By Marty Hastings
Courtesy of The Omega
TRU’s Independent Student Newspaper

Tyler Boldt’s dream of being a National Hockey League player ended when the Atlanta Thrashers relinquished his rights after training camp in 2003.

Instead of allowing the rejection to crush his spirits, the now 25-year-old Thompson Rivers University student has combined his love for the game with his passion for business” and his future is brighter than ever.

Boldt was hired as an assistant coach by the Chase Chiefs, a Junior B hockey club, prior to the start of the 2007-08 seasonAfter just one year, he was promoted to head coach and given the job as general manager.

“Now it’s exciting,” Boldt said, as his newly acquired business phone vibrated during an interview. “Being able to combine business and hockey isn’t something I ever imagined.”

The owner of the Chiefs, Fred Pittendreigh, said he recognizes that leaving the future of many young hockey players in the young GM’s hands may seem like a risky move, but he is more than confident that Boldt is the right person for the job.

“Normally it might be a problem, but Tyler is way more mature than a lot of 25-year-olds,” Pittendreigh said. “I’m not worried about his age at all.”

The maturity Pittendreigh speaks of may be a direct result of Boldt’s hockey journey. Born in Winnipeg, Boldt was ushered into the world of hockey by his parents and he instantly developed a love for the game. He was forced to move away from his parents and settle in Kamloops after being drafted by the Western Hockey League’s Kamloops Blazers and making the team in 1999 at the age of 16. He spent three-and-a-half years living with billets in Kamloops and graduated from North Kamloops Secondary School in 2002.

After being released by the Thrashers, it was apparent that Boldt was not meant for the NHL. But Boldt maintained not only a love for the game, but also a love for the people he met through the game.

“I don’t care what anybody tells you, the best thing about playing hockey is being around a group of hockey people,” Boldt said.

So when Lorne Cumming, who originally hired Boldt as an assistant coach with the Chiefs, resigned as head coach and GM after the 2007-08 season and recommended Boldt as his successor, the decision to accept the job was an easy one for Boldt to make.

“Real-life jobs don’t provide you with that competitive drive that you get from coaching or being involved in sports,” Boldt said. “For a few hours a week I get to feel that kind of emotion that you don’t feel anywhere else.”

Halfway through his first season in charge, Boldt is still getting used to the stress-inducing responsibilities that come part-and-parcel with the job.

“I try to deal with school on some days and then all of a sudden you’ll get a dozen phone calls dealing with players or coaches and parents,” Boldt said.

Boldt admitted he still has a lot to learn about the business of hockey and is slowly learning how to deal with his new responsibilities.

“The biggest thing that I have to work on is to not be the young pushover in the league and make sure that guys understand that I do know what I’m doing,” Boldt said.

“Dealing with other GMs and making roster moves forces you to be shrewd, rude and aggressive at times”. When asked about the age factor hindering him from commanding the respect of his players, Boldt said his age makes it easier for him to appreciate the struggles that confront young athletes trying to make a name for themselves.

“I can relate really easily to these guys because I understand what these guys are going through,” he said”It’s easy for me to understand when guys are having a bad day and how to deal with that.”

Casey Patterson, the 20-year-old Chiefs captain, said he likes what Boldt brings to the team.

“He’s been through it all before and we know that,” Patterson said. “He’s a good coach.”

The Chiefs missed the playoffs by one point last season after going 26-22-4 in the regular season. Boldt said his goals for the team this year are to make the playoffs and help players on his team make the jump to Junior A.
As for his personal goals, Boldt’s childhood dreams of hoisting the Stanley Cup as a player may never come to fruition. But his new dreams of lifting hockey’s Holy Grail as a coach are alive and well.

“I would prefer a career in coaching over business any day, for sure,” Boldt said”. It’s such an amazing lifestyle and I’d love be involved that way so I’m interested to see how it goes.

“I’ll graduate from TRU this year and have two years at Chase under my belt and at that point I’ll have to make a decision about whether I pursue jobs around the country”