Bundle of new Bold blood join the family and hunt history

A batch of fresh blood has been welcomed to the family of the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men's hockey team as they continue their quest to chase history and begin their regular season this Friday against the York Lions.

The Bold are coming off an historic season as they made it past the second round for the first time in 60 years en route to a fourth-place finish at Nationals. However, a large portion of the roster has changed since then.

The game winner from Joe Rupoli ??#weRrams pic.twitter.com/ehie9C5gMH
— TMU Bold Men's Hockey (@tmuboldmhky) March 19, 2022

This year's squad features 10 recruits to the program who hope to improve the team's finish from last season and make it to Nationals once again.

"We want them to work hard, play the game the right way, and become a part of our family," said Bold head coach Johnny Duco.

"We're not going to push anyone aside. They're a part of this family now," said newly-named Bold captain Jesse Barwell.

One of the highly-touted first years is forward William Portokalis, who saw some time in the top six throughout the preseason. The versatile forward is coming off a 15-goal season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Owen Sound Attack and can play all three forward positions.

"The older guys have taken us under their wing and you can see we're becoming a family here," said Portokalis.

Duco appreciates Portokalis' hockey intelligence and views him as someone who could help the team in many ways.

"He's somebody we're going to count on to contribute offensively for us and chip in, but he's also another guy who can play a 200-foot game and works hard," said Duco.

"I think my hockey IQ and poise can help as I'm an offensive guy, but I can also be in the corners and be gritty. Those two combined are pretty good attributes to have," said Portokalis.

In addition to Portokalis, players such as Ian Martin, Kosta Manikis, Dustin Hutton, Connor Bowie and Holden Rogers also join the forward group. Martin, Manikis and Hutton have all played in the OHL, while Bowie played in the Western Hockey League (WHL).

On the blueline, Evan Brand and Evan Tanos are welcomed with the former playing 65 games in the OHL last season with the Mississauga Steelheads, while the latter saw some time in the North American Hockey League with the Chippewa Steel and Minnesota Magicians.

The blue and gold also feature two new netminders with first-years Kai Edmonds and Ryan Dugas sharing the net with TMU veteran Garrett Forrest. The Bold lost netminder Lucas Peresinni midway through last season as he signed a professional contract with the Worcester Raiders in the ECHL, so adding to the position was a priority in the summer. Dugas and Edmonds both saw some action in the exhibitions to have some games under their belt and prepare for the taxing hockey season.

Although many key players moved on after their historic year, there are numerous returnees as well; some of which played major roles in the Bold's success last season.

One extremely notable name is Kyle Bollers. The Oshawa, Ont. native led the OUA West in points last year and was third among the entirety of the OUA, all of which came in his rookie year.

With the divisions returning to the pre-COVID format and Bollers now being a high-profile name in the OUA, he will face tougher competition across the board.

"The biggest thing with him [Kyle] is that the secret is out. He's not going to be a second or third-line guy that teams aren't prepared for," said Duco.

Nonetheless, Duco remains optimistic about the upcoming year for his star forward. "I'm encouraged, Kyle works harder than anybody, he puts in more time than anybody and is so driven to be the best version of himself."

Other returning names such as Elijah Roberts, Jackson Doherty, Cole Resnick, Chris Playfair, Joe Rupoli and Barwell are expected to continue their progress shown from last season as everyday players and contribute a large workload throughout the year.

On the other hand, players like Aaron Hyman and Kevin Gursoy are expected to become key players after being in and out of the lineup last season.

"Those two [Aaron Hyman and Kevin Gursoy] have been fantastic. They've come back and become two of our better players," said Duco. "Gursoy can become one of the better goal scorers in the OUA this year and Hyman seems like a guy who is ready to take the next step."

The Bold have also undergone a leadership change with Barwell being named the 48th team captain in the program's history.

"It's an honour to be the leader of the team and the first captain with the new name," said the fourth-year veteran Barwell.

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The Oakville, Ont. forward was an obvious choice for the role according to Duco. "He made it super easy on us," said Duco. "He does everything the right way and is exactly the student-athlete we want the rest of our team to be."

Bollers, Playfair, Zachary Shankar and Ryan Wells join Barwell in the leadership group as alternate captains and will be rotating the "A" throughout the season.

With all the changes surrounding the men's hockey season, the objective remains the same.

"Our goal is to be Queen's Cup champions and that has been the main goal ever since I have been here," said Barwell.

On their journey to Nationals last year the team learned many lessons. They went through a gauntlet of gruelling matches to qualify as they came back from multi-goal deficits on multiple occasions.

"We learned how to be comfortable in tight hockey games," said Duco. "There's going to be moments this year when we're up and when we're down—it's not going to be a straight line."

Coming into the new school year, the atmosphere surrounding the locker room has been filled with positive expectations and confidence.

"With such a young group we just want to continue to get better. We can't win the championship or make it to Nationals today or tomorrow, so we have to make sure we come in every day and get better," said Duco. "We're confident that we have enough ability to do that, so when the puck drops in February for playoffs, we'll be ready to go and we'll be a contender."

Despite the many feats they accomplished last season, the hunger yet remains to conquer a trophy for the Bold. This year's mission is simple—win.

"We're going to go far again," said Barwell.

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Players Mentioned

#2 Aaron Hyman: D; 6' 5"; 3

#7 Evan Tanos: D; 5' 11"; 1

#8 Jackson Doherty: F; 6' 0"; 2

#11 Ryan Wells: D; 5' 10"; 2

#13 Zachary Shankar: D; 6' 0"; 4

#14 Chris Playfair: F; 6' 1"; 2

#15 Cole Resnick: F; 6' 0"; 2

#18 Kevin Gursoy: F; 5' 11"; 2

#20 Evan Brand: D; 6' 7"; 1

#21 Jesse Barwell: F; 5' 11"; 4

Players Mentioned

#2 Aaron Hyman
: 6' 5"; 3
: D

#7 Evan Tanos
: 5' 11"; 1
: D

#8 Jackson Doherty
: 6' 0"; 2
: F

#11 Ryan Wells
: 5' 10"; 2
: D

#13 Zachary Shankar
: 6' 0"; 4
: D

#14 Chris Playfair
: 6' 1"; 2
: F

#15 Cole Resnick
: 6' 0"; 2
: F

#18 Kevin Gursoy
: 5' 11"; 2
: F

#20 Evan Brand
: 6' 7"; 1
: D

#21 Jesse Barwell
: 5' 11"; 4
: F