Brett Bamber brings leadership and strong puck moving ability to the Griffins' blueline after playing three seasons of NCAA Div. 1 hockey (James Maclennan photo).
Brett Bamber brings leadership and strong puck moving ability to the Griffins' blueline after playing three seasons of NCAA Div. 1 hockey (James Maclennan photo).
November 14, 2025

Relishing playing at home for first time in seven years, NCAA transfer Bamber leads Griffins vs. UBC

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Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – As he hit the ice for warm-ups against Calgary at the Downtown Community Arena on Halloween night, Brett Bamber glanced up in the crowd and instantly started laughing.

His girlfriend Shelby and mom Tammy were dressed up as … him. 

Completing the costumes perfectly, they both sported fake moustaches, nearly as luxurious as his own.

"My girlfriend and my mom decided they were going to wear some of my old jerseys and put on a moustache, and dress up as me for Halloween," he said. "That was pretty funny. I saw it when I was warming up and it gave me a little chuckle there when I was skating around in warm-up. 

"It was pretty funny and it was nice to see them put on those moustaches."

Shelby wore his old #77 jersey from his junior days the Drayton Valley Thunder, while Tammy had one of his old spring hockey jerseys on.

These are the type of family moments he hasn't had in years after playing away from his St. Albert home for the past seven seasons, including the past three out of country in the NCAA.

"It's awesome," said Bamber of playing at home again for the first time since he was a member of the St. Albert U18AAA team in 2017-18. "It's just a feeling that my parents get to come and watch the games instead of watching it on TV. I have some relatives around here, too, that love coming to watch me play. 

"It makes me happier just to be here and let them come and watch. It's so much better."

Bamber will lead the Griffins into a pair of home games this weekend when they welcome the UBC Thunderbirds (Friday, 7 p.m. and Saturday, 3 p.m., both DCA, Canada West TV).

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After captaining the Thunder in his final Alberta Junior Hockey League season in 2021-22, Bamber headed north to play for the University of Alaska-Anchorage. In 61 games over two seasons for the Seawolves, he produced eight goals and 23 points.

"I would definitely say the biggest moment was scoring my first goal there in Alaska," he said of a tally that happened on a visit to Colorado College in 2022. "That was just putting my foot in the door and saying I belong there. It was, for sure, a happy moment for me and my family."

He continued to prove he belonged in Div. 1, transferring all the way to Springfield, Mass.-based American International College for the 2024-25 season, putting up 18 points in 35 games from the back end.

Unfortunately, the program was discontinued.

"We kind of had a weird situation there," he said. "I transferred there and a couple months in, they called us in and told us that the hockey program was being terminated because of funding. 

"That was kind of tough to hear, especially because I already transferred and I was hoping to graduate from there."

But it got him thinking about fulfilling a desire to play at home. MacEwan was the perfect place.

"It was kind of tough going from school to school, especially in the NCAA," he said. "I haven't been home in a long while. I played four years in Drayton Valley and went all the way from here in Alberta to Alaska and then went to Springfield, Mass. I thought it was kind of time to go home and spend time with my family. 

"Dales was perfect about it, too. I had some buddies who already played on this MacEwan team. I played with (Kadyn) Chabot, Brody (Tallman) and I know Tyson (Kowaluk) and Wardo (Eric Ward) and (Carson) Ironside. There were so many guys I knew on the team, so it was such a great fit for me."

The feeling is mutual. Bamber has been a key cog on the MacEwan blueline this season with five points in 12 games.

"He's played at a very high level and been successful at that level," said Griffins head coach Zack Dailey. "He was on a team that won games and he's someone who knows how to win and knows how to win under pressure. That's something our group is really trying to master – to be able to handle high-pressure situations and handle them well. He's someone who has done that, so his experience is very valuable to our group."

Dailey has specifically liked Bamber's rush-against defence.

"He breaks pucks out extremely well, gets a ton of pucks on net in the O-zone," he said. "He just brings leadership. Awesome guy in the room, guys really like him. He's a really good ambassador and great guy to bring in because he brings a lot to our group."

They'll need strong puck movement this weekend as they welcome the first-place Thunderbirds – a team that has rattled off nine wins in a row since losing their only game of the season to MacEwan in their home opener on Oct. 3.

"They're very good off the rush, so we're going to have to have very good rush against defence," said Dailey. "They can be extremely hard on net fronts and throw a lot of pucks towards the net, so we're going to have to compete hard on our net front. 

"They have great special teams, so it's a really tough task for our group. But when we're at our best, I think we can compete with anybody, so I'm just looking for guys to be at their best."