Andrew adjusting well in Winkler

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This article was published 05/11/2020 (1975 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s been familiar territory but a different jersey for Tanner Andrew this Manitoba Junior Hockey League season.

With nearly three years of experience playing for his hometown team, the Virden Oil Capitals, Andrew thought it was time to shake things up.

“I thought it’d be good for me as a person to grow and not be so close to home. It’s been really awesome here the first couple months, I’m really enjoying it here,” Andrew said.

During the offseason, the Virden product requested a trade to somewhere farther from home for his senior Junior A season. The Winkler Flyers were more than happy to scoop him up.

“He’s one of those guys that when he gets the puck, he’s actually faster with it then he is without it,” said Flyers head coach Kelvin Cech.

“He’s just got another gear and he’s able to skate down the ice and make plays that make other people around him better … The biggest thing is he’s got that extra gear, which is really hard to teach.”

The five-foot-nine, 170-pound forward has been a key part of the Flyers’ offence this season. While the team has a 3-5-0-0 record, Andrew has already contributed eight points — four goals and four assists, so far.

The 20-year-old has steadily been growing his game since entering the MJHL in his 17-year-old season. That year, he split his time between the U18 AAA Southwest Cougars and Virden, playing 15 games and notching three points for the Junior A club.

A year later he joined the Oil Caps full time, contributing 27 points in 57 games.

The forward built off that momentum last season and more than doubled his production, netting 25 goals and 30 assists over a 47-game period.

With it being his senior season in the MJHL, Andrew hopes to have a hand in helping out the younger players on the team. He admitted coming into a new situation isn’t always easy, but the Flyers staff, players and his billet family have made him feel more than welcome.

Teammates like Trent Sambrook and Jordan Chudley — the latter, on loan from the Western Hockey League’s Spokane Chiefs — have been welcome faces for Andrew, who played with both during his Southwest days.

If you ask Cech, he’ll say Andrew’s addition to the team fits like a glove.

“He just brings a level of professionalism,” Cech said. “He works so hard, he knows what he’s doing. He’s such a good example for all the guys and has the skill to go with it.”

Even though Andrew lives in Winkler now, he still gets to visit home quite often.

This year, the MJHL introduced divisions to the league: Northwest, Interior and Southeast. To avoid too much travel amidst the COVID-19 pandemic this season, teams within the same division play each other eight times. Every team outside of their division will only be played twice.

With Virden and Winkler both in the Interior Division, there’s plenty of opportunity for Andrew to go head-to-head against his former team.

Although a lot can change with it still being so early into the regular season, Virden is currently atop the league standings with a 7-0-1-0 record.

“Going back to Virden for that first game was a pretty weird feeling, just going on the ice for warm-up and not being on the same side that I’ve been on for two years. Especially playing against my brother (Hunter) too, who’s on the other team. It was a pretty cool experience, a bit tough but pretty cool to do it.”

Andrew played alongside his younger brother, Hunter, last season on the Oil Caps. The 2002-born player and Andrew also suited up together for a year on the Cougars. This season is the first time they’ve ever played against each other.

“We lined up against each other in a couple of faceoffs, it was pretty weird,” Andrew said.

For now, the Junior A veteran is enjoying the luxuries that come with being a Winkler Flyer. The forward said the team’s facilities — like the gym, locker room and lounge — are like nothing he’s ever seen. On top of the on-ice practice, he’s been enjoying the video sessions his team has been working on.

The experience of living away from home will come in handy for Andrew, who’s off to New York state next year to play NCAA Division I hockey for the Rochester Institute of Technology.

He’ll be in good company, heading there with Deloraine’s Grady Hobbs, the team captain for the Dauphin Kings.

The pair were supposed to be playing for the school this year, but about two months before they were set to head down, they got a call from their two college coaches.

With COVID-19 cases soaring throughout New York, the coaches recommended Andrew and Hobbs stay in Manitoba and exhaust their final year of Junior A eligibility before making the trip down south.

This season, Andrew has a few personal goals he wants to tackle.

“Getting my shot better, for sure. Shooting is one of the bigger things, just being not as big of a guy, so definitely playing with more grit as well,” he said. “Also being hard to play against on both ends of the ice.”

The 20-year-old has been playing hockey for well over a decade and looks forward to all the years ahead.

“It’s just pure enjoyment,” Andrew said. “Scoring goals is obviously very fun, but just meeting all your friends and the lifelong lessons you learn, there’s nothing better than it.”

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