08-05-2025
Sea Bears look to make big splash
Mason Bourcier believes he's changed for the better since the last time he took to the court for the Winnipeg Sea Bears.
The 25-year-old doesn't feel like a seasoned veteran, but he enters his sixth season in the Canadian Elite Basketball League on the heels of a winter whirlwind that has matured him personally and professionally.
Most notably, Bourcier got married and, in March, his wife Makenna gave birth to their first child, a baby boy named Phoenix.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
The Winnipeg Sea Bears training camp tipped off Thursday at the Sport for Life Centre.
'It's been the best process ever,' said Bourcier, who helped plan their marriage and prepared to welcome his son while playing in the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League.
'Yeah, it's stressful, but it was enough work and stress to kind of give me a change in my perspective on life that I kind of desperately needed. I'm tired of thinking about myself and caring about myself, I'm ready to move on and worry about something more important than myself.'
A smile hasn't left his face since he met his kid for the first time.
'It's everything at this point, you know? I mean, we talked a little bit just how basketball was up here,' he gestured with his hand above his head, 'and having a kid, it kind of changes the whole dynamic of what I find meaning in, and the importance of basketball and whatnot.'
Bourcier is one of three players from the Sea Bears' 2024 squad to return this season (Alex Campbell and homegrown product Emmanuel Akot are the other two), and the decision wasn't particularly difficult for him. The Kelowna, B.C. product forever has close ties to the Manitoba capital, calling it the place where he gave his wife a fairy-tale story.
'It's kind of ingrained value,' said Bourcier, who proposed to his wife prior at a Sea Bears home game last July.
'Doing that in Winnipeg, I grew so much from those little events, and then those big things I went through, and… when I see the growth as a human being, that's something only you can kind of reflect on. So, yeah, that was a big part of it.'
The Sea Bears are hopeful they have changed for the better, too. Their first test will come at home against the Edmonton Stingers on May 16.
Nine new faces are expected to make up a large part of the 12-man roster on a team that is looking to take a title-contending leap in its third campaign. That quest began on Monday as the Sea Bears held their opening day of training camp at the Sport For Life Centre.
Winnipeg has a prime opportunity at glory during the CEBL Championship Weekend in August. As host, the club is guaranteed a spot in the Western Conference Final.
Players are doing their best not to think about the automatic berth, though. When Championship Weekend was mentioned during a team meeting earlier this week, they squashed any thoughts of getting complacent throughout the 24-game regular season.
'I think it's just coming out (of) the gate playing championship basketball,' said Campbell, who has reached the final four twice in his career.
'It's kind of a setup — guys get into this comfortable state and then just kind of glide through the summer and then try to ramp up closer to the championship game. But I think it's just about attacking every game, knowing that you're building for something great at the end and keeping that consistency throughout the summer.'
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Alex Campbell (centre) runs a drill with his teammates during the Winnipeg Sea Bears first day of training camp at the Sport for Life Centre on Thursday.
The moves made by head coach Mike Taylor this off-season have reflected that, including a philosophical shift in how he constructed the roster.
'The first two summers, we had the star mentality with the team,' said Taylor.
The Sea Bears were built around Teddy Allen in 2023 and, after he was released early on last summer, Justin Wright-Foreman. That strategy yielded high-scoring solo performances for the two star guards but not enough team success.
'I think if we want to have that ultimate team basketball success, the best teams that I've been a part of, the championship teams that I've been a part of, the World Cup teams that I've been a part of, have been all about team basketball,' Taylor added. 'So we've tried to change the roster in a way that we've got guys that are, let's say, team oriented, team structured, and can rely on each other and want to play together.'
Part of that entailed building from the inside out. Taylor made a big splash in landing Canadian-raised centre Simi Shittu, who was named to the All-CEBL first team in 2023, and continued stacking talent with centre Solomon Young and power forward Jaylin Williams and rounding out the frontcourt with the acquisition of hometown product Kyler Filewich.
Winnipeg Jets Game Days
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.
'I feel like the balance comes with the size and physicality in the post,' Taylor said. 'We've got some guys that can score down there. We've got some really good wings. In particular, we've got a point guard (Terry Roberts) that all the reports are people love to play with them. So we're really, really optimistic about it, and I hope that it plays out in a really brand of basketball that the Sea Bears fans love to watch.'
Taylor's philosophy has already resonated with players, including Campbell, a trusted leader on the team who returns for his second season in Winnipeg.
'I'm confident. I like the vibes, good energy in the gym. Everyone's selfless and moving the ball, so I'm having fun with it for sure,' said Campbell, who, along with Bourcier and Roberts, should have a crucial role in the backcourt.
'This year, it looks like by committee, built it by committee — ball moving, ball snapping around, you don't know who's gonna hurt you on what night. And I think we got a group of guys that's gonna buy into that philosophy, and I think it'll be good.'
Joshua Frey-SamReporter
Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh.
Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
