Photo courtesy of Scott Roblin

By Scott Roblin

Bench Boss

Desjardins carrying on family coaching legacy with Bantam AAA Tigers

Aug 18, 2019 | 7:12 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Over his playing and coaching career, Brayden Desjardins has followed in the footsteps of his prestigous father.

Now, the 25-year-old is ready to lead his own team of young hockey stars… albeit with the same name.

Desjardins is set to embark on his first season behind the bench of the SEAC Bantam AAA Tigers as head coach, replacing the departed Jason Bartram.

It’s Desjardins’ first head coaching role after a number of years serving as an assistant in the Medicine Hat minor hockey system.

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“I worked with SEAC a few years ago as the assistant with the midget AAA program for a little while,” said Desjardins. “To finally get a head [coaching] job in a pretty prestigious league, there’s some really good kids that come out of this league when I played… I’m really excited about it.”

Brayden’s father of course is Willie Desjardins, who will be returning to the Medicine Hat Tigers organization as bench boss this fall after a decade in the NHL and AHL ranks.

Growing up around the local minor hockey scene and the old Medicine Hat Arena, Brayden was able to play two seasons with the Medicine Hat Midget AAA Tigers before moving to Texas for his final season of junior hockey.

Brayden said it’s special seeing his family’s hockey career come full circle, with two members of the Desjardins household taking on new head coaching roles.

“It’s exciting that my dad’s around, I haven’t got to see him a whole lot,” said Brayden. “For him to be back and me to be back, it’s special. I’m excited, hopefully I can get him out a little bit and we can start building the foundation for Medicine Hat minor hockey.”

Desjardins takes over a SEAC Bantam AAA squad that took a big jump last winter, posting a 13-15-3 record in regular season play and reaching the Alberta Bantam AAA divisional finals.

The Bantam AAAs only see four players eligible to return to the team, but they include a handful of skaters coming off strong rookie campaigns like forward Dawson Seitz and blueliner Josh Van Mulligen.

Getting his first look at the new crop of players at SEAC’s fall development and conditioning camp over the weekend, Desjardins said he’s liking what he sees.

“I’ve worked with the bantam AA program for the last two years, so I have a pretty good feel of what’s coming up into our system,” he said. “The guys up there, like [Dawson] Seitz and [Josh] Van Mulligen, they’re just high quality individuals. So, it’ll be fun to work with them.”

Taking on the new role, the younger Desjardins said he’s ready to start carving out his own head coaching path with SEAC.

However, the tips and advice he’s learned from his father provide a solid framework for his first season leading the Tigers club.

“Biggest thing is stick to your guns, right?” said Desjardins. “Don’t be afraid to say what you think [even] if other people don’t necessarily agree with them, I think that’s the best thing. And, don’t be afraid to make a hard decision.”

“He’s stepped into a couple of tough positions in the last couple of years. He’s not afraid to stick to his guns, no matter what the media or who [else] says.”

The SEAC fall development and conditioning camp runs through Wednesday at the Hockey Hounds Recreation Centre.