MANITOBA MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Loyalty and Trust, two big words that are a huge part of
Tristan Ezako’s identity. Ezako is a talented centreman
and an important member of the Manitoba Major Junior
Hockey League’s River East Royal Knights, who covet him
not only as a player, but as a person. He was one of the
brightest lights on a team that must look forward
and forget its latest season.
D
welling on the negative isn’t going to get
anyone anywhere and that’s where the ma-
turity of the River East Royal Knights best
player, Tristan Ezako, shines. Very, very brightly in fact.
Ezako could demand a release or a trade, but to him
it’s more important to stick it out through thick
and thin and build on the future. After a 2016-17
season in which the Royal Knights managed
only six wins, the 20-year-old Ezako is un-
daunted.
“We had a ton of injuries at the begin-
ning of last season,” Ezako said. “We
started out well and then one-by-
one players started to fall. Me in-
cluded after being checked
from behind in a game
that we were comfortably
ahead in. Things really
got rough for us when
The Maturity of Tristan Ezako:
A Tough Year for the
Royal Knights, Not
Without an Upside
By John Ploszay
Photos by Bruce Fedyck and
James Carey Lauder
84 GAME ON
2017 CHAMPIONS EDITION