Long road trips are just a part of life for the Flin Flon Bombers.
Last year the Bombers travelled more than an estimated 17,000 kilometers in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. This season will not be much different for the northern team.
“I enjoy the road trips because we are all together as a team and it’s nice to be at the hotel with the boys,” said second-year Bombers forward Chrystopher Collin, who grew up in the Montreal area.
The team just wrapped up playing four games in five days away from the friendly confines of the historic Whitney Forum. The Bombers won three of those games and lost one in a shootout, earning an impressive seven out of a possible eight points. The success on the road vaulted the Bombers into first place in the league with an 8-4-0-2 record.
On the opening game of the trip, a 3-2 shootout loss to Humboldt, head coach Mike Reagan said, “Bus legs were a factor for sure, but that’s part of playing in Flin Flon. We have long bus trips and we need to adjust to that.”
The Bombers certainly did as they won three straight games. Forward Brandson Hein said road trips are a good way to bond with teammates and hang out. The 20-year-old Winnipeg product in his second season with the Bombers said, “Road trips are challenging because of the constant sitting around, but at the same time you can use that to your advantage by staying focused and fixing problems along the way to make you the most successful team for the next game possible.”
The Bombers’ long SJHL road trips are an adjustment for many new players. Billy Klymchuk played in the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League last season. The Winnipeg Thrashers player competed against two teams that were in his hometown. On out of town trips, he said the bus ride was only usually an hour or two unless the team headed to Thompson to face the Norman Northstars.
“The road trips are a lot longer and you are on the road for days at a time,” Klymchuk, a Bombers forward, said of the SJHL road trips. “In midget AAA, the road trips would normally be only one or two games at a time. But with SJHL road trips you could be playing four games on the road in one trip. We are also on the road a lot more than in midget AAA, so that’s definitely something new to me.”
Bombers defenceman Ryder Richmond split last season between the midget AAA Yellowhead Chiefs based in Shoal Lake and the Dauphin Kings of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. He said the SJHL road trips are different from what he experienced in the Manitoba league.
“It’s definitely a mental and physical adjustment going from a three-day road trip with a total of six hours on the bus, to a six-day road trip with a total of approximately 20 hours on the bus, with an arrival time home of 5 am,” the Forrest product said.
The players find ways to stay occupied during the long bus rides. Collin likes watching movies on Netflix. Klymchuk said there is usually a lot of sleeping and card playing. Richmond likes to sleep for the first hour or so and then watch movies, play video games, or talk to his teammates.
“Then, when it comes time to get ready, I put my headphones in and do what I need to do to prepare myself for the game at hand.”
Hein said the SJHL road trips are similar to what he experienced in the WHL’s US division with the Everett Silvertips. The Winnipegger has developed a routine that helps him get ready to play.
“After I get off the bus, I usually drink my coffee while getting loose, stretching, playing sewer ball, then cleaning my visor, taping my stick then having a couple meetings so we’re sharp as a group for the game.”
