Tetrault looking to step behind the bench

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This article was published 08/03/2016 (3746 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dan Tetrault’s days on the ice as a professional hockey player may be over, but he hopes there are lots more to come at the rink.

The 36-year-old product of La Broquerie, who patrolled the blue-line from 1995 to 2000 for the Brandon Wheat Kings, is in a transition season after a 15-year professional career spent in five different leagues with 10 different teams in which he played more than 900 games.

“I retired in September,” Tetrault said. “I thought about playing again this season, but I couldn’t find anything and it was time to move on. I did radio for the Rapid City Rush where I played last year. That was a lot of fun, but I want to pursue my career in coaching. My dream has always been to coach at the pro or junior level. I’m talking to a lot of people right now and sending out my resumé.

“Hopefully someone comes calling.”

After calling it quits, Tetrault, who is divorced and has no children, stayed in Rapid City, S.D., where his girlfriend Shelle lives. He admits he was kind of at loose ends until he received a call from his longtime friend Ed Dyck, who manages the Boissevain Border Kings of the Tiger Hills Hockey League.

Since Tetrault had agreed to coach the defending Allan Cup champion South East Prairie Thunder in Steinbach, the move to Boissevain made a lot of sense.

“I found it tough because I wasn’t sure if I was going to play again,” Tetrault said. “It was a hit to the system not playing. I was doing radio and building fences for a buddy of mine down there. Eddie gave me the opportunity to come and play in Boissevain and I did. With the Allan Cup in Steinbach, it was a perfect scenario. I’m back playing and happy doing that, but hopefully I get a call for a coaching opportunity.”

He’s hoping to land a job in time for the start of next season.

Tetrault joined the Wheat Kings in 1995-96 as a 16-year-old defenceman. He played all 72 regular season games that season, contributing six goals, 13 assists and 91 penalty minutes on a blue-line that included fellow 16-year-old Burke Henry, as well as Justin Kurtz, Wade Redden, Sven Butenschon, Andrei Lupandin, Gerhard Unterluggauer and Derek Holland.

“It was a great time,” Tetrault said. “We had a lot of great teams in my five years, but especially the year we won. It was my rookie year. We had such a great team. We had four good lines, six good D and two great goalies. We were almost unbeatable. That was probably one of my most fun years. I didn’t miss a game that year, and it came out to 99 with exhibition, playoffs and Memorial Cup.

“It was probably one of the better years of my life.”

A year later, he was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the fourth round of the National Hockey League draft, but a major injury in his third season in Brandon limited him to just 16 games.

More injury issues would follow in his final two seasons as a Wheat King, restricting him to 57 and 31 games.

“I went through some injuries later in my junior career and had some personal issues going on off the ice, so those were tougher years for me,” Tetrault said. “It made me a better person in the long run and it built some character.

“I have to thank Bobby Brown and Kelly Smart for bringing me to Austin, Texas, for my first year of pro. They really took me under their wing and showed me what pro hockey is all about. I worked hard all the time and I had a long career, 15 years, and it gave me that passion for the game.”

In the world of minor pro hockey, where management will ask players if they know anyone who can play, Tetrault began his pro career with the two former Wheat Kings as a member of the Austin Ice Bats. He played two seasons there, also getting a taste of the American Hockey League with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

After winning a Western Hockey League title in his first season, he admits that he thought the championships would be a regular occurrence.

It didn’t work out that way. Tetrault finally won the Ray Miron President’s Cup championship with the Allen Americans in the 2013-14 Central Hockey League season.

“I had made it to the finals twice previously with Austin when I was with Browny and Smart and then when I was with the Wichita Thunder,” Tetrault said. “I was the captain of that team, but we lost to the Fort Wayne Comets in the final. It was my third go at it and we beat the Denver Cutthroats in the Central League final. It’s the only ring I’ve got, and it’s a nice one.”

Tetrault continued to play at a high level, being named the most outstanding defenceman in his league twice, in the Central Hockey League in 2001-02 and in the International Hockey League in 2008-09.

He wore either an A or a C on his jersey for much of his career.

He credits former Wheat Kings head coach Bob Lowes and his experience in Brandon for teaching him how to work hard.

“We worked our tails off,” Tetrault said of his Wheat Kings days. “Every day in practice and in games we were probably the hardest working team on the ice. We had a lot of character. Other teams didn’t want to play against us. We made it tough on the opponent.”

Over the years Tetrault has continued to follow the team on the Internet. He attended an alumni event held in conjunction with the Memorial Cup in 2010 and saw a number of his former teammates. He remains close with Smart and Brown and now chats with his Prairie Fire assistant coach Kurtz on a semi-regular basis.

Tetrault is happy with what the game has given him.

“I never made it to the NHL, but I was close,” he said. “I went to three training camps, but it just didn’t pan out. I still enjoyed a nice 15-year career so I can’t complain. I met a lot of people along the way and made a lot of friends.”

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