WHL NOTEBOOK: Muir earns his keep with Ice

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This article was published 23/03/2022 (1452 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ask Winnipeg Ice head coach James Patrick about overage forward Cole Muir, and Patrick’s face lights up with a wide smile.

It quickly becomes apparent why.

“He is the best teammate I could ever imagine or I think I’ve ever seen,” said Patrick, who played 1,280 games in the National Hockey League. “He’s so popular off the ice, so popular on the ice. He’s versatile, he can play first-line left wing, he can play fourth-line centre, he can kill penalties, he can be net front on the power play.

“He’s as respectful and humble a young kid as I’ve ever met. He brightens up the room. He is loved by his teammates, coaches and management like no other kid just because of how he carries himself and treats people.”

On the high-flying Ice, Muir has carved out a niche with his hard work.

The six-foot-three, 205-pound forward, who turned 21 on Valentine’s Day, is a product of Vista, a tiny community located 133 kilometres northwest of Brandon.

With 36 goals and 54 assists in 264 career games spread over five seasons — plus a one-game callup during the 2016-17 season — Muir isn’t the high-scoring overager many teams keep. Instead, he’s quietly carved out a niche as an utterly indispensable force on one of the best major junior teams in Canada.

A big part of that is his willingness to sacrifice offence for defence.

“I love playing the D zone,” Muir said. “It’s a 200-foot game for me. Being able to defend is crucial, especially in close games or important games. As long as we’re playing defence, those O-zone chances will come, but defence is always first for me.”

He has shown terrific offensive ability in the past, so that’s certainly a game he can play.

Muir came up in the Yellowhead Chiefs system, scoring 37 goals and adding 39 assists in just 35 under-15 AAA games in his draft year. His season was good enough that he was selected by the Regina Pats in the second round of the 2016 Western Hockey League bantam draft, going 33rd overall.

In his 15-year-old season in 2016-17, Muir jumped to the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League, scoring 16 goals and adding 16 assists in 40 regular season games on a Chiefs team that also included Brandon Wheat Kings defenceman Chad Nychuk.

After playing 12 games with the Pats in the 2017-18 season, Regina sent him and a package of players and picks to the Kootenay Ice for defenceman Cale Fleury on Nov. 13, 2017.

He was actually one of three young Westman players dealt by the Pats in a year, with Brandon forward Tristen Robins sent to the Saskatoon Blades on Jan. 9, 2018, and Foxwarren defenceman Dawson Barteaux shipped to the Red Deer Rebels on Jan. 10, 2017.

Barteaux and Muir later reunited with the Ice when he was acquired at the 2020 trade deadline prior to the season being cancelled in March.

Muir quickly realized when he arrived in the WHL that he had to find a way to make an impression.

“Coming into the Western Hockey League, there are hundreds of players who are pretty similar in their skill level,” Muir said. “You have to pick and choose your role almost, and making sure of defence is key, because I feel some guys don’t as much. I feel that’s one area I’ve strived in during this Western Hockey League experience.”

Muir spent a season and a half with the Ice in Kootenay prior to team being moved to Winnipeg for the 2019-20 season. He said he’s actually enjoyed all of his WHL stops, but it is nice to be back in Manitoba.

“It’s been awesome,” Muir said. “I started in Regina and wasn’t too far. In Cranbrook, it was nice there, everything was beautiful, countryside, team, everything. Moving to Winnipeg was awesome as well, just being close to home again and seeing my parents even more than I usually would.”

Earlier in his career, Kootenay would only make a trip or two to Brandon all season, so it was always marked on his calendar. While a trip to Winnipeg isn’t that daunting, Muir said the appeal of coming to Brandon hasn’t changed.

“It’s still special,” Muir said. “Seeing the friends and family that don’t get to Winnipeg as often is nice. Especially when we were out in Kootenay, I hardly saw anybody so it was nice to see them once in a while.”

While it might sound counterintuitive, one of the attractions in Brandon is Nychuk, who is also in his overage season. The two battle against each other during the season — and keep in touch all winter — but in the summer have lived together in Brandon so that they could train alongside one another.

“We had an apartment together for a few summers,” Nychuk said after Winnipeg’s 5-0 victory over Brandon on Saturday. “We grew up together, we played every year together. He’s one of my best friends. It’s pretty cool playing against him, but at the same time it would have been nice to beat him.”

Muir agrees.

“It’s exciting as always playing against Chad,” Muir said. “We’ve been playing together and against each other since we were five and six years old. It’s pretty special to end off on that. Hopefully, we can have some laughs about it in the future.”

It’s those laughs that are a big part of why Muir is so valued by the Ice. While Muir isn’t the most vocal player on his team, Patrick said the 21-year-old forward finds a way to keep the atmosphere light.

“Amongst his teammates, he’s really funny,” Patrick said. “At pre-game meals, at meals on the road, he’s always the centre of attention and holding court and the guys are always laughing. That’s what I think of him. I can’t say enough about what he means to the team.”

Muir considers himself to be part of the team’s leadership, but is quick to add it’s a big group. He said he does what he can to be a positive influence.

“I think I’m there for the quieter guys,” Muir said. “Everyone knows they can come talk to me whenever, on ice related or off ice related. I more or less lead by example, body language and the small things like that.”

In the top heavy WHL this season, the Ice have emerged as one of the league heavyweights, along with teams such as the Edmonton Oil Kings, Red Deer Rebels, Everett Silvertips, Kamloops Blazers and Portland Winterhawks.

With the final push to the playoffs now on as teams play their final dozen games, Muir is looking for a lot more in his final junior season.

“I think we could win the WHL for sure,” Muir said. “We have a highly talented team, a highly offensive team and a really good defensive team. I think with the way we’re going right now, if we can continue this way we’ve been playing lately, we shouldn’t have a problem.”

Muir hasn’t made any decision on his plans for the future, instead focusing on the hockey that lies ahead. But he said using the league’s scholarship plan and attending school is a legitimate option.

It’s been quite a journey for Muir, whose Ice teams finished 19th and 21st in the 22-team league prior to the move to Winnipeg.

Now he’s a key member of a strong contender as an overager.

“It means a lot to me,” Muir said. “I started out with this team when I was 16 and seeing it come all this way is something special. Being a part of it means the world to me.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

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