From Dauphin to Jets Hockey Development, the Manitoba coach is helping young players discover that individual improvement is the foundation of team success.
When Devin Himpe was a kid growing up in Dauphin, his father used ice cream buckets to build a Stanley Cup.
The neighbourhood kids played street hockey for it. They battled for it. They celebrated winning it.
And somewhere along the way, a young boy from Parkland discovered that hockey wasn't just about putting the puck in the net.
It was about competition. Friendship. Teamwork. And having a whole lot of fun.
These days, Himpe isn't chasing homemade Stanley Cups. He's helping develop the next generation of Manitoba hockey players as a coach with Jets Hockey Development, while also working as an Assistant Coach with the University of Manitoba Men’s Bisons Hockey Team.
Devin Himpe (middle) on the University of Manitoba Bisons bench (Photo courtesy University of Manitoba)
And the lessons he learned on those Dauphin streets remain as important today as they were 25 years ago.
"I grew up in Dauphin, Manitoba," Himpe said. "I played all of my minor hockey through Dauphin. I played AAA with the Parkland Rangers. I grew up wanting to be a Dauphin King."
He eventually made the Kings, but hockey wasn't always a straight line for Himpe.
At one point, he decided education was more important than pursuing his junior career. He enrolled at the University of Manitoba and eventually found himself playing in the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League with the Fort Garry Twins.
That's where something wonderful happened.
He fell in love with hockey all over again.
"I think that was a big part of the coaches that I had at that time that just made it fun again," he said. "Made it seem more something that I'd want to do for my life."
And that's exactly what happened.
Himpe studied Recreation Management and Community Development at the U of M. Through a work placement with Bison Sport, he developed a relationship with longtime Bisons coach Mike Sirant, who gave him an opportunity to get involved in coaching.
It wasn't easy.
Himpe suddenly found himself coaching players he had grown up playing with or against.
"Being able to coach at a high level pretty early on was difficult," he admitted. "I'm kind of one of those people that you throw me in the fire and I'm going to try and figure a way out of it."
He certainly figured it out.
Himpe worked with Hockey Manitoba, became involved with Team Manitoba's video preparation, moved into assistant coaching roles and eventually became a head coach.
Along the way, he learned from some outstanding hockey minds, including Sirant, Bisons assistant Ryan Bonni, numerous Team Manitoba coaches and Dave Cameron, who helped introduce him to the finer points of individual skill development.
Devin Himpe of Jets Hockey Development with his young charges at hockey for all centre (Photo by Jonathan Kozub)
"I've been very fortunate, very lucky to work with some great coaches," Himpe said. "I just kind of sat there and tried to be a sponge as much as I could with them."
His education included Hockey Canada skills certification and the realization that developing individual players and building successful teams aren't separate objectives.
They're connected.
"Individual skills that lead into team skills, that lead into team play and systems," he explained.
It's a philosophy he brings to Jets Hockey Development every day.
During the winter, Himpe and the JHD staff work with numerous Manitoba teams, including U13, U15, U17, and U18 players at the AA and AAA levels, on both the male and female sides.
Their emphasis isn't necessarily on teaching complicated systems. It's about making young players better with and without the puck.
Puck control. Stickhandling. Shooting. Skating. Keeping their heads up. Reading the ice.
The fundamentals that can turn an ordinary player into a very good one.
"We focused a lot on just getting the puck on their stick as much as we can," Himpe said of a recent series of sessions. "Doing a lot of puck control, a lot of stickhandling. A lot of getting their head up, scanning the ice, understanding where they need to be and where their teammates and opponents are."
He understands that team coaches have their own responsibilities. Jets Hockey Development can complement their work by giving players additional repetitions and more individual attention.
That might mean working on offensive-zone cutbacks, shooting techniques or power skating. It might mean a one-on-one session in the Ice Lab, where a player can spend 30 minutes concentrating on one specific skill in a small space.
It's also about helping coaches.
"What we're trying to do a little bit more of is communicate with the coaches," Himpe said. "And not just help the players develop, but help the coaches develop as well."
For Himpe, the ultimate example of combining individual ability with team commitment came during his recent experience as head coach of Team Manitoba.
His team captured the WHL Cup, overcoming the familiar challenge of competing against provinces with larger player populations. Not only did they win, they went undefeated, something no Team Manitoba team has ever done.
Manitoba entered with the underdog mentality that Himpe remembers from his Parkland playing days.
But he wasn't interested in simply participating.
He wanted to win.
A Team Manitoba Fly-By at the WHL Cup. Mateo Ferreira (4) and Crosby Mateychuk (6) were just named to the Hockey Canada U17 Challenge (Photo courtesy Hockey Manitoba)
"We've always had that mentality of it's us versus the world type of thing," he said. "We have to be a team to be able to win this or at least be competitive."
The secret wasn't simply assembling the most talented individuals.
It was finding the right players.
"We're not building a team of the absolute best players of that age at that time," he explained. "It was, can we build the right team to go there and be competitive, but not just be competitive, have that mentality that we're going there to win."
They found that combination.
The players accepted their roles, challenged one another and arrived at the rink determined to improve. Two outstanding goaltenders provided the confidence and stability every championship team needs.
"It was just a group of kids that wanted to work," Himpe said. "They wanted to be challenged and they came to the rink every day wanting to get better."
Today, Himpe continues balancing his work at Jets Hockey Development with his responsibilities at the University of Manitoba, where the Bisons are adapting to a new coaching approach under Gord Burnett.
He's enthusiastic about the team's direction, particularly its emphasis on speed and its ability to compete against strong NCAA opponents during exhibition play.
But whether he's working with university athletes, provincial all-stars or youngsters still learning how to control a puck, Himpe's message doesn't change.
Make yourself better. Make your teammates better. And never forget why you started playing.
After all, the coach who now helps develop Manitoba's hockey future once learned some of his most valuable lessons chasing a Stanley Cup made from ice cream buckets.
And that's a pretty good foundation on which to build a coaching career.
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