weekend, and throughout the battle stuff on Friday, we want to make sure they're instilling the culture into the new guys, and they know what it takes to make our team. We'll do some scrimmages on Saturday, then we'll do a full on inter-squad game on Sunday. We'll cut down to the pre-season roster, we don't really know what we'll look like yet, with some kids still at junior camps, we don't know how quick they'll filter back, if they'll play some pre-season games, or if they'll stick. It's a fluid situation for us. Our staff knows that things can change at the drop of a hat, with kids coming back or hearing news that a kid has made a junior team, which is great. We want to be a development program that sends kids on to the next level as well. That's the whole goal, getting these kids to the next level, so if guys make teams out of camps, that awesome. We feel like our camp will be competitive, we have around 50 kids coming out trying to win one of the 20 spots on the Cougars. It'll be a lot of fun."
Fans welcome
When the players do hit the ice, Lewis would encourage fans and supports to come out and watch. "Skates are free to come check out. We're starting at 7:00 on Friday, and we're runnin' till 5:30 on Sunday. Our U15 team will also have their tryouts, too, so the Cougar umbrella will be filled in the Souris rink all weekend."
Coach style not a worry
Lewis laughs when the topic of possible new suits or polo's he might be wearing while on the bench this year, something he's not too concerned about. "The good thing about the Souris rink is far across and the fans can't see us, or pay attention to us," he says with a laugh. "I got my golf pants, my polo's and my 3/4 zips. Souris rink is cold, so you won't be seeing a suit out of me in Souris."
The rink may be cold, but things are heating up as the 2025-26 campaign inches closer for the Southwest Cougars.