Gudnasons reunite in Neepawa

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This article was published 12/11/2020 (1819 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A little bit of friendly competition doesn’t hurt anybody —just ask Cody and Rylan Gudnason.

The brothers from Killarney have had a fun Manitoba Junior Hockey League season so far, pushing each other on and off the ice as teammates for the Neepawa Natives.

“It’s definitely a big step up from AAA last year. Just more chance for development, with being on the ice everyday, it makes a difference,” Cody said. “I think I’ve had a pretty strong start to my season, I feel like I’m fitting in well. I think I’m really picking up on things that I wouldn’t have last year.”

At 17, it’s Cody’s first season at the Junior A level. With 12 teams across the province, he was surprised — but happy — when he got the news he’d be suiting up with his brother for the foreseeable future.

Rylan joined the MJHL last year, for his 18-year-old season. The forward was originally protected by the Swan Valley Stampeders, but decided to spend the 2018-19 campaign with the Southwest Cougars instead. At the time, the team was a major contender for the Manitoba AAA U18 Hockey League championship. In the end, the Cougars bowed out in the semifinals.

While Rylan wasn’t able to clinch a championship with the team, playing out his veteran year of U18 meant one year with Cody at that level.

Soon after the 2018-19 season ended, some changes in Swan Valley coaching staff and roster shake-ups led Rylan to call Neepawa head coach and general manager Ken Pearson. By that point, Cody had already been drafted to the Natives and Pearson was more than happy to have Rylan come join the team.

“It’s been good, playing with him in midget was fun. Fun to have him here now though, makes it easier on the family coming to watch and I think he’s really stepped up and made a good jump to the junior level,” Rylan said. “It’s nice having him around here, fun to be back with him.”

But of course, it wouldn’t be brotherly love if the duo didn’t have a little bit of chirping when it comes to their on-ice performance.

“It’s all about who’s getting more points, who’s doing this and who’s doing that, that’s always fun,” Rylan said.

“My goal this year, might be a stretch, but I’d definitely like to put up more points than (Rylan),” Cody said. “It’d be a good memory to have … years down the road I could always just say, ‘well I had more points my first year.’”

The Gudnasons aren’t the only brothers suiting up for Neepawa this year as Cameron and Cooper Morris — 18-year-old twins from Anchorage, Alaska — are back for their second season.

In Rylan’s rookie season with the Natives, he registered 11 goals and ten assists in 51 games. The 19-year-old is on track to beat that pace this year, with five goals and one assist in just nine games.

While Cody is still searching for his first MJHL goal, the six-foot-one, 161-pound forward is on the board with an assist.

“We definitely have a much stronger team all-around this year. From what I’ve heard the guys are a lot closer in the locker room,” Cody said. “We’ve had a couple of tough starts to games throughout the season so far, but other than that I think we’ve been decent in the last few periods of every game … I think we got a really solid group this year, so it should be fun hockey to watch.”

Speaking from experience, Rylan agrees. While the team has a 2-6-2-0 record and has gotten off to a much rougher start than planned, the six-foot-two, 194-pound forward is hopeful his team can turn things around.

He noted the positive energy Pearson has injected into the locker room, as well as the positive vibes a lot of the newer players are bringing to the team this year — those changes, Rylan said, are things he thinks will positively impact the squad in the long run.

The league is headed into a one-month break starting today, because of the provincial government’s decision earlier this week to shift the all of Manitoba to code red on the COVID-19 pandemic response scale.

The regulations limit people to only leaving their households for essential services, with no social gatherings or sporting events allowed.

The Natives have remained diligent in their fight against COVID-19, ensuring their social bubbles have stayed small throughout the season.

Last weekend, they were one of four teams allowed to play games.

“We’ve been taking all the precautions necessary to keep on playing. We’re super cautious of keeping in our little bubble. We can only go to the rinks, the kids that are in school can go to school and guys that are working in town can go to work or be at your billet house,” Rylan said.

“There’s not much else, we’re not out doing anything, we don’t want to jeopardize what’s going on here or all the hard work that been put into following those protocols and setting everything up.”

The Gudnasons are grateful for the experience of living with different billet families.

“It’s probably a good thing we don’t live together, we see each other enough as it is,” Cody said. “It’s nice to have space from each other, my billets have been really great, so there’s that there’s been no problems for me.”

Cody billets alone, while Rylan is at the same billet family he was last year, paired up with his teammate and close friend Cody Shearer.

Shearer, 19, also played with the brothers during his time with the Southwest Cougars. The three used to carpool to practices together, so reuniting on Neepawa’s bench has been a great experience for all.

“Coming to Neepawa was the best thing that could’ve happened for my hockey career,” Rylan said. “I love the town, love the people, love the billets. The coaches are amazing; Kenny, Robby (Moar), Matt (Lowry), all the coaches and staff here are amazing. It’s a top-quality program.”

The program is something Cody feels thrilled to be a part of. Getting the chance to play out a few years of his Junior A years with his brother has just made it all the more special.

“I think I’m definitely lucky having an older brother who plays at just as high as a level as me,” Cody said. “It’s nice to always go and watch how he’s playing, look at the next level and get a feeling of the years coming up for me.”

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