From broken leg to Blazers captain: Bonkowski ready to lead
From broken leg to Blazers captain: Bonkowski ready to lead
By Dave Dormer
The Kamloops Blazers have entered their Bonk era.
Heading into his third full season, Ty Bonkowski was named the newest captain ahead of Saturday’s home opener against the Victoria Royals.
It’s an honour the 18-year-old right winger didn’t necessarily expect going into training camp, or even pre-season.
In fact, he didn’t know he’d be getting the C until a video announcement from former captain Ryan Michael was played for the team in the dressing room Saturday morning.
“It’s definitely a privilege and an honour, it takes big responsibility, but I have all the confidence in the world in this guy,” Michael said. “Congrats Bonk, well deserved.”
Bonk might not have known ahead of time, but the coaching staff did. During exit interviews last season, head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston said Bonkowski’s name was raised “over and over” by his teammates as a potential next leader.
“I think he’s a real good person,” he said. “He’s likable, he’s conscientious, he cares about his teammates … he works hard on and off the ice. He’s honest, he’s trustworthy. Just great qualities.”
Teammate Isa Guram, who wore an A for the home opener, said Bonk is the “perfect fit” for the latest era of Blazers hockey.
“He’s not the loudest guy, he definitely leads by example,” he said. “He puts in the work every day and you can clearly see that. When he had his injury last year, it didn’t phase him too much, he pushed through, he kept going and now he’s here. He deserves it.”
The captaincy follows an intense amount of work Bonk put into the off-season.
On March 21, he broke his right fibula in a game against the Vancouver Giants. Two days later, he was in surgery at Royal Inland Hospital to install a plate and some screws.
Then came the rehab, and the waiting. And eventually, getting back on his skates.
“I think the biggest part where I was like, ‘Oh, crap,’ was when I started to skate again,” Bonkowski said of his recovery. “Those first couple weeks are brutal.”
He started walking with a half-cast in early April, and it wasn’t until mid-June that he could get back on the ice.
And the first time he put his skates on, he knew he had a long way to go.
“I was like, ‘this is going to be challenging,’” he said.
The problem wasn’t simply skating. It was getting comfortable.
Bonkowski worked with Blazers athletic therapist Taylor Cochrane, experimenting with different foams and materials inside his boot, trying to find a way to manage the pain.
For the first three weeks though, he was on the ice just once a week, which doesn’t leave much room for trial and error.
By the middle of July, his schedule started to increase and by the end of the month, he was up to skating three times a week.
Then around the beginning of August, something changed. Bonkowski was skating regularly, with talented players. He was pushing himself, and they were pushing him, and for the first time since March, he says, it felt like he was actually back.
“I was like, ‘OK, we’re good,’” he said.
Another part of the comeback happened away from the rink.
Bonk finished last season at 159 pounds, then reported to training camp at 177, having added nearly 20 pounds to his frame.
“The first five to 10 (pounds) were pretty easy,” he said laughing. “Just because I was sitting at home on the couch and stuffed myself with whatever food I could find.”
The rest came through good old fashioned hard work. Bonk spent the summer at Yard Athletics in Vancouver, working with Ilan Cumberbirch and his team.
Becoming captain wasn’t the reason he spent his summer in the gym, working on skating and trying to figure out how to make his injured leg feel comfortable. But it was a pretty good reward.
“It’s not your main goal going into the season,” he said. “But in the off-season you’re working on stuff and hoping to have a good year and this is the cherry on top.”
