Murray ready for new chapter with Vikes

Madden Murray won’t have to put up with the cold weather in the north for a while.

The 20-year-old product of Dauphin is headed west after committing to the University of Victoria Vikes for the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League’s 2026-27 season, which begins in the fall.

“We just had a big snowfall here, so I’m excited to never see snow for the next four years,” Murray joked on Friday. “I’m just super excited to be able to continue playing and still be a part of that locker room feel while I get an education at the same time.

“You can golf year-round there too, so I’m pumped about that. Excited to never pick up a shovel.”

Murray’s commitment to the Vikes came together rather quickly after he was approached by the club’s head coach and general manager Alec Dillon after Christmas.

He said after their conversation it just felt right.

“I talked to the coach and he kind of briefed over everything with me, how the program’s run and it really seemed like a pretty good opportunity for me and I just decided it was gonna be the right spot,” said Murray.

Murray, who’s racked up more than 80 points during his last three seasons with his hometown Dauphin Kings in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, also got some insider information on what the day-to-day scenes are like from fellow Dauphiner Garrett Hrechka, a 23-year-old forward who’s spent the past three years with Victoria. Hrechka also played with the Kings for three seasons from 2020-2023, which is exactly when Murray broke onto the scene.

“I was texting him about it and he had all these good things to say, so I just decided it was a beautiful place to live and it seemed like the right place to play too,” Murray said.

Murray has never been to Victoria before, but he plans to check it out at least once during the summertime before making the move over in the fall under the bachelor of commerce program. And once he does, he’ll be ready to get on the right footing with his new teammates, who he hopes to eventually call friends for life.

“These are gonna be some of my best friends that I’m gonna make within the next four years, I can imagine, so just don’t make any bad impressions,” he said. “Just to kind of know your place when you first get there, and just get a feel for everybody right off the bat.”

In addition to Hrechka, Murray also briefly knows centre Dario Zitko, who played two games with Dauphin in 2022-23, and has played against Mason Hartley, a forward who was with the Neepawa Titans from 2023 to 2025. Alternate captain Tom Sweeney also played for Neepawa during its Natives era for one season in 2019.

Murray said he’s also pumped to play for a program that’s been as successful as it’s been since the BCIHL assembled in 2006.

Following last year’s 3-0 championship victory over Vancouver Island University, the Vikes have five BCIHL titles to their name — the others being in 2006-07, 2008-09, 2011-12, and 2016-17 — which is tied with Simon Fraser University for the most in league history.

They’ve proven to be consistent contenders having reached the final the last three seasons and Murray can’t wait to be a part of it.

“Victoria’s been at the top of the league for the last couple of years, so hopefully when we get there, we can win a lot of games and go for a little run,” said Murray.

This season Victoria (13-6-1) finished second place in the five-team league comprised of the Logan Lake Miners, Okanagan Lakers, Simon Fraser and Vancouver Island. The Mariners took the top spot in the league with four more wins and proved to be the best time come playoff time after pummelling the Vikes 8-1 in the final.

Murray, a six-foot, 165-pound speedy right winger certainly helps the squad’s chances for next season, though. His skill and vision make him a dangerous playmaker from just about anywhere in the offensive zone and he’s also recently picked up some more versatility after playing in a few more roles in the latter half of this season with Dauphin.

“I was still trying to be more of a skill player, but I also started playing on the penalty kill too and more of like a physical, two-way game and I feel like that’s helped my game a lot,” Murray said.

He believes his expanded tool kit will play a crucial part in his adjustments to post-secondary hockey when the season hits.

“I think it’ll help me a lot,” he said. “I’m going to be one of the younger guys when I’m out there, so I’m going to be playing against guys bigger, stronger, and faster than me, so that two-way game is really going to help me get more minutes and earn more trust in my coach, I think.”

But as much as Murray is looking forward to starting a new chapter in his life, it doesn’t make closing the last one any easier.

He’ll miss all the friends he’s made during his time in the MJHL with the Kings, but he still knows goodbye doesn’t mean forever.

“It was tough to say goodbye, but our entire team was so tight that a lot of these guys I’ll still talk to until the day I die. Lots of guys live within like a four hour radius of each other, so we’re still gonna get some time to see each other.”

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com