GR EE N B L A D E L A W N C A R E JUNI OR PLAYE R OF TH E MON TH
5
DARBY
GULA
HEI GHT 5’9” | W EIGHT 170 | AGE 19
GOALS 7 | ASSISTS 27 | POINTS 34
GULA WINS MJHL D-MAN OF
THE MONTH COMMITS TO
BEMIDJI STATE UNIVERSITY
Gula played for Team Manitoba
at the 2013-14 Western Canadians
and then played for Team Canada
West at the 2016-17
World Junior A Challenge.
22
As a defenseman, he scored
22 goals in 31 games while
captain of the Southeast Blizzard
Bantams in 2012-13.
18
In just 18 games this season,
he already has four goals and
23 points. In 56 games last season,
he had a career high seven
goals and 34 points.
From Steinbach, Manitoba
1 0 | G AME O N | D EC EM BER 2017
Darby Gula has been one of the nest
defensemen in the Manitoba Junior Hockey
League for the past three seasons.
So it wasn’t surprising when the Manitoba
Junior Hockey League named Gula its
Defenseman of the Month for October after
he played well on defense and still scored
three goals and added 17 assists in
just 16 games for his hometown
team, the red-hot Steinbach
Pistons.
October was certainly a big
month for the 19-year-old Gula. The
undersized rearguard also announced
that he had accepted a hockey
scholarship to Bemidji State University
where he hopes to step in with the
Beavers next season. For Gula, it made
for a pressure-packed month.
“You always feel a little bit of pressure
playing games when you know a school
is watching,” said Gula, who intends to
take business at BSU. “I think I was
more used to it simply because
I was in my third year in the
MJHL. Schools have always
been watching our games
because we have such a
great program. There is a little bit of pressure,
but it’s also fun to play in front of college scouts
and coaches.”
Gula grew up in Steinbach, played his
minor hockey there, was the captain of his
Double A Bantam Southeast Blizzard team
and then played two years of Midget Triple
A with the Eastman Selects before joining
the Pistons for the 2015-16 season.
Now, as he completes his third full year
in the MJHL, he knows that his hockey
career is a long way from over.
BY SCOTT TAYLOR
Photo by James Carey Lauder