North American Hockey League
Bisbing relishing his role in Alaska A
By Matt Mackinder
fter beginning his North American Hockey League (NAHL) career last season with the Bismarck (N.D.) Bobcats, Cody Bisbing was traded to the Alaska Avalanche
soon after the campaign started.
The move has proved fortuitous for the Mesa native, who has found a home in his scenic sur- roundings.
“I’m very privileged to be in this league and in Alaska,” said Bisbing. “It’s such a beautiful place and I’m making the most of it. I really like it here.”
It doesn’t hurt, either, that the forward has developed a better understanding of the junior game this season and his role with the Avalanche, which has only bolstered his confidence. “Everyone wants to be that big point-getter, but you also have to have guys on the team that do other things of value,” explained Bisbing, whose Avs sat in first place in the Tier II Junior A league’s West Division at the holiday break. “I’m becoming more of a defensive forward and I think I’m playing my position well. I’m enjoying being on the penalty kill, blocking shots - stuff like that.
“Hockey is a team effort, and I’m all about the team.”
Bisbing, 18, also credits the philosophies of first-year Ava- lanche head coach Corey Millen, who knows a thing or two about reaching the highest peaks of the game, for his growth as a player. “He’s taught us a lot and, be-
cause he played in college and the NHL, he knows what it takes and the commitment level you need to go as far as he did,” Bisbing said. “I just love the way he thinks the game and the way he passes that on to us.”
Bisbing, who is still working towards a Division I opportunity, knows he’s in the right place given the fact that the NAHL is one of most highly-scouted junior circuits in North America and has a college commitment list that swells by the week. He’s confident his subtle con- tributions won’t go unnoticed.
Making the jump from Midg- et AAA hockey to the NAHL was a leap Bisbing couldn’t have made without the influences of a number of Arizona youth coach- es, including Mike De Angelis and Jim Johnson, who coached Bisbing with the P.F. Chang’s Tier I program (now the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes Elite).
A successful second season in the NAHL has Mesa’s Cody Bisbing in good posi- tion to attract the attention of plenty of college scouts.
“Sure, all the top teams have their top scorers and big-time players, but I think guys that do the little things also play a valuable role,” he said. “Colleges always look for role players and I think if I keep progressing and playing the role Corey wants me to play, opportunities will start to present themselves.”
NAHL.com
He also acknowledges Kent Schmidtke, who’s the head coach of this year’s Arizona Hockey Union Bantam A White and Pee Wee A Silver squads. “I can remember Kent being the best I’d ever seen at han- dling the puck,” said Bisbing. “I used to take lessons from him in the morning at Polar Ice Chandler and, since I’ve been in the NAHL, I like to think my puckhandling is pretty good and
I owe that all to Kent.”
And, as the calendar turns to 2012, Bisbing is nothing but excited to help the Avs stick to their winning ways.
“We had a successful first half and I think we can only keep getting better,” he said. “We have a great group of guys and, I think if we keep work- ing hard, we can have a special season.”
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