Jefferson Hagen / MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Five years ago, MacEwan Griffins interim head coach Michael Ringrose had a St. Albert kid try out for his Spruce Grove Saints squad in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
Tyler Mrkonjic played only eight games for the Saints before going back to Midget AAA and ultimately taking the Western Hockey League route for his junior career.
But that relationship between coach and player continued to the point that when it came time for Mrkonjic to choose a post-secondary program after 288 major junior games, he answered Ringrose's call.
"Tyler was looking at some different options in the Edmonton area," said Ringrose, who took over the program in August. "I've known Tyler for a number of years and have a history with him dating back to when he was 16 trying out for the junior team I was coaching. I was able to get in touch and work with him and help him understand how MacEwan would be a good fit for him both academically and hockey-wise moving forward."
Embarking on a Bachelor of Arts program, Mrkonjic will be one of four newcomers – joining Sean MacTavish, Jake Kohlhauser and Brett Smythe – on a Griffins team that is only six months removed from their first ACAC Championship since 2004.
Ringrose anticipates him playing a major role right off the hop as the Griffins have lost a few players from that team that beat NAIT in a best-of-three final series.
"Obviously, he's got that (WHL) experience," said Ringrose of the winger who had 31 points over 76 regular season and playoff games for the Calgary Hitmen last season. "But he's an incredible person and a very good leader. He's been that way on every team he's been a part of for as long as I've known him.
"We're excited to get him in the mix. We know he's a quality person and obviously a very good player, so he's going to help our culture both on the ice and off the ice."
The 6-foot-2, 204-pound Mrknojic, who also played for the Prince George Cougars in his WHL career, was one of the 10 Griffins players selected for the MacEwan-NAIT All-Stars team that beat the Oilers rookies 2-0 on Sept. 13.
Next up for him and the rest of his teammates are a pair of preseason matches this weekend against two visiting B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League teams – Selkirk College (Friday, 7 p.m., Downtown Community Arena) and Trinity Western (Saturday, 6 p.m., DCA). Admission is free.
Selkirk has won four of the past five BCIHL titles, while Trinity Western lost in the final last season, so they should both be solid tests.
"We don't know a lot and that's not a bad thing at this point of the season because our focus right now is on us," said Ringrose, whose squad opened the preseason with a 6-0 win over Concordia and a 2-1 loss to NAIT last weekend.
"For me as a first-year coach, we're working on getting on the same page and understanding how I want the group to play and how we need to play together to be successful. So, it's not a bad thing to face an opponent you don't know anything about. You just go out there and focus on your game and what you need to do to be successful."
The Griffins will also visit Selkirk College in Castlegar, B.C. for a pair of preseason games on Sept. 29-30 before kicking off the 2017-18 ACAC season on the road at SAIT (Oct. 6, 7 p.m.).
MacEwan's home opener is set for Oct. 7 (6 p.m., DCA), a game which will feature a pre-game championship banner-raising ceremony.
