Game On Magazine 2017 Nov Game On low res | Page 77

THE COACHES
A LEGEND IN THE
B Y J O H N P L O S Z AY
Photos by Bruce Fedyck
T
he River East Royal
Knights hockey club is
his baby. He’s the owner,
President, GM, Head
Coach, Chief Cook and
Bottle Washer and has been a mentor
to thousands of Manitoba hockey
players over the years. This is a bona
fide hockey man and his love for the
Royal Knights has lasted 36 seasons.
In April of 1981, the East Kildonan
Knights of the Manitoba Major Junior
Hockey League folded after nine years
in the league. Upon hearing of the
Knights demise, Bonni approached
Knights President John Haasbeek
and asked him for assistance in
keeping junior hockey alive in East
Kildonan. After some discussion
-- and some persuasion from John's
wife Julie -- he agreed to help.
First they adopted the name River
East instead of East Kildonan because
it better defined the area of the city
and went to work saving junior hockey
in the neighborhood. Then, after
finishing the regular season in fourth
place with a record of 22-20-0, the
Royal Knights went on to capture the
MMJHL Championship in their very
first year in the league. From that
season on, Barry Bonni has been the
face and voice of the Royal Knights.
In a recent interview with one
of his players, Tristan Ezako, the
Royal Knights’ centreman described
Bonni as “old school and very, very
knowledgeable about the game. “
Late last season, Bonni was asked
if it was time to retire, maybe sell
the team and give someone else the
inherent headaches that come from
running a hockey team. Bonni made
it clear he’d be back behind the bench
this season and that’s where Game
On Magazine photographer Bruce
Fedyck found him in early October.
He’s deep into planning for the
season and while he knows that he
has a huge challenge ahead of him
having experienced his first losing
season as a coach in 2016-17, he has
not wavered in his love for the Royal
Knights and the game of hockey.
“Yeah it was the worst season
in my history,” he said. “I’ve been
involved with this team for 36
years and as a coach I went to the
playoffs 25 years in a row. Now
I’m 25-1, and I don’t like that.”
Bonni liked what he had at the
beginning of last season, but then
the wheels fell off when injuries
ravaged the team. It wasn’t pretty.
“Tristan Ezako went down after
being hit from behind, then Michael
Cooper and Jayden Pollock,” said
Bonni. “Then we lost Mike Sabourin
and Thomas Petrick with cracked
ribs, and Lucas Henry with a broken
hand. We were done by Christmas.
But we still had to compete.”
At times Bonni indicated it was
getting to the point where he’d had
enough. But that’s not Barry Bonni.
“There are more and more days
where it starts wearing on you,”
he said. “But I’m here for now. I
might consider selling the team
someday, but I’m here for now.”
And you can bet, as he has been
for 36 years, Barry Bonni will
always bleed the purple of the
River East Royal Knights. ❍
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