‘She has made the world of difference on our team:’ Bumstead helping lead Huskies back to nationals

For Christine Bumstead, her journey to Merlis Belsher Place all started on a hunting trip with Paul Maurice. 

The then Winnipeg Jets head coach was looking to get into hunting and with the now Huskies assistant coach being a family friend, it was suggested to her and her dad to bring Paul along for the ride. It was during the trip up when they were talking hockey and he approached her with an opportunity. If coaching was something she wanted to take serious, he wanted to put her name forward for the NHL Coaches Association Female Coaches Development Program — an initiative that works to support the development of female hockey coaches, improving diversity within the game.

That next week, she got a call from Lindsay Arkin of the coaches association — a call that ended up changing her life, leading her to become a part of the program along with 49 other female coaches across North America.

“When I think back to how it all started, it was literally going hunting,” said Bumstead. “Everyday I’m on those NHL calls I just think of how this could’ve never happened.”

“I’m very fortunate in how my life has gone so far and who I've had the opportunity to meet and rub elbows with. It’s been very special — I’m aware of that. I just don't ever take that for granted, but it's nice to know that there's people that if you've been nice to them, you foster that relationship and you can kind of keep those up.”

After a bit of self doubt on whether it was ultimately a path she wanted to pursue, a call with Lee-J Mirasolo, the associate head coach of Harvard Crimson women’s hockey team, that convinced her to make the leap.

“She was like, ‘if you want to do it, just shoot your shot,’” said Bumstead. 

And she shot her shot. The Winnipeg product went on to reach out to 12 different schools, with nine getting back to her about a potential position. One of those schools was Saskatchewan. She eventually chose the Huskies and joined the program as an assistant coach on a one-year basis under the tutelage of head coach Steve Kook.

“I think the best situation was Steve. I felt like he was believing in me,” said Bumstead. “This could have never happened if I didn't believe in myself and didn't send those emails. I would just not be here at all.”

A teacher by trade, Bumstead was teaching grade six, a role she wasn’t particularly enjoying due to the rigours of teaching throughout the pandemic. A combination of coaching and an educational leave while taking post-graduate studies in Deaf and Hard of Hearing classes at Minot State University — presented her with the opportunity for a reset and the chance to fully commit to coaching.

Prior to joining the Huskies, she was the head coach of the Pembina Valley Hawks, a U-15 AAA team in Morden, Man. where she was also teaching, a position she earned after more than 14 years in skills coaching with Northwestern Hockey Sports Camp and Jets Hockey Development in Winnipeg.

She instantly integrated with a young Saskatchewan team that was re-taking the ice for the first time since February of 2020, joining Kook’s staff this summer. 

“It wasn't a situation where she came in and she had to learn the game, she knew the game very well and in terms of teaching the game very well. So from my standpoint, it was like getting a coach that was already experienced,” said Kook.

“I didn't worry about any of the technical stuff about what her background was or whether she was qualified — it was clearly evident from the beginning that I just had to put her in a spot and let her take some responsibilities.”

Kook also noted having a female on the coaching staff is forsure an added bonus, with Bumstead joining fellow assistant coach Robin Ulrich, who coaches skills for the team.

That’s a belief echoed by Bailee Bourassa, the captain of the Huskies.

“I think that it has been just amazing to have a woman behind the bench, because there's some things with male coaches, you just can't connect with them on the same level that you can with a female coach. She understands what it is to be a female athlete and it’s been night and day that on our bench —  to see a woman like excel in a coaching role is huge,” said Bourassa. “I think we do need more female representation in coaching in women's hockey and one day I aspire to hopefully be a coach and make that impact on young players.”

For Bourassa, who is in her fifth-and-final year with a program she joined in 2016, that impact has been huge.

“I have said this numerous times — I don't think we would be where we are without Christine. To be able to look up to her, not only as a coach, but as a person. She has made the world of difference on our team.”

As for what’s to come with Bumstead, where she ends up is still up in the air, but it’s clear she wants something that bridges the gap between teaching and coaching. 

“Wherever I wind up, it has to be somewhere that's going to benefit me as a coach, but also benefit me as a teacher in that type of career,” said Bumstead. “Here has been awesome — and wherever that takes me in the future to get some more head coaching experience, and then at a university level as a head coach would be huge."

The university level and U18 prep level both intrigue her in the long run, but as does her connection to the hard of hearing community, noting a goal of hers is coaching Team Canada’s women’s deaf hockey team.

“Being involved in that deaf community is super important to me, because I think just as much as female visibility and female hockey is super important. I think visibility for the deaf community is super important,” said Bumstead. “A lot of deaf children and athletes don't have role models —  I obviously would not be a role model to them — but I'm passionate about finding those role models for people.”

As for the present, Bumstead is currently in Charlottetown preparing the Huskies for a national title run — their first appearance since 2018 and fourth in program history, putting a bow on what’s been a historic season for the Huskies after they knocked off the nation’s number-two ranked Mount Royal Cougars to punch their ticket to Prince Edward Island.

“We were driving home for Mount Royal on the bus and (assistant coach) Brian McGregor turned to me and tapped me and he goes ‘I was just thinking, what a cool year for you to come — to experience for the whole U SPORTS experience, training camp in August, all the way to Nationals. And I know that this is not like a typical season, it's a dream season for everybody,” said Bumstead.

“It's super special for me to be able to have this opportunity to experience everything right. Obviously, you dream of it being a national championship before I got here, but you never know what's going to be. “

Bourassa is evidence of that. Along with Abby Shirley, they are the only Huskies to have been at a national championship before, meaning 24 players in the green-and-white will experience their first national championship this weekend. 

“I just want to live through them and just see their excitement for things,” said Bumstead. “Getting all these girls with this new experience, I'm super excited to see it through them, because this whole year, every time we've won a game, a girl scores her first goal or whatever it is — I’m just so pumped for them because I’m here to be their biggest cheerleader.” 

“At the start of the season we said like our goal is a national championship and the fact that goal is still a reality for us is so special.”

The puck drops on the Huskies national championship pursuit at 12:00 p.m. CST in Charlottetown, as they battle the Brock Badgers in quarter-final action. The game can be watched live on CBC.ca or listened to live on the HuskieFAN app.