Okotoks Drillers forward Michael Kneeland is enjoying his life as an Innisfail Eagle.
Kneeland, a 30-year-old Calgary native, has had a long and storied hockey life prior to joining the Eagles from the Drillers after his team was knocked out of playoffs and picked up by Sutter and company for their series against the Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs.
ìI was excited to get the call and play with the Innisfail Eagles,î said Kneeland after a playoff final game last week. ìTo be given the opportunity to play under Brian Sutter was one opportunity I was not going to let slip by.î
Kneeland added Sutter runs the Eagles like any professional team and expects players to be at their best every game.
ìHe runs the team with high standards, and is able to get players on the same page,î said Kneeland. ìFor me, this is different than I am used to with the Drillers. Different coaching styles, different backgrounds, same goal.î
Sutter said Kneeland creates offensive opportunities every time he is on the ice, which is what the Eagles need for the playoffs.
Kneeland was taken from the Okotoks Drillers after a spectacular season in which he was named the Chinook Hockey League's (CHL) most valuable player this season with 13 goals and 21 assists. He was also selected to the first all-star team. In playoff games to date, he has collected three goals and four assists as an Eagle.
His hockey career before the CHL included playing Alberta junior hockey with the Calgary Royals, notching 50 goals and 76 assists in 176 games from 2002 to 2005. He tallied 40 goals with 56 assists in 95 games from 2005 to 2009 with the NCAA III Lake Forest College Foresters. He also played with the Wichita Thunder of the Central Hockey League in 2009-2010. Playing with the Southern Professional Hockey League's Knoxville Ice Bears of Tennessee, he gained valuable playoff experience that he hopes will help him with the Eagles' drive to the senior men's hockey championship.
ìBetween 2010 and 2013, I took time off semi-pro hockey to get back to real life and worked in Chicago and New York in sales with Coyote Logistics,î said Kneeland. ìAs well as playing hockey, I work with Endurance Technologies as a sales executive based out of Calgary.î
The Calgary native pointed out as far back as he can remember, he has always skated, with an eye of course, to play hockey.
ìI think I was skating when I was three years old and started playing competitively as soon as I was able,î said Kneeland. ìMy dad is a real hockey fan so it was natural for me to pick up on the game. He has been my biggest fan and supporter through the years.î
He notes his favourite team growing up was the Pittsburgh Penguins when Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr were at their peak.
ìI managed to catch a few games live when they came through Western Canada,î said Kneeland. ìLemieux and Jagr are my hockey idols.î
His future with the Eagles has a limited time frame.
ìI have five more games left with the Eagles until I go back to the Okotoks Drillers who are playing in the AA Provincials March 28 and 29,î added Kneeland. ìAfter that, if the Eagles are still in playoff contention for the national title, I will be suiting up with Sutter and the team for the duration.î
He added hockey will be in his future until juggling work and ice time gets too much.
ìI've had a good go at it already, but sometimes you have to hang up the skates,î said Kneeland.
For the remainder of this season, Kneeland is a vital cog in the Eagles' arsenal. He is more than OK with that. Like that three-year-old kid, he is still skating with a passion that refuses to fade.
