If attitude alone was enough to land a player a full-time job in the National Hockey League, Brett Bulmer would already have one.
Bulmer is a 23-year-old forward who was born and raised in Prince George. He's a prospect of the Minnesota Wild and signed a one-year contract with the team last weekend. The Wild chose Bulmer in the second round (39th overall) in the 2010 NHL draft and, since that time, he has appeared in 14 games with the club. So far, he has spent most of his professional career at the American Hockey League level, skating for Wild farm teams based in Houston and, last season, Iowa.
In three full AHL campaigns, Bulmer has played 139 games, a number that would be a lot higher if not for the injuries he has suffered as part of his occupation.
First came a dislocated kneecap. Next, he wrecked a shoulder and had to have surgery. Then, last season, he was hit dangerously from behind by Adirondack Flames defenceman John Ramage and went head-first into the boards. Bulmer escaped a concussion but sustained a shoulder/arm injury that put him back on the shelf.
So, early in his pro career, Bulmer has gone through more than his share of adversity. At a time when he was supposed to be establishing himself in the AHL and taking strides toward the NHL, his forward momentum was stalled by things that were out of his control. Many young players would feel like there was some sort of conspiracy against them and, when recovering from yet another setback, would feel a long way away from reaching their big-league dream. But not Bulmer.
"I never really felt like it was far away, I always felt like it was right there," he said earlier this week from Kelowna, where he lives in the off-season. "It's been kind of weird. I thought it would obviously go a different way but there are always going to be struggles in anyone's career. There are times when you have to get through the bad, and hopefully there's good to come. That's what I tell myself every day."
Bulmer is now completely healthy and that could bode well for him when he attends the Wild's main training camp this fall. His goal is clear - make the team, and become an NHL regular.
"I feel like if I have a good showing I can maybe be on the opening-night roster and then build from there," he said. "I feel like I need a better opportunity as well. I've got to make sure (I put the work in) and I think things could fall into a good place.
"This is the strongest I think I've ever been," he added. "Every summer, you grow not only as a hockey player but as a person and you get the maturity of your body. I think every year I can get stronger and this year I feel pretty good going in."
As part of his summer training, Bulmer has been on the ice in Kelowna with a group of players that includes fellow B.C. boys Shea Weber (Nashville Predators) and Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens). Weber is one of the NHL's elite defencemen and Price its best goaltender and reigning MVP. For Bulmer, sharing time with players of that quality has been both beneficial and motivational.
"Definitely," he said. "It's one of the better groups I think you could ever find."
Ultimately, Bulmer will have to earn his spot on the Minnesota roster. Nothing will be given to him for free. But, the fact the Wild signed him to a new deal after the expiration of his three-year, entry-level contract shows they see promise in him. At six-foot-three and 215 pounds, he certainly has the build of an NHLer and if he can re-discover some of the scoring touch that made him a star during his junior days with the Kelowna Rockets (34 goals, 62 points in 53 games in his last season) he could finally make his breakthrough.
Hockey fans in his hometown and in Kelowna will be cheering for him.
In fact, anyone who knows his story - the trials he has overcome and the character he has shown in the process - would have a hard time not cheering for him.
