Will be ‘cool’ to play for Moose

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This article was published 05/10/2021 (1437 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dean Stewart isn’t in Kansas anymore.

Stewart is one of two Manitobans who went the U.S. college route but have moved close to home in hopes of boosting their pro hockey careers to new heights.

The Portage la Prairie product as well as Colt Conrad were among the Day 1 participants of Manitoba Moose training camp Monday at the Iceplex.

Stewart suited up for the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL last season and played a pile of games on the blue line from late January through early June. Two months later, he inked a one-year contract with the Moose, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets.

“I think it could be a really cool experience, with family and friends so close by. But it’s not my job to worry about that stuff,” said Stewart, 23. “For the first couple of months of the season while I’m still getting my feet wet in the league, I’ll just focus on getting better every day, trying to get into the lineup and do what I can to help the Moose win.”

Stewart won a national junior A championship with the Portage Terriers in 2015 when he was 17. Just 19 months later, he started his freshman year at the University of Nebraska (Omaha), and went on to play 130 games over four seasons with the NCAA Div. I squad, serving as captain of the Mavericks his senior year.

He signed a pro deal with Wichita in January and played 53 games, registering six goals and 30 assists.

A seventh-round (188th overall) pick of the Arizona Coyotes in the 2016 NHL Draft, Stewart admitted he wasn’t thrilled with the idea of plying his trade In the ECHL.

But his attitude quickly changed.

“It wasn’t what I’d envisioned for myself, but when I got down there I met so many great guys and got to play with a good friend of mine, Ryan White, from Brandon who used to play for the Moose a couple of years ago,” he said. “I had skated with him the last few summers and I got to learn so much from him. We had a great coaching staff and great veterans.

“Nobody’s too good for that league. It’s the guys that accept the fact they’re there and work on their game and try to get better are the guys that get out of there the fastest.”

He made his pro debut in late January— after a quarantine period — joining a depleted Thunder roster, owing to COVID-19.

“Right when I got there, it was a bit of a gong show. I hadn’t been skating for about two months and then a bunch of the guys got COVID. I played a lot of games and a lot of minutes, played the power play and the penalty kill and really developed my game. I was super fortunate it worked out that way.”

Stewart, a 6-2, 200-pound self-proclaimed fitness freak, plans to ensure his big frame is a factor.

“Two-way defenceman, play well in my own zone, hard on pucks,” he described himself. “I thought it would be super cool to playing close to home again, but the biggest reason was that I might have a chance to play a lot here.”

He was joined at the Iceplex by Conrad, who hails from the farming community of St. Alphonse in southwestern Manitoba.

Conrad, 24, spent parts of three seasons with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL (2018-21), sandwiched around a 42-game stretch with the Newfoundland Growlers of the ECHL (’19-20).

After severing ties with the Marlies over the summer, Conrad, listed at 5-10, 180 pounds, pondered several opportunities before settling on a tryout agreement with the Moose.

“The chance to play for the home team is pretty exciting,” said Conrad, who scored a goal and assisted on three others in 22 games in a limited role with Toronto’s minor-league squad last year. “Ultimately, we felt this was the best fit for me. Just putting my best foot forward to prove I can be a successful player in the AHL.

“If I get to play two hours from home and have all my family and friends get to come and support me, that hasn’t happened since I was 13 years old, so it’s gonna be awesome. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Indeed, he hasn’t played this close to home in a long time.

Ten years ago, Conrad was a point-producing machine with the Pembina Valley bantam squad, firing a remarkable 79 goals and adding 71 assists in 53 games during the 2011-12 season. A year later, he produced 25 goals and 67 points in 39 games for Pembina Valley’s U18 team.

He headed south, studying and playing at Shattuck St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minn., for his final two years of high school before spending four years donning the Broncos brown and gold at Western Michigan University (NCAA Div. I) in Kalamazoo, Mich.

He played three years with his best friend, Wade Allison, a highly regarded rookie (currently injured) with the Philadelphia Flyers who was raised in Myrtle.

“We grew up right from the get-go playing against each other, and then when we played summer hockey we were on the same team and just formed a bond. A couple of country kids who moved away to further our careers,” said Conrad. “I loved every second (of college hockey).”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell