Generals grad finding stride in NCAA

Braden Bain is home for the holidays.

And the former Cochrane Generals sniper is enjoying his time away from NCAA grind.

"I’m excited to come home for Christmas and get a break, especially from school," Bain says. "It will be good to come home for two weeks to see family and friends."

After graduating from the HJHL last spring, Bain was recruited by the Finlandia University Lions.

Head coach Joe Burcar, in his 13th season behind the Lions bench of the Div. II squad in Hancock, Mich., has seven Canadians on his roster.

"One of our assistant coaches has ties to a coach in the (Calgary) area," Burcar says. "The (HJHL) league that Braden came out of is one of the very few (junior) leagues that lets 21-year-olds play hockey.

"In July, he was looking for a place to play, and through many different connections, we tracked him down.

"We tried to find some footage on him, but it was very limited. So we really took the word of the guy that our assistant coach knows."

Burcar says Bain did a good job of preparing in a short period of time.

"By late July, he probably wasn't expecting to come to the States and play at this level, so he was kind of behind the eight-ball in terms of being ready to play," Burcar says.

"He's done a lot to catch up. He's getting there."

The Lions play in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, where they head into the holiday break with a 3-7-2 record.

Bain is still looking for his first point but says he's starting to feel more comfortable with the college circuit.

"This is an outstanding league and playing in the top conference in the nation has been tough to adapt to," the 22-year-old says. "The speed, skill and depths of teams is something I noticed was a big step up. 

"You don’t have the time or space to make extra moves and every shift matters. 

"Unfortunately haven’t got points but I know they will come and just have to focus on competing every day, practice or games.

It's not like the 6-foot, 160-pounder forgot how to score.

He piled up 21 and 23 points in his first two seasons with the Generals before exploding for 25 goals and 56 points, good for eighth in league scoring in his final campaign in 2018-19.

The speedy right-winger says those three seasons helped prepare him for the next level.

"The HJHL gave me a good preparation in competing for ice time," Bain says. "The depths of teams within our conference is a big difference, as every game is a playoff game and you don’t see any 'point night' games."

Burcar can see the talent is there and says he'll be patient with his freshman forward.

"From what I'm told, he was (eighth) in scoring (in the HJHL), which is pretty darn good, and we were told he has a great set of wheels," Burcar says. "But it's been a big adjustment because the college game is a lot tighter and you're playing against bigger, stronger, faster guys.

"But you can see his instincts and that he has a knack for seeing the ice well."

Bain, who is studying business, says he's enjoyed his first semester.

"My experience at Finlandia so far has been good," Bain says. "I enjoy the small class sizes along with living Hancock. The hockey is a ton of fun with a great group of guys, which make this program fun."

Finlandia gets back at it on Jan. 3 against Concordia Wisconsin.