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AAA Midget and City Midget in Central Plains. They made the decision to import another goaltender and he lost his opportunity to play. His choice was to take the year off and train with a coach or play at a very low level of hockey and not do anything to improve. He chose to spend the year training. Fact is, if he’ d played at a low level, he would have picked up bad habits and never have been heard from again.”
At the time, the tall, chubby goaltender decided to get into shape and learn to play the game at a higher level. A typical week during the 2016-17 season was not a typical week for any other Canadian kid hoping to make something out of hockey.
Three times a week, he’ d get up at 5 a. m. and go to boxing training with former U of M and minor pro goalie Brent Zelenewich. His mom, Michelle, was his partner in the ring. As a result, Cole lost 30 pounds and“ got faster and better.”
Five days a week, he would go to school at St. Paul’ s and then head straight to the IceLab at the Bell MTS Iceplex and work out for an hour with former UND and minor pro goalie Andy Kollar. He also met once a week with a nutritionist and then once a week he would partake in sport specific yoga for hockey goalies. He also worked out at home and his dad said, not only did he go from 255 to 225 pounds, he got faster, quicker and more flexible.
“ Cole is faster than ever now,” said Tim.“ During the summer, he was being recruited, not only by Yale, but also by Pursuit of Excellence and Shawnigan. A lot of credit goes to Andy and his
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COLE MUYS STARTED
PLAYING WHEN HE WAS
EIGHT YEARS OLD
other coach Eli Wilson who worked with Cole over the season. In fact, one of the reasons Cole chose Yale is because it’ s in Abbotsford and Eli lives in Abbotsford.”
Cole has never been your average hockey player. He wasn’ t one of those kids who laced on the blades at three and started Timbits at four.
“ I started playing when I was eight-years-old,” he explained.“ During the 2009 NHL playoffs my family was watching more intently than usual. Soon after the playoffs were over I switched from soccer to hockey. My brother and I had bodies that were clearly better suited for hockey than soccer.
“ I’ ve always loved hockey, but I have been through some tough moments in my game: Mostly getting
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cut from a team or having a couple of bad games.
After a great year in AAA Bantam with Central Plains I had a really negative experience during midget tryouts in the fall. Before tryouts even began, I was contemplating taking a year off to focus on training. The way tryouts unfolded made my decision an easy one and actually made me want to work even harder. Eli Wilson had already been in touch with me before tryouts which also made it an easy decision. I know for sure that I wouldn’ t be where I am today if I played my first year in midget.”
For Muys, taking that year off was the right decision. Now, he has an opportunity to get something back from a game he’ s worked so hard to become a part of.
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“ Yeah, I’ d like to take my game as far as I can,” Cole said.“ It would be a tremendous experience to be able to play at the pro level, but in the meantime, my plan is to play this year at Yale and then go on to play in the WHL or Junior A. Hopefully I’ ll work hard enough and play well enough to get drafted to a pro team.”
Through all of his ups and downs – and all those big decisions – his parents, Tim and Michelle, have been right by his side.
“ My parents have always kept hockey fun for me,” he said.“ My dad has always known where the best camps have been and they’ ve never spared any expense or time to help me go further. I owe it all to them.” ❍
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124 | GAME ON | NOVEMBER 2017 |