Coming out from two recent and decisive wins, our boy’s hockey team bares their teeth a bit before sections. With this, however, one may ask who we attribute this success to? While the players and the coaches do receive much-achieved praise for the work they do, what exactly happens to the work they don’t want to do?

“We do what no one on the team wants to do,” said Wyatt Huard,  a senior and manager for the New Ulm hockey team. “We carry things, fill water bottles and film games.”

Although working almost completely behind the scenes and never really getting much recognition on the ice, our New Ulm hockey managers, Reed Klause and Wyatt Huard, play a vital role on the team. “Their work has helped us be more focused and allowed us to better evaluate our games,” said senior player Deren Swanson-Cullen. Most players would say that these two dedicated individuals are just another player on the team and deserve just as much praise they do.

Since they are not required to go to any practices, it might seem, even to themselves, that they have it easy. The players, however, say otherwise, as they see their involvement as crucial and appreciate what they do. Swanson-Cullen goes on to say that, “They are very involved. They go to every game and do whatever we ask them to.” So then the question is: With such willing volunteers, what exactly do the hockey managers do?

Ranging from the bare necessities to giving our team a critical strategic edge, our New Ulm hockey managers have it cut out for them in the way of work. Often seen toting stacks of hockey sticks and ferrying several water bottles to and from the bench, most would say their work was quite dull. Even watching the action through the camera of an Ipad and marking where every shot was taken seems a listless chore. But their work is quite important, to coaches and players alike. One responsibility of the managers is to record the team’s plus/minus (A record of who was on the ice during a goal, a plus for any goal we score, a minus for any goal the opposing team scores). This, in turn, could completely change the integrity of the team by moving players up or down lines in response to their individual plus/minus.

With all this work I then asked about the nature of the work, who was it really for? The players or the coaches? Huard took awhile before answering that: “Our work is more for the coaches, but we enjoy the time we spend with the players.” Contrasting from that, Swanson-Cullen was reported saying, “Their work is more for us, carrying our sticks and water bottles, but when it comes to stats and film, their work is for both.”

With sections less than a week away, I thought it appropriate to ask what each thought about their chances. “We have been recently showing what we are capable of and if we hustle and continue to play to that level, I think we have a solid chance of getting through sections, despite how difficult it will be,” said Swanson-Cullen. Huard went on to say, “We’ve won recent games because we hustled.” So when it comes to sections he had this to say: “I’m confident we can get through the first round and if we make section finals, we have a chance.”