Vikings sports keeping Ferland busy

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/12/2022 (694 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you’ve been to a Vincent Massey Vikings baseball, basketball, hockey, or volleyball game over the last few years, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Brannigan Ferland play.

Since arriving at the school in 2019, he’s been involved in all four sports.

While he’s cut back his schedule slightly this year — Ferland elected not to play volleyball — the Grade 12 student has been pretty busy over the last few weeks as he’s raced from hockey practice to basketball practice.

“It can definitely get pretty busy for me at this time of the year, but I like to keep active so I can’t complain,” Ferland said.

“I’ve always been a multi-sport guy. I’ve tried to play every sport that I’ve tried out for since I came here and it’s been a great experience. I’ve met a bunch of new people along the way and I’ve gotten even closer with my friends on each of the teams.”

Ferland is one of the key players for the Vikings hockey team. He leads the program in scoring and is tied for fourth overall in the Westman High School Hockey League with 35 points — 14 goals and 21 assists— in 12 games.

His scoring touch has made its way onto the court as well.

Ferland had 26 points for the Vikings on Thursday night as they opened their Brandon Sun Spartan Invitational Tier 1 schedule with an 87-73 triumph over Winnipeg’s River East Kodiaks.

“Brannigan brings a little bit of craftiness to the game, which is a good thing for basketball,” Vikings coach Brett Nohr said. “He knows his spacing, he knows where to go, and he’s a really good passer, which is something that’s really underestimated in this day and age.

“I love the fact that he and several guys on our team are multi-sport athletes. I played a lot of sports growing up and I think it brings a different dimension to whatever game you are involved in.”

Ferland says the biggest thing that he’s learned from playing different sports is how important your teammates are.

“You have to play together as a group in order to win,” Ferland added. “You can’t go out there and try and do everything by yourself.”

Ferland is one of six Grade 12 players on this year’s Vikings basketball roster. Carter Moore, Aaron Pasaporte, Will Pearson, Justin Sharp and Connor Van Santen are also in their final season.

“We have a younger team this year, but our chemistry is really good and it feels like we’ve been playing together for a long time,” Ferland said. “A lot of us are in the same classes … so I think that is part of the reason why we’re so close already.

“We also have a pretty quick team this year. I feel like we can run teams out of the court, even the ones that are bigger than us. That’s going to be huge as we get further into the season and closer to the provincials.”

Barring any schedule changes that may happen due to the winter storm that’s hit the southern half of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the Vikings are in action at 9 a.m., and 5:45 p.m., today against the Dakota Lancers and the Winston Knoll Wolverines of Regina.

Both games will be held at Vincent Massey.

“For a lot of our guys, this is the first time that they’ve been in this tournament where we’ve had all the big teams,” Nohr said. “With the blizzard, we weren’t quite sure that to expect today, but when we found out that River East was here we all said ‘Great, let’s play.’

“The best thing about a tournament like this is that it gives our players a chance to see where they need to improve their game and they can spend the rest of the season working on those things.”

For Ferland, his main goal for the season is to make it to the provincials and end his high school career on a high note.

When asked what his plans are after he graduates from Vincent Massey in June, that hasn’t been mapped out yet.

“I need to talk with my parents and figure out what’s next, so it’s kind of a wait-and-see situation at this point,” Ferland said.

“I’m just going with the flow right now and enjoying everything that happens.”

» lpunkari@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @lpunkari