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took a huge step forward . It had been 10 years since Neepawa had last made the playoffs , but Howden ’ s crew finished 21-33-6 last season , solidly in eighth place , two points ahead of Swan Valley , and then played extremely well against the powerhouse Steinbach Pistons in the first round of the playoffs .
Listmayer has been a big part of his team ’ s slow , steady improvement , and while Howden will be the first to admit that the Natives aren ’ t yet ready to claim league dominance , they are no longer doormats and no longer a place where good players hesitate to play .
For Listmayer , playing in Neepawa has been one of the best things that ever happened to his career .
“ It ’ s been quite a journey and since I started , we ’ ve built that program up really well ,” Listmayer said . “ After some tough seasons , we made the playoffs last year and I think we ’ re going to have a really good season this year . I ’ ve been really happy playing in Neepawa and I ’ m excited to finish my career in Neepawa .
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I ’ m proud of our team and what we ’ ve been able to accomplish in five years .”
Howden is quite happy , too . Four years ago , he became an assistant with the Natives and this will be his second year as head coach . As the team gets better and starts to slowly move up the standings , Howden will concede that veteran players such as speedy Ashton Anderson , Justin Metcalf , Nolan Richards and Listmayer have made the Natives a legitimate threat .
“ Look , I would never say that we ’ re going to win the league next season ,” said Howden , whose Natives took Steinbach to six tough games in the first round of the 2017 playoffs . “ But we ’ re getting better and we ’ ll give all of those teams some really tough nights . The other teams in the league know they have to be at their best now in order to beat us .”
The veterans like Anderson , Metcalf and Richards will make Neepawa a threat this coming season and the good , young players that have been recruited should be able to carry on the team ’ s new-found success .
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“ My greatest
memory from
playing in Neepawa
was making the
playoffs ”
As for Listmayer , getting better has always been the goal and in his corner , he ’ s always had an 11-year veteran of the National Hockey League who made it to the top on heart , grit and simply by being a great teammate .
“( Former Leafs and Rangers enforcer ) Colton Orr is my uncle ,” said Listmayer proudly . “ Colton and I talk on the phone lots . Unfortunately , he doesn ’ t live in Winnipeg anymore , but usually once a week he ’ ll call me or videochat me . We ’ ll talk about everything . He ’ s my mentor . He ’ s always told me the talented guys can always make it look easy but it ’ s the guys who work hardest are the most successful .”
CoaCH Howden believes Listmayer has one of the best mentors any player could ever have .
“ Colton has been a big part of his life ,” said Howden . “ That ’ s one of the reasons I think he ’ s a very coachable player . He knows his role and he wants to improve his craft . All the things that Colton did to make it to the NHL , Kruz follows in his own career . He ’ s getting some very good mentorship from a guy like Colton .”
Listmayer started to play hockey when he was “ about four ,” playing House League at Tyndall Park Community Centre . He then moved over to Red River Community Centre
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and played there , and followed that up with two years of Double A Stars and two years of Triple A Hawks
“ Fortunately I got called up to play for the Thrashers at 16 and then , that same season , I was called by the Natives ,” he said . “ I ’ ve loved it in Neepawa and the fact that we now have a team that looks like it can challenge , it ’ s going to be even more exciting .”
tHere is little question that last year ’ s team and its success was the highlight of Listmayer ’ s four years in Neepawa . Becoming a legitimate playoff-bound team was a lot of work and he ’ s proud of everyone in the organization .
“ My greatest memory from playing in Neepawa was obviously last year , making the playoffs ,” he said . “ For the first time in 10 years , to finally get to the post-season , was obviously the biggest memory for all of us . We worked so hard to get there . The boys all bonded together and we played great hockey . I know I really had to work hard to get there so it was my best memory by far .” This will be Listmayer ’ s final year of junior , but he ’ s not in any hurry to retire from the game .
“ Obviously , I want to continue to play hockey after this season ,” he said . “ If I can get any kind of scholarship , obviously , I ’ ll jump at it . But any level of pro hockey would be great , too . We all know this is going to be a big year for all of us . I just want to have a good season because I really want to keep playing and I know that having a good year on a successful team will help me with that .” ❍
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