Veteran blueliner Tyler Dodgson has helped the Virden Oil Capitals in many ways since joining the team in January.
The 19-year-old from Winnipeg has two goals and three assists in 14 games, as of March 4, since coming to Virden. The Oil Caps acquired him from the Winnipeg Blues.
“Tyler brings so many things to our group,” Virden head coach Tyson Ramsey said. “He skates well, moves the puck extremely well and has a tremendous shot. He is very physically strong and when he imposes himself on people, he is very hard to play against. He has the ability to move the puck up ice and then join to become an offensive threat. We are very lucky to have him here and look forward to what he can do the rest of this season and next.”
This is Dodgson’s fourth Manitoba Junior Hockey League campaign. He brought valuable MJHL experience to an already veteran-laden roster. He made his Junior A debut with the Portage Terriers in a 2020-2021 campaign severely shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the next season, Dodgson posted 22 points in 52 games for the Terriers. He split 2022-2023 between the Terriers and the Winnipeg Blues.
“I think playing for a couple other teams around the league has helped me because I’ve been able to see how different coaches see certain situations and then I can combine all that information and know that there are different ways to play in the same situation with none of them being right or wrong just different,” Dodgson said.
When he joined the Oil Caps, there were some familiar faces there to greet him. For example, Dodgson played a season of U18 AAA hockey on the Winnipeg Bruins with twins Joey and David Bielik. As well, he said, “I knew a few of the players either from playing with them for certain tournaments or just playing against each other for a few years, which probably helped to settle in here in Virden, but I think because we have such a tight knit group it wouldn’t have mattered either way.”
Dodgson billets with Lance and Janice Barrate and their three sons: Isaiah, Evander and Allister. He has liked various aspects of being an Oil Capital.
“The thing that I’ve enjoyed the most about playing in Virden is getting to be around everyone in the organization every day and being able to work together to improve every day,” Dodgson said.
