Some decisions appear to be destiny. While attending Minnesota State, Bryce met Erica, a girl from Hayward, WI that was on the Mavericks track team. Erica and Bryce got married and today they have two children.

Let’s hear from Bryce Gervais!

What does a Director of Hockey do? I oversee everything hockey.  I build all the programs.  We have programs and teams in spring, summer, and Tier 1 that we have this season.  I communicate with parents and build relationships. 

What drew you into coaching? I was planning to play another season. I had no plans of retiring, but this opportunity (VSA Director of Hockey) came.  I was playing in Norway, but my wife and I talked about it, and with two kids and dogs, and all the travel…this opportunity was a good fit.  I probably only had a few years left of playing, so this was good timing.  This gives me an opportunity to do what I love.  I owe it to the kids to give everything to it because hockey has given me so much. 

What is the timeline for a full set of Guardians Tier 1 teams? This is our first year.  It’s been successful, we have three teams.  The parent feedback has been positive about the players getting better.  We would like to get it going with more teams, but it all depends.  We don’t want to just throw teams on ice.  It is important to make sure we can have competitive teams.    

Where did you grow up?  Battleford Saskatchewan, which is an hour and fifteen minutes north of Saskatoon.  Battleford is cold and hockey is life.  People eat, sleep, and breathe hockey there.  We always had good teams.  We played small towns and it’s amazing the amount of talent that they had. 

What sports did you play growing up? I played anything you can think of.  We played two touch football, baseball, lacrosse, soccer.  I played as many sports as I could.  My brother and cousin played hockey.  My lifelong friends all played, everyone played, so that’s how I got started playing.

What was your dream job as a kid?  Playing in the NHL.  From the time I was a kid I thought I would be a hockey player.  When I was at college, I thought I could make a living from it.  I played pro hockey for 8 years in different leagues and countries.  Now I am doing hockey for a job, not playing, but helping kids and still involved with the game. 

What was the experience like playing for Minnesota State? It was great.  My first year at Mankato was Mike Hastings’ first season as the coach.  Hastings changed me as a human and a hockey player.   

How did you get from Saskatchewan to Minnesota State?  I was playing for Penticton in the BCHL (British Columbia Hockey League) and my teammates were committed to NCAA teams. I took a recruiting trip that was supposed to go to Mankato (Minnesota State), Bemidji, North Dakota and one other school.  I went to Mankato and never made it to the other schools.  I signed with Minnesota State during my first visit. 

How did you make the decision to commit so quickly?  I got to meet the team and spent the night and the next day I signed.  I wanted to be teammates with these guys.  I just woke up and thought I could play here and with those guys as my teammates.  The campus was great. It felt right.  Mankato was the place.  I just knew.

What was it like playing professional hockey? It was awesome. Switzerland was nice because the Alps and any time off it was a good place to reset mentally.  Playing in Europe we had more breaks than the AHL.  The hockey in Norway was better than I expected.  We had more practice time in Europe, almost like the NCAA.  At the time I didn’t realize how precious time is.  If you are not doing much on the ice, you must do something good off the ice. 

Who were your hockey mentors? Mike Hastings and Todd Knott in Mankato. Teddy Blueger was a teammate.  Teddy had an incredible work ethic.  He was first on for practice and last off.  I knew from the start Teddy was going to be an NHL player.  Fred Harbinson was my coach in the BCHL.  Fred developed winners because he knew how to get the right mindset, and we won the national championship. 

What are your favorite hockey memories? Winning the national championship (Penticton in Canadian juniors).  That year it was hosted in Humboldt Saskatchewan, out of all places!!  The championship rotates to different locations, but that year it was in Saskatchewan, so I had hundreds of friends and family attend.  The other memory is when I played pro for Chicago we played at Manitoba Moose.  I was in the penalty box…I got out caught a pass and went in and scored! I had a big group of family and friends at the game.  They were cheering my name real loud.  I got first star for the game.  All the support from family and friends through my journey is my greatest memory.   

What advice do you have for kids that want to play after high school?  It’s important to be a good teammate and good locker room guy.  Everything you do, even the smallest things matter.  Saying please and thank you.  Hold doors open for others.  Be a good human.  Coaches look at the finer things.   Come to the rink with the mindset of working hard to get better. 

Best wishes to Bryce Gervais and his Guardians teams!

Yours for hockey, Matt Carey 

A link to Bryce’s Guardians hockey program. https://www.guardians-hockey.com/