Ferland leaves pro hockey, joins WCHA
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/08/2021 (1498 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The National Hockey League’s loss will be the Western Canada Hockey Academy’s gain as Micheal Ferland announced Thursday he is retiring from professional hockey to join the new school as an instructor.
Ferland, 29, played 357 regular season and playoff games in the NHL in a pro career that spanned from 2013 to 2020. He was unable to suit up in the 2020-21 season due to recurring concussion issues.
“I wanted to be close to home here,” Ferland said. “I’m still recovering from my injuries so I want to stick somewhere close to the hockey rink. I thought it would be good to help the kids out. I thought it would be fun.”
Ferland is the third Brandonite to leave professional hockey this summer, joining his fellow WCHA instructor Ty Lewis and longtime NHLer Matt Calvert.
It’s not a huge shock that Ferland’s next job will have him helping youngsters. He has been a common sight at Wheat Kings hockey schools throughout his junior and pro career.
It’s something he enjoys.
“It’s watching the kids want to learn and get better,” Ferland said. “They have a great coaching staff over there with Chevy (Craig Anderson, and also Dave Lewis). It wasn’t hard. It’s always fun watching kids enjoy what they’re doing.”
In the NHL, Ferland scored 63 goals with 77 assists and 255 penalty minutes in the regular season and playoffs.
His finest NHL season came in 2017-18 when he scored 21 goals and added 20 assists for the Calgary Flames.
He played his second-last game on Aug. 2, 2020 against the Minnesota Wild as a member of the Vancouver Canucks, and fought Marcus Foligno. He played two minutes against the Wild two nights later, but the damage had been done.
“Going into my last two NHL games, I got a concussion both games,” Ferland said. “Playing my style of hockey, I wanted to see where I was at physically. Going into the Minnesota game, the last game I played, when I fought Foligno, I put everything I had into that last chance. I came in the best shape, the best I’ve ever felt, and I knew after I got a concussion in that fight in that game that was it for me.
“No more head contact, no more trauma to the head. I need to let myself recover and rest.”
Ferland is feeling “really good” right now, which is a relief. But he noted recovering from head injuries has become an increasingly lengthy process each time.
“These last two concussions I’ve actually taken up to a year to resolve, but I am feeling better now,” Ferland said. “I haven’t skated, so I haven’t been on the ice since I’ve been hurt so I’m looking forward to starting to skate and getting back into skating shape.”
With all the time off, Ferland has had a chance to reflect on his situation. That’s another reason he has decided the WMCA, which will officially start up this fall, is a good fit.
“I like to keep busy,” Ferland said. “It’s a new chapter in my life and I have to figure out what I want to do next. I have a few different options I’m kind of leaning towards. It’s definitely a weird transition, but I have my wife and two kids so they make it a lot easier.”
A big part of his decision is also the ability to be home every night with his wife Kayleigh, and his daughters Brynlee and Brooklyn.
“After this last year, I actually had the chance to watch my youngest grow up a bit more,” Ferland said. “I was gone a lot more on the road with my oldest, so it’s been nice being able to be around my family. I’m grateful for them and love coming home.”
He was born in Swan River but moved to Brandon at age two and started skating at age six. Ferland received his earliest set of equipment from an older cousin, who was the first to play in the family, and started playing at age eight.
His mother Dianne supported his hockey dreams, but when the fees became too much, KidSport and the Manitoba Metis Federation also pitched in financially when they could, along with the parents of teammates.
“There are a lot of people who have helped me out and they know who they are,” Ferland said. “I’m grateful for all those people who helped me out for sure. Without their help, I wouldn’t have got where I am.”
Ferland made the under-18 Wheat Kings program when he was 15, contributing 20 points in 40 games as a rookie and then exploding for 45 goals and 40 assists in 44 games a year later on a team that included another future NHLer, Joel Edmundson.
He graduated to the major junior Wheat Kings in the 2009-10 season, just in time for Brandon to host the Memorial Cup.
He was selected by the Calgary Flames in the fifth round of the 2010 draft. In the 2011-12 season, he led the Wheat Kings in goals with 47 on a squad that included Mark Stone and Ryan Pulock, who also went to fine NHL careers.
Ferland started his overage season in 2012-13 in pro hockey, was sent back to Brandon, and after four games, Ferland was dispatched to Saskatoon on Jan. 10, 2013 for a 2013 first-round WHL draft pick as the Blades loaded up for the 2013 Memorial Cup.
He looks back at his time with the Wheat Kings fondly.
“That was unbelievable, some of the best times of my life were playing for the Wheat Kings,” Ferland said. “I played some of the best hockey of my life. It definitely means a lot to me and always will.”
In 215 regular season WHL games with the Wheat Kings and Blades, Ferland contributed 88 goals, 123 assists and 301 penalty minutes, with 16 more points in 33 playoff games.
Ferland made his NHL debut on Oct. 31, 2014 against the Nashville Predators, and scored his first NHL goal on March 29, 2015, also against the Predators.
After three full seasons with Calgary, he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on June 23, 2018 with Dougie Hamilton and prospect Adam Fox for defenceman Noah Hanifin and forward Elias Lindholm. He spent a year with Carolina, signing as a free agent with Vancouver on July 10, 2019.
“It goes by way too fast,” Ferland said of his pro career. “It’s just the blink of an eye and it’s my whole career. I can’t believe how fast it felt like it went. I think I lost a few years from the style of hockey I played, and maybe I didn’t realize that early on. I think with the type of personality I’ve got, that’s just the way I played.”
Still, Ferland can’t imagine doing it in another way. The six-foot-one, 217-pound forward always played a physical game, and even he doubts it could have gone any differently.
“I would probably go out and do the exact same thing I did and play the same way,” Ferland said. “Play hard.”
His next chapter begins in mid-September when he joins the WCHA staff. While it will be a good thing for him, he thinks the impact of the new academy and arena on the city’s south side will be a lot larger.
“I’m very excited,” Ferland said. “I’m really looking forward to getting going. I’m not sure how it’s all going to be operated, but I’m looking forward to the arena and the hockey academy. I think it’s going to be good for the city.”
» pbergson@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @PerryBergson