Duncalfe reignited with Vikings

Daylan Duncalfe was about as close as one could get to hanging up the skates for good.

The 17-year-old centre and alternate captain of the Vincent Massey Vikings hockey team was ready to move on from the sport in his Grade 10 year after he lost his love for the game while in Brandon’s minor hockey league system, but he found his saving grace.

“I didn’t really want to play hockey anymore, so my plan was to just golf and focus on that for the winter, but then the (Vikings) manager reached out and just said to come to a couple of skates to see if they could change my mind,” said Duncalfe.

And they did exactly that, as Vikings manager Blake Stephens, head coach Brent Blaine, and even the high school’s veteran players welcomed him with open arms and once again gave him something to look forward to on the ice. After that, he never looked back.

Despite playing against older and faster players than he was used to while on the Wheat Kings U15 AA squads, Duncalfe still managed to put up 11 goals and 22 points in a bottom-six role during his first season with the Vikings. Knowing he could still produce offensively in a more physically demanding environment gave him tons of confidence, which he was able to carry over into his second season last year, when he racked up 29 tucks and 31 assists for 60 points in just 48 games.

Duncalfe’s point totals were a tremendous part of his team’s record-breaking success, which saw Massey eclipse a ridiculous 32-0 mark in the Westman High School Hockey League regular season before eventually capturing the league title in the post-season after topping the Dauphin Clippers in the final.

“It was definitely just a huge confidence thing and playing with great guys,” Duncalfe said. “I mean, we had a pretty deep team, so I was playing with great guys all year.

“It was just an amazing team, from line one to four last year, we were just so strong and didn’t really have any week ends, which I think was the biggest part. A lot of high school teams have some really strong players, but their bottom half is not as strong, whereas we were kind of just a really balanced group, and I think that was the difference.”

The ironic part is that Duncalfe admitted he wasn’t sure if they were going to have that great of a year heading into last season, considering the number of player movements they had with some guys going to U18 instead of playing high school. He couldn’t have been more wrong, but his team still came up short in the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association provincial championships, when the Springfield Sabres and River East Kodiaks played spoiler to knock the Vikings out of the picture.

“That was definitely disappointing last year,” he said. “I know that there are some strong teams in provincials, but going in ranked first and losing the first couple of games was definitely tough.”

Now, heading into this season with an undoubtedly less skilled group after graduating more than 12 of its players last year, the Vikings still have their sights set on finishing what they couldn’t last year: getting that provincial title.

“Obviously, there’s some talk in the room about provincials just because of last year,” Duncalfe said. “It’s early into the season, obviously, but that’s where we want to be.

“Me and the guys, like the other leadership guys, just talked about it. We’re going to try and do as well as we can all year because I think we know that we’re not as strong skill-wise as last year and years before, so the biggest thing is going to be staying consistent and just communication.”

Duncalfe admitted he and the veterans on the team may feel a bit of pressure to match the high expectations set this year, but that they are focused on whichever team they have to play next. That will be the Birtle/Shoal Lake/Rossburn Falcons, who the Vikings visit tonight after sweeping a home-and-home series last week against the Crocus Plainsmen by a combined score of 18-2.

“I think we’re just going to try and get better all year, but I think everyone in the room can definitely feel expectation,” said Duncalfe, who recorded five points in his first two games of the season. “I think it’s good because it’s going to push everyone to get better and should help us along with the year.”

And win or lose, Duncalfe is just happy he loves the game as much as he did when he started, and that’s something he doesn’t take for granted.

“I’m thankful for that because we have awesome coaches, the manager’s great, and you just meet so many people, and I think that’s the best part about it,” he said.

“A lot of the people around our team are great people, and you kind of keep these connections for the rest of your life, which is super important. I’m still talking to guys that I played with in my Grade 10 year, so that’s definitely something I’ll take away. It just helped me fall in love with the game again.”

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com