Listen to the full interview with Drew Kocur here –
As Team SJHL prepares for the return of the Viking Cup for the first time in 20 years, head coach Drew Kocur is embracing both the challenge and the opportunity that comes with leading the league’s top talent onto a national stage.
“I think for us it’s important to obviously evaluate the roster and kind of see what we have,” Kocur said. “We have some really good hockey players in our league, and to be able to coach all of them is a super honour. We have so much high-end talent and a lot of options — line combinations, power play, penalty kill — so we’re going to throw some stuff at them right away on the first day of practice and then jump right into it.”
Preparation, however, comes with its own unknowns. While video scouting of the collegiate opponents helps, Kocur knows chemistry will ultimately be built on the fly.
“It’s going to be a little bit of trial and error,” he said. “We’ll kind of throw it at the wall and see what sticks. We’re excited, and we can’t wait to get on the ice for that first practice.”
Watching film also carried a personal element, as many of the opposing rosters feature familiar faces from SJHL alumni ranks.
“It was super cool to see a lot of the alumni playing on those teams,” Kocur said. “You see their continued success and how they’ve moved on to the next level. I saw guys I’ve coached before, guys I’ve skated with in the summer — it’s exciting, and we’re motivated to see what they bring against us.”
For Kocur, the opportunity to coach at the Viking Cup carries special significance.
“I was super honoured,” he said. “For this event to be back after 20 years, and to have the chance to do it in my first four years as a head coach and GM at the Junior A level, I jumped all over it. It’s the best of the best, and a chance to coach some of the top players in our league.”
Roster adjustments have been part of the process, but Kocur remains confident in the group assembled.
“It sucks not to have some really good hockey players due to injury, but it’s next-man-up mentality,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of centremen who can play up the middle or on the wing, strong depth on the back end, and good goaltending. I think the 20 players we have are going to be really motivated to showcase what they can do.”
That confidence extends to the crease.
“Charlie’s statistically one of the best goalies in the league,” Kocur said. “He makes big saves — sometimes two or three in a row — and he moves really well. And Graham Brown steals games. He competes right to the final buzzer and keeps his team in it. We’re excited about both.”
On the back end, Kocur sees a rare blend of balance, skill, and experience.
“That would be a tremendous back end for most junior teams,” he said. “Three left shots, three right shots, size, skill, leadership — it makes it easy to exit zones and play north. There are a lot of guys back there who can do damage over seven to ten days.”
Up front, identity matters more than labels.
“When I look at this team, it’s blue collar,” Kocur said. “From the goalies out, they’re going to compete. They’re skilled, they play hard, they work. We’ll take pride in our defensive zone, and then make plays off the rush and wear teams down below the dots.”
That mentality, Kocur believes, is what will define Team SJHL in a short, intense tournament.
“We’re not going there for a Sunday skate,” he said. “We want to be competitive. We want to win games. We want to score. We want to try and win a gold medal.”
Beyond the results, Kocur emphasized the importance of the opportunity itself.
“It’s a chance to showcase just how good these players are,” he said. “A lot of them want to play college hockey, and this is an event where you never know who’s watching. You could have the week of your life. That’s not something you turn down.”
As for bridging the cohesion gap against older, established collegiate teams, Kocur knows the answer won’t be complicated.
“We’re going to have to work,” he said. “They’re bigger, they’re stronger — that’s a fact. We’ll adapt quickly, buy in right away, and take it shift by shift. We’re expecting to go there motivated, high energy, and excited about the opportunity. But it’s going to take hard work.”
And for Kocur, sharing the experience with a trusted staff only adds to the excitement.
“He’s a great hockey mind and can relate to the guys,” Kocur said of his assistant coach. “He’s excited, and so are we.”
With preparation underway and expectations clear, Team SJHL’s Viking Quest is officially underway — driven by opportunity, belief, and a blue-collar commitment to compete for gold.
