Hailing from Argyle, Manitoba, a village northwest of Winnipeg, Brett Tataryn has been making his mark on the ice this season as the first captain in Niverville Nighthawks history.
Tataryn played his first year in the MJHL last season, during which he saw action in 54 games for the OCN Blizzard, scoring nine goals and adding 11 assists as a strong two-way forward.
The expansion Nighthawks traded for Tataryn’s rights just before the 2022 MJHL Draft. And just 13 games into the current season, Tataryn has already equaled his goal tally from last year. The ninth goal came Saturday against none other than the OCN Blizzard.
Towards the end of the Nighthawks’ training camp, head coach Kelvin Cech called four players into his office and produced four jerseys. One captain’s jersey and three alternate captains’ sweaters.
Tataryn’s jersey was the last one to be passed out—and it had the letter “C” on it.
“I was very excited to be named captain by this team,” says Tataryn. “I’ve always been in the leader role wherever I play. It kind of just happens naturally. But yes, I was definitely trying to give myself the best chance to be the captain.”
Cech notes how difficult it is to choose a captain in training camp when you don’t really know anybody yet.
“There’s a lot that goes into it—their off-ice habits, how they conduct themselves in the dressing room, etc.,” says Cech. “We did our homework on Brett, and his former coaches, teammates, and other hockey operations staff all raved about his character and his work ethic. We had a lot of excellent choices for leadership roles here. Brendan Kerr drags us into the fight every night, Evan Bortis keeps the fellas organized and plays the right way, and Josh Paulhus is the heartbeat of our team.”
Kerr, Bortis, and Paulhus round out the leadership team as alternate captains. And according to Cech, all four of those leaders have been growing into their new roles.
“Everyone we brought in here is leading in their own way, just with how they take care of themselves and their teammates,” says Cech. “All that said, the opportunity to name a 19-year-old Brett Tataryn as captain was too appealing. He’s a player who doesn’t say much, but when he does, people listen. His teammates would do anything for him because they know he’d do the same for them.”
Tataryn will be the first to tell you how much he’s enjoyed his time in Niverville so far through the first quarter of the 2022–23 season.
“We get treated very well, and the fans and community really love us,” he says. “Especially when we help out around the community. There will be more community involvement yet to come because we love giving back to our fans and our community.”
Tataryn is currently leading the Nighthawks in scoring this season with 15 points in 12 games. He’s not getting ahead of himself, but he believes his Niverville club has what it takes to earn a playoff spot in the team’s inaugural season.
“Our team is on the same page in terms of goals, and our main one is to definitely be above .500 in the wins and losses categories at the end of the season,” says Tataryn. “We just have to take things one game at a time.”
