Estevan Bruins head coach and GM Chris Lewgood might just know the new coach of the Humboldt Broncos better than anyone. After all, they've been friends since before either of them ever thought of coaching, and had only just begun to skate.

"We grew up together," Lewgood said of his longstanding friendship with Oystrick, "we met when we were about four years old. My Mom used to run a daycare and Nathan started coming there. We played hockey together in Glencarron and Regina and we've maintained our friendship ever since."

Lewgood welcomes his old friend into the SJHL's coaching ranks as a veteran with over 150 SJHL wins under his belt. Oystrick was named the head coach of the Humboldt Broncos on July 3, and faces the task of rebuilding a hockey team devestated by the tragic events of April 6 when 16 members of the franchise were killed in a bus crash.

The return of a team so important to the community it calls home is no easy feat, but Lewgood believes his old buddy is just the right man for the job.

"He's probably been a captain or assistant captain on every hockey team he's played on," Lewgood said. "He has a natural weight in that people gravitate to him. People trust him and believe in him."

One additional challenge for Oystrick is that most of his new charges will never have played together before, as they've been assembled by the dispersal draft. 

"He's going to believe in his players, and in turn they'll believe in each other," said Lewgood. "There's lots of coaches in our league that would be capable of that and he's certainly one of them."

"The Humboldt Broncos of last year was a group of guys that hadn't played hockey together," Lewgood added. "By the end of the year there were a lot of new faces in there. They believed in each other and had that sort of family mentality. I don't believe it will take Nate long to instill that same mentality."

Oystrick has over a decade of pro experience, including three stints in the NHL with Atlanta, Anaheim, and St. Louis. His long playing career morphed into an assistant coaching job with the ECHL's Atlanta Gladiators, and now he brings that wealth of experience to Humboldt.

With Oystrick's hcokey knowledge and friendship with Lewgood, the Bruins bench boss expects some big games when the Broncos and Bruins meet. 

"It'll be fun," he said. "Ours is almost like a brotherly relationship. As much fun as we've had together we've competed a lot in our lives and accounted for probably more bloody noses for each other than anybody else. We've always had a really competitive nature so I think coaching hockey games against each other will be a lot of fun."

THe SJHL has yet to announce this year's schedule, so when the Bruins and Broncos will first meet is not yet known.