WHL Alumni Spotlight – Myles Rumsey

By Jesse Watts
rwhl.ca
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rIt was just too big an opportunity to pass up.
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rThat’s how Myles Rumsey felt when, after wrapping up a four-year Western Hockey League career with the Swift Current Broncos, he decided to enroll at his hometown University of Manitoba and play Canadian Interuniversity Sport hockey with the Manitoba Bisons.
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rAfter his final WHL season in 2006-07, Rumsey could have sought out professional opportunities in Europe or other North American minor pro hockey leagues. However, the 21-year-old from Winnipeg, MB, also had the option of using the scholarship money he accumulated during his four years in the WHL to attend university and continue playing hockey.
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r“It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have that kind of scholarship money available to you,” said Rumsey, who was drafted by the Calgary Flames in 2005 but never signed a professional contract. “To go to university and not have to go into debt is such a huge thing.”
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rRumsey was simply taking advantage of what all WHL players are entitled to.
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rFor every season a player plays in the WHL, they receive a full year scholarship, including tuition, textbooks and compulsory fees, to a post-secondary institution of their choice. Having played four seasons in the WHL, Rumsey accumulated four years worth of scholarship money – enough to see him through a four-year degree program.
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r“(WHL graduates) have the benefit of the scholarship, and you might as well put it to full use because, you know what, a lot can happen when you play pro hockey. You can get injured, or you might not be able to make it,” said the 6′ 2”, 205-lb defenseman. “All in all, I think I did the right thing by choosing to go to school and further my education, and keep playing hockey.”
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rOpting to attend the U of M and play for the Bisons meant Rumsey had to get used to a new lifestyle. Not only would hockey still be a big part of his daily life, but he’d also need to get used to being a full-time student again. Rumsey said it was a difficult transition at first, but now he’s learning to balance the two.
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r“It’s a huge change going from playing hockey every day to going to classes all the time,” said Rumsey, who is currently enrolled in Open Studies. “It’s a lot of fun, though, and I really like the atmosphere.
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r“When I first got here, I was like a deer caught in headlights, and I didn’t know what to do or expect, but, after the first month you star to get used to it and you get more comfortable.
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r“You have to relax and take it day by day,” he said.
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rOn the ice, Rumsey has fit right in with the Bisons. A steady, defensive defenseman, Rumsey has helped the Bisons stay right in the thick of the Canada West Conference with a respectable 9-8-1 record through their first 18 games of the Conference schedule.
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r“There are a lot of very good hockey players in the League – guys like Eric Hunter and Chris Falloon – and it’s a very competitive League,” said Rumsey, who is one of 17 WHL graduates on the Bisons’ roster. “It’s a faster game in University than in the WHL, the guys are bigger and stronger, and it’s good hockey.”
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rLess than a year removed from his days in Swift Current, Rumsey still has lots of friends in Speedy Creek and on the Broncos. While schoolwork and hockey eat up a lot of his time nowadays, Rumsey still takes the opportunity to keep up with how his former team is doing.
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r“I was just in Brandon watching the (Broncos) play,” said Rumsey, who suited up for 262 regular-season games and another 15 playoff games for the Broncos between 2002 and 2007. “I still keep in touch with some of the guys on the team.
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r“One of the things I really loved about playing in the Dub was all the guys you’d meet from all over the place, and all the friendships you make that still last today,” he said.
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