BERKLEY, Mich. – Timing is everything and for Tim Muhsman, the time is now.

The veteran Midwest Junior Hockey League forward, who had originally committed to attend and play hockey next season at Indiana Tech University, will instead wait a year before taking the college route and will play his second season in 2014-15 with the Berkley Bruins.

Last year, the 20-year-old Nashville, Tenn., native piled up 20 goals and 54 points in 36 games, good for second on the squad in team scoring.

Aside from improving on his stats, Muhsman wants to continue his leadership role next year (he was the captain in 2013-14) and round out his game to be college-ready a year from now.

“Coming back to Berkley wasn’t a decision I made overnight,” Muhsman explained. “After I decommited from Indiana Tech and thought about what I really wanted to do for the upcoming season, my heart was just with the Bruins because of all the potential this team really has this coming season. That made me really excited and I wanted to be a part of it.”

New Bruins’ coach Dan Pszenyczny has much praise for Muhsman.

“When Mush is on the ice, he controls the ice by playing with hockey intelligence and using his body,” said Pszenyczny. “He plays his position very well and makes his teammates better. He has a great shot, passes very well and he's got speed for his size. Mush is a player that every coach wants on his team and every player wants as a teammate.”

As a captain last year, Muhsman took several of the younger Bruins under his wing and showed them the ropes of junior hockey. He plans on doing that again in 2014-15.

“I plan on being one of the leaders of this team, being one of guys the younger players can come to and be a mentor to them this year means a lot,” said Muhsman. “With the pieces we have added and with Coach Dan starting the year with us this season, we will be a more fundamentally-sound team on both sides of the rink. Can we play for a national championship? That’s to be determined, but I can tell you that we are going to surprise some teams this year.”

With the recent addition of fellow veteran forward Anthony Wojciechowski and a solid core of returning players in forwards Jack Grebe and Colton James, defenseman Evan Wilson and goaltender Hunter Myers, along with the recent rookie signees, Pszenyczny feels he has a team that will work hard and compete.

“This season, I expect Mush to take his game to the next level,” Pszenyczny said. “He brings a great amount of experience to the team, which with that, he brings a great deal of leadership and will be counted on a lot this season. With him and Wojo in our lineup, teams will have trouble containing them. They work and read off each other very well and they both play with passion.”

With the start of the MWJHL season still about two months away, Muhsman is already getting stoked to getting back to the Berkley Ice Arena.

“All offseason, I’ve been skating with the team and working out,” said Muhsman. “I can’t wait to get the season going and I also can’t wait to hear what our PA announcer (Matt Mackinder) has added to his in-game music collection.”

The Bruins start their second MWJHL season in Berkley on Friday, Oct. 4, with their home opener against the Monarchs. Game time is set for 4:30 p.m. at the Berkley Ice Arena.

Photo/Jeff Zigman