Tyrell Bauer is in his second pro season with the Manitoba Moose and night in and night out, the sixth-round pick of the Winnipeg Jets gives his all.
You will never question his effort, his physicality and the protection he provides his teammates. All part of the leadership qualities that seem to come naturally to the 22-year-old defenceman.
“Yeah, I just try to be I just try to be a good teammate is really what it comes down to. Like I said, making sure guys know I have their backs that's on the ice, that's off the ice. Showing up every day to work trying to do the little things the little things right,” said Bauer on the Ground Control podcast last week.
“And you know, some guys might look at it and you know, it's their take to it as they want to do with it. But you know, for me, it's just show up and be me every day and see where that goes.”
Bauer was the captain of the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League for two seasons. While he doesn’t wear a letter right now for the Moose, that doesn’t stop him from speaking up on and off the ice.
“I'm just showing up and being me. I'm gonna be me on the ice, work hard, try to push the guys off the ice. You know, just let it let everybody know that I'm there for them if they ever need anything and, you know, try to have an impact that way too,” said Bauer.
“So, you know, it's a time thing but as is a lot of a lot of stuff, but just go out there and work your hardest every day and try to be a good influence on the team.”
The Moose enter April coming off their best month of the 2023-24 campaign. Manitoba won 10 of their 14 games and with nine games remaining on their schedule, the Moose sit seven points up on Iowa for the final playoff spot in the Central. They are five back of Texas for fourth with a game in hand on the Stars.
“Yeah, we're rolling right now. We feel good. I don't know if I can pinpoint any one thing. It's just we're starting to come together. We're starting to learn we're starting to read off each other,” said Bauer.
“You know, we've been working really hard practices games to try to adjust little pieces of our game and figure out what it takes to play at this level. And I think we're doing that now. And it's showing on the ice.”
A big part of the Moose blueline is Ville Heinola. The Finnish defenceman looked to have a roster spot locked up with the Jets in September before a devastating ankle injury changed those plans in early October. Heinola worked hard to come back and has now played 32 games with Manitoba. Bauer knows a thing or two about coming back from a serious injury as he overcame a knee injury during his time with Seattle.
“Ville’s has been great. He came back from that injury stepped back in, he's trying to do what he has to do to you know, turn all the heads he has turn,” said Bauer.
“So, he's obviously great for us on the ice and he does a lot off the ice that is kind of noteworthy.”
While the Moose haven’t clinched a spot yet, Bauer is mentally locked in on getting primed up for the final games of the regular season and hopefully a long postseason run.
I mean, it's the best time of the year. It's what we do it for. You know, this stretch, kind of before the playoffs is crunch time. It feels like playoffs, playoff atmosphere on the ice in the dressing room, we feel it,” said Bauer.
“And you know as that time of year gets closer, you know it naturally gives the team more incentive to play and play hard because it is an exciting time of year. It is why we play this game. And it's building and it's fun to be around.”
MOOSE UPDATE
The Moose have eight games remaining (as of April 3) with four games against teams chasing them in the division (two at home vs. Chicago and two at home vs. Iowa) and two games against a team they are chasing (at Texas).
Brad Lambert won the AHL Rookie of the Month award for March, Lambert is the fifth player in Moose history to be named Rookie of the Month. He joins Cole Perfetti (April 2021), Brenden Kichton (Jan. 2014), Cory Schneider (March 2008) and Kevin Bieksa (March 2005).
