the ice with his stick.
“U of M came into the
picture for me about halfway
through my 20-year-old
year with the Winnipeg
Blues,” he said. “I talked with
them briefly, but we ended
up making it pretty far in
the playoffs that year, so
obviously the further you
go, the more opportunities
come your way. I had a few
other schools inquire, but
I just gradually made my
way back to Manitoba, and
it feels like home for me.
“Coach Mike Sirant was
actually really understanding
and patient with me,”
Bresciani added. “He talked to
me briefly before our playoffs
started, and mentioned that
they were interested. After
playoffs, once everything was
said and done, he asked me if
I was ready to commit to the
team. He was patient with me,
as he knew there were going
to be other teams asking. But
when a player graduates, he
has to go play somewhere.
It took me a while, but I just
gradually decided that the U
of M was my best bet, staying
here at home with my family.”
Bresciani played AAA
Midget hockey with the
Winnipeg Wild back in
2008-2010. Following
that, he made the jump
to Junior and dressed for
the Winnipeg Blues from
2010-2014. Through his four
seasons in the Manitoba
Junior Hockey League the
defenseman amassed 22 goals
and 111 points, increasing
his point total each season.
“You know, playing my
four years for the Blues was
8 0 | G AME O N | D EC EM BER 2017
great,” Bresciani said. “I wasn’t
really going to school, just
working odd jobs and doing
some construction work in
my 20-year-old year. The team
wasn’t the greatest my first
year, but other than that it was
a really positive experience.”
Now in his fourth year
living as a student-athlete,
the U SPORTS hockey
player has his eyes set
on a familiar career.
“I’m majoring in
criminology and hoping to
get into the police force or
RCMP down the road,” he
said. “But whatever it brings
me, whether that’s corrections
or probation officer, it
wouldn’t really matter to me.
Ideally I’d like to be a police
officer, or with the RCMP,
but we’ll see how it goes.”
Following the trail that his
father blazed as an RCMP
officer isn’t something new
for Bresciani. In fact, it’s
regular practice, as the elder
Bresciani was also involved in
the university sporting world.
“My parents definitely
got me involved in sports
at a young age,” Channing
Bresciani reflected. “My dad
played football for the Regina
Rams, which really got me
interested in football when I
was younger. Sports were just
the thing I did after school; I
played soccer, football, hockey
– basically an assortment of
sports my whole life. But by
Grade eight, I kind of had to
narrow it down to football
and hockey. And then Grade
nine came around and I had
to narrow it down once again,
but this time to just hockey.”
Hockey turned out to
be the right decision for
Bresciani, as playing for
the University of Manitoba
Bisons has taken him not
only across the country, but
now around the world.
“Having to pull out all of
your books and notes on the
road can be tough at times,
but there’s more to the
experience than just playing
hockey – you also have to do
well in school,” Bresciani said.
“It’s a cool lifestyle though,
we get to travel to a lot of
places and see a bunch of
things we probably wouldn’t
see otherwise. We actually
had a 12-day trip to Europe
this pre-season which kind
of put this year’s team into
perspective. We took three
of four games in Ireland and
Scotland. It was a blast.”
With university graduation
fast approaching, Bresciani’s
future in hockey is yet to be
determined. Although he
doesn’t know exactly where he
will be playing down the road,
he does know that he wants to
stay involved with the game.
“I have thought a little bit
about going overseas or maybe
trying my hand at the pro
life,” Bresciani said. “I think it
really depends on how we do
at the end of the year and how
things look then. I’m definitely
keeping all my options open
now with whatever comes my
way. I will have to decide all of
that at the end of the season.
But right now, my focus is on
finishing this year with the
Bisons as strong as I can.” ❍