Game On Magazine - April 2017 GameOn-Apr2017-P001-144-ONLINE | Page 82

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
JOEL EDMUNDSON
82 GAME ON
2017 PLAYOFF EDITION
childhood teachings into play, earning him a shot at the NHL.
Although wanting to pave his own path to glory, Steen couldn’t help liv-
ing in the spotlight as a child.
“It was definitely a little bit different for me as a kid,” he said jokingly.
“We’d be going out to my practices and my dad would be signing auto-
graphs for people. But no, I learned a lot of lessons and gained a lot of ex-
perience through his teachings with what he has handed down and been
able to help me out with.”
Although not playing out of the old Winnipeg Arena anymore, Steen’s
hometown Jets still hold a very special place in his heart.
“I remember going to Jets games all the time,” the former Assiniboine
Park Ranger said. “It’s a little different now as it’s obviously a new arena
and a different team. But the vibe and the atmosphere is pretty much the
same. The fans are just as electric as I remember them as a young kid.
You know, Winnipeg is always a fun building to play in.”
And these days, Steen keeps his ties to Winnipeg as an owner of Great
Big Adventure, a 12,000 square foot family entertainment centre that
opened in the city in 2013. He also works very hard to boost the charitable
cause, Kidsport Winnipeg.
Alongside Steen is another Manitoban, 1993-born Joel Edmundson. Ed-
mundson, a defenseman from Brandon, spent his developmental years
watching the Wheat Kings play in his community’s local barn.
“Brandon is a big hockey town,” Edmundson said. “I grew up a huge
Wheat Kings fan, so when I got drafted to the WHL, it was always fun
go-
ing back there to play the Wheaties. Brandon is just your normal
small town of about 50,000 people. But like I said, they love
their hockey and it’s a lot of good people out there.”
Growing up right near the Sportsplex in the north end
of town allowed Edmundson a lot of opportunities recre-
ationally.
“Hockey was all my brother and I ever did,” he reflected.
“When I was three or four I started off on the oval with
just my stick. Whenever we had time there were always
outdoor rinks in every neighbourhood, so we would just
go out there and play some shinny. I’d always fight and
wrestle around with him and the older guys, so I think that’s
where I got my tough side from!”
As a defenseman on a team hoping to find it’s way into the
Stanley Cup Playoffs, that tough side will be need to be on full dis-
play.
And no doubt, he’ll be joined by the Blues toughest hombre, Ryan Reaves,
a guy who logs eight-10 minutes a night under Yeo and makes sure no
one messes with his team’s stars. The 6-foot-1, 230-pound 30-year-old left
winger came out of St. John’s Ravenscourt School and went straight to
the Brandon Wheat Kings before being drafted 156th overall in 2005. He
then earned his spot on the Blues with grit and toughness. He stumbled
recently with Hitchcock behind the bench but has flourished under Yeo.
With just a month left in the regular season, Reaves, Edmundson and
Steen have already shown they can provide the spark so desperately
needed on a team that started well, slumped and has now regained its
footing under a new coach.
In relying on their northern upbringings, it is the dream of the Manitoba
trio to bring the Stanley Cup back to their hometowns as soon as pos-
sible. According to the not-so-young 12-year NHL veteran Steen, with the
current group of players and their new coach, the Blues are ready to rock
and roll.
“You know what, I really like our attitude and our vibe right now,” Steen
said. “When Mike came in there have definitely been some tweaks and de-
tail adjustments in our game, and that’s something that we want to con-
tinue to build on. Obviously we will make some more little adjustments
depending on who were playing, but we have to keep playing this style
every night. We know what we want, and together we go.” n