Michigan Tech forward Bryce Reddick turns up the ice during a game at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton. Reddick was part of the NHLCA guest coach program this offseason in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech University)
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Former Michigan Tech Huskies hockey player Bryce Reddick can say one thing for sure, hockey has given him every opportunity he has had in life. This upcoming season, he will join the United States Hockey League’s Green Bay Gamblers as an assistant coach after spending a year in the same role with the Wisconsin Windigo of the North American Hockey League.
“Hockey has given me everything I have, from being born,” Reddick said. “My dad’s not from Winnipeg. He’s from out east in Halifax. So, hockey brought him to my mom, and then in turn, that was the reason why I was born. So, hockey’s kind of given me everything. I mean, that’s the only job I’ve had is playing hockey, and then now I’m working in it. So, it’s given me everything I have.
“I guess the only thing I can really say is I’m grateful to the game, because it’s given me everything.”
This offseason, hockey gave him another incredible opportunity. He was given the chance to be a part of the NHLCA guest coach program. He was invited to return to Winnipeg, Manitoba, to take part in the Jets development camp on June 30-July 1, where he participated through the coaches’ association’s BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) Coaches Program.
“Obviously my dad, he’s black, so that makes me half,” Reddick said. “I connected with a guy by the name of Lennie Childs. He was a coach in the U.S. He’s half-black as well. He’s now the head coach of Janesville in the North American Hockey League. He was at Union. He’s coached in the USHL. So he and I just kind of connected, and he put me in touch with the two ladies who were in charge of this program. They, graciously enough, put me in it. Then the rest from there consists of Zoom calls. It connects you to forwards or coaches who are in the NHL and American Hockey League. So, it’s a very good resource, for sure.”
Getting to go back to Winnipeg was a bonus.
“It was cool,” he said. “It is home. That’s where I was born. My mom lives there. I have some cousins, aunts and uncles that all live there. So that is, I guess technically, home for me. So, it was an amazing experience. Just to be in that atmosphere, and just see the preparation that the coaches do to kind of get guys ready.”
Reddick picked the brains of the Jets staff, namely former Huskies forward Jimmy Roy and longtime NHL forward Mike Keane.
“Obviously, the Jets weren’t there,” said Reddick. “The players weren’t there, but they did go into depth of what a game day looks like for them. So, it was (a) very, very valuable experience.”
Reddick, who played NCAA Division I hockey in Houghton for the Huskies, compared what the NHL staffs go through to prepare for games to be similar to what college hockey programs go through, though on a bigger scale.
“I would say, in regards to first, like, touching on college, I would say it is similar to that, because your staffs are obviously bigger, and your coaches have their specialized areas, so it is very similar to that,” he said. “But in regards to the junior level, where I was at last year, the North American Hockey League, we only had three coaches, and we wear so many different hats, in the NHL, obviously, they’re just worrying about hockey. At the North American League level, you’re worrying about scouting, you’re worrying about meals, hotels. So, a lot of your time, you really have to manage time, and you can’t really direct all of your energy to hockey. They’re able to do that at their level, because there’s so many more resources.
“So, I guess that was the biggest takeaway.”
Reddick is excited to know that programs like BIPOC exist to help him with his coaching journey.
“It’s huge,” he said. “For me, when I was coming up, obviously, I had nowhere near the experience of anything like my dad did, or guys of his time, experienced.
“As a player, I’ve never really experienced any racial stuff. Luckily enough, I would say the biggest thing is just for me now is seeing all the kids. When I was playing growing up, there was nobody who really looked like me. Obviously, I did notice that in regards to being a darker colored skin-kid, but now you see all of these half-black kids playing. So, it’s very, very cool for me to see. It hits home, and it does mean a lot to me to see the kids now that look like me playing and coming up. Now there’s a lot more in the NHL.”
Reddick mentioned that, while growing up, his heroes were Jerome Iginla and Bryce Salvador.
“When I was growing up it was just really Jerome Iginla, who was half-black, and maybe Bryce Salvador was another guy,” Reddick said. “But. other than that, you didn’t really see that. So it’s very cool now to see all these different kids that look like me playing. I think it definitely comes from these programs that they’re putting out. It’s getting kids into hockey who live in areas where hockey’s not as big. So, it’s cool too.”