Patience is a virtue – or at least that’s what Winnipeg Jets defenceman Tyrel Bauer thinks.
He quoted that phrase the morning of his NHL debut after four years playing at the AHL level, battling through injuries and continuing to believe in himself along the way.
Now that he’s made his dream of playing in the NHL come true, the 24-year-old reflected on a meaningful night and everyone who’s helped him get to this point.
“Just staying grounded, you know, having all those people in the stands that have believed in me for a long time, it really made me feel confident and comfortable out there,” said Bauer. “I wanted that for them maybe more than I wanted it even for me.”
Both of Bauer’s parents, Steve and Raelyn Bauer, along with his sisters Nicole and Jenna, his grandmother Dorothy and several other friends and family members made the trip to see Bauer make his long-awaited NHL debut. Some of his friends even drove 13 hours to be there.
“It’s a big day, obviously I’m the one doing it but they’re right there the whole way,” said Bauer. “They’ve seen me at all levels – from the minor hockey league, drives home from games, good or bad.”
Known in part for his toughness and physicality, it wasn’t surprising to see him drop the gloves just over seven minutes into the first period. Following a hit on Alex Iafallo, Bauer fought Boston’s Mark Kastelic, who came away from the back-and-forth heavyweight tilt bloodied, but upright.
With emotions still flying high, Bauer shared what the moment was like during a walk-off interview on the TSN broadcast.
“It goes a lot more than just the actual physical act of fighting,” said Bauer. “I’ve been fighting a long time to get here. I’ve stayed in that fight. That was for my teammates, that was for my family, that was for this city for keeping faith in me.”
New teammate Stuart Skinner said he didn’t think anyone in the Jets dressing room was surprised to see the gloves come off early.
“That guy, from me just meeting him, that’s a guy you’d run through a train for,” said Skinner after the Jets’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins on Friday. “He’s that type of player that will do anything for the guys.”
Once a captain at the WHL level in Seattle with the Thunderbirds, Bauer has become someone the organization can count on to bring the energy every night – whether he stays at the NHL level or gets sent down to the club’s AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.
“First game, I don’t know what the over-under on him dropping the gloves, but I think he was fired up,” said teammate Kyle Connor after the game. “He’s just an awesome player. Having that type of guy on your team, if anybody takes liberties on anybody, any type of player, he’s the first guy jumping in. And I thought he looked good, too, made a couple of great breakout passes. And that stuff definitely goes noticed by the team and we appreciate it, it goes a long way.”
With head coach Scott Arniel confirming that it’ll be an all-hands-on-deck effort with five games in eight days to start the season, Bauer should be getting his second game in the books at some point during the team’s first road trip, which begins Sunday in Detroit.
Puck drop for that game is at noon CT on TSN3.
