Coach Mike Taylor’s seat was a little warm to begin the 2025 campaign. It might soon be engulfed in flames. With a 1-3 start to the season, and three of those four games producing subpar performances, Winnipeg could be in deep trouble. Are the alarm bells going crazy yet? No, not at all. The Sea Bears do have the host spot at Championship Weekend, which ensures them a place in the Western Conference Final. The issue is that the quality of play from the team through four games is not up to the standard that was set in training camp by the coaching staff. Questions do have to be asked, as it seems the same pitfalls that have plagued other rosters are beginning to do so in this season early on. Is this solely on the coaching staff? Is it the players? Or is it a little bit of both. I am going to dive into it all today before the Sea Bears have what feels like a must-win game against the Ottawa Blackjacks on Saturday evening.

Roster Construction vs. Playing Style

We are going to get this one out of the way first and address the recent news of Mason Bourcier’s mutual contract termination. There were promises made between Taylor and Bourcier on playing time and role coming into this year. Clearly through three games that promise has not been kept. Bourcier’s minutes went as follows: 13, 13, and eight. Geoffrey James played more minutes than him in two of the three games, as well as playing a significant amount in the game in which Bourcier was listed as an inactive. A promise was not kept and it lead to a good player deciding that he no longer wanted to be with the organization. This leads me to why I brought this up in the first place. There seems to be a disconnect between the players that are brought in, versus how Taylor wants his teams to play. You look at how the three different teams he has constructed in his tenure with Winnipeg. In year one, the roster was quietly built around Teddy Allen, with those around him being role players that could play the slow, win games with execution and limited mistakes style of play. I will not take away Taylor’s game planning and Coach of The Year level work he deserves. Where things have gone wrong are in years two and three. Obviously last season there were issues off the court with some of the important players, which saw significant turnover with the roster. But even then, the team was playing at a below average level and were having similar issues as we are seeing this summer. The only difference is that this seasons team doesn’t have a player who can explode on offence and single-handedly win them games. In years two and three (with significant emphasis on year three), the roster make-up is players who are athletic, like to push the pace and take early shots. This is obviously not the style Taylor wants to play and he is trying to have his players adapt to his play style. That friction, especially early on in the season is causing the Sea Bears issues. I will take more about that in the following section, but the differing player types and style of game have Winnipeg confused on both ends of the floor. I do believe that the first casualty of this is Bourcier, who plays one of those differing styles than to what coach Taylor wants to play.

Confusion On All Fronts

With the conversation on player styles now out of the way, it’s time to move onto the next topic on the issues that Winnipeg is having. They simply just seem lost on both ends of the floor at times. Does that happen because the team is still somewhat new, and with many of the players not having cohesion and previous chemistry? Yes, absolutely. But the Sea Bears had a full training camp (only minus Simi Shittu) plus four games together. But there still seems to be communication issues in transition. On offence, the ball still sticks a lot in certain players hands, even while there is supposedly a “team first” mentality. Defence has arguably been their most improved end of the floor, but there are still many times there are breakdowns or incorrect rotations. Does this simply come down to the players? It can be, but some of these issues like defence on all fronts have been reoccurring. This undeniably turns the conversation over to the coaching staff. Is there something there that isn’t getting to the players? Is it getting them to play a different style, or does it have to do with the way in which they are trying to get across their game plans? There is also a scenario in which it’s a combination. The style and communication from the coaching staff is off, with how the players play, and they are just not getting used to the style whatsoever.

Where Does The Organization Go From Here?

There are some fans who are already sounding the alarm bells, wanting Mike Taylor fired, or both. While the team does host CW and has the automatic bye, the organization had set the standard that they were not going to be like other hosts. The Sea Bears promised to compete at the top of the standings in the West and complacency was not to set in at any point. With the season starting at 1-3, with not many bright spots, the rationale for the sky falling is definitely permitted. Does it mean that after these four games you should be? Not at all. With the season now extended to 24 games, there is still plenty of time for Winnipeg to make it work. They’ll look for another Canadian to fill Bourcier’s spot and go forward. In reality, with the bye to the Conference Finals, you truly only need to be in form by the end of the season. If Winnipeg does that, they’ll certainly be just fine going into CW. Do the concerns get worse if Saturday evening goes awry to a Blackjacks team that is arguably on paper with similar talent level, most definitely. In a season that really doesn’t mean much until August and only five games in, Saturday seems like must-win to ensure that the organization does not lose faith in the Sea Bears faithful. Things could go really sour for a passionate fan base if the team’s form does not turn around.