Later tonight, the Medicine Hat Tigers embark on a road trip across the Rocky Mountains to face off against each of the teams in the B.C. Division.
At 9-4-1 through 14 starts, good for 19 points in the competitive Central Division, the Tigers have proven to be a squad that relies on team speed and puck possession in the attacking zone. Medicine Hat has outshot opponents on 13 occasions this season.
“I think we’ve had some things go our way early,” said general manager and head coach, Willie Desjardins, who was reflective when asked about the Tigers start this season. “You know, I think the last three games have been tough games.
“Going into Calgary, Edmonton, and Lethbridge, all are tough rinks to play in. I thought the guys played pretty hard, though. We were in most of the games, but it was nice in the last one to get some points. It would have been hard to kind of come out of those three games without anything.”
There will not be any secrets when the Tigers hit the ice in British Columbia, beginning with a tilt on Vancouver Island Saturday evening against the Victoria Royals. The players expect a heavier game out west.
Memory Lane
Desjardins isn’t sure about that. For his part, it’s been a while.
His last run through the B.C. Division came during the 2009-10 campaign, leading a Tigers team that won 41 games that season. It was his final season in the Western Hockey League before moving on to the professional ranks.
“That’s hard for me to say because I haven’t seen it for a while so I’m not quite sure what I’m going to see,” Desjardins said. “But I have been told that they’re going to be more physical, they’ll use the body a little bit more.
“There’s so many different styles in the league, so you have to be willing to adapt. They’re good teams – in this league everybody’s good. There’s never a night that you’re going to get easy points, so we know they’re good teams and we’re going to have to play hard just to get a chance to win.”
During that road trip a decade ago, the Tigers did not visit Victoria, as the franchise was playing out of Prospera Centre in Chilliwack as the Bruins. It will be the first time Desjardins has been behind the bench in Victoria when the teams hit the ice at the Save On Foods Memorial Centre.
“I haven’t been to the building,” Desjardins said. “But I was thinking about that because when I played, we used to take the ferry across to Victoria. That’s a long, long time back.
“But we used to take the trip across and it’s a good hockey town. You know, I think it’s a great place to get in to play, so I’m looking forward to it.”
When Desjardins says “long time back”, he speaks of his junior hockey days as a player during the 1970s. A different era. A different game. And different buildings.
As a member of the Lethbridge Broncos, shortly after the franchise had moved from Swift Current, Desjardins skated alongside the likes of Steve Tambellini, Brian Sutter, and Rocky Saganiuk. Long-time National Hockey League players Lindy Ruff, along with Darryl and Duane Sutter were mere rookies at the time.
The Western Canada Hockey League was a 12-team outfit in 1976-77, consisting of three divisions. The ferry ride back then led to games at the Victoria Memorial Arena, which was demolished in 2003. Those road trips through British Columbia also included stops in New Westminster, where the Bruins would often run roughshod over opponents at Queens Park Arena. The Portland Winter Hawks and Kamloops Chiefs were the other West Division teams.
Familiar Faces
This time around, Desjardins can expect modern-day arenas and hotels along the way. In addition, he’ll see some familiar friends and foes among the WHL coaching fraternity.
“There’s lots of good coaches in this league, it’s just evolved and there’s lots of good players,” he said. “I had faced Mike Dyck (Vancouver Giants) when he was in Lethbridge. Shaun Clouston (Kamloops Blazers) obviously was here and I worked with Shaun. Those two guys are certainly high-end guys, so it’ll be a tough trip.
“Adam Foote and Vern Fiddler (Kelowna Rockets) in there, those two guys are quality NHL guys. So, you know all these teams are going to be ready and they’re going to be tough teams to play against.”
As far as the Tigers roster heading into the swing out west, it’s a healthy group as rookie defenceman Dru Krebs has returned from a brief absence nursing a lower-body injury. But there will be a big hole to fill, as Cole Sillinger will not make the trip.
The 16-year-old forward, who currently leads the team in scoring and was recognized today as the WHL Rookie of the Month, will remain in Medicine Hat and compete for Team Canada White at the 2019 World U17 Hockey Challenge.
While thankful the team is healthy, Desjardins admits that Sillinger will be missed.
“A little bit,” he said. “But things can change real quick as far as that goes. We’re hoping we can stay healthy because it makes a big difference if you can. That’s one of our luxuries at the start of the year.
“We’re going to play hard, whoever’s in the lineup and if we play hard, hopefully we have a chance to win.”
Sillinger has been outstanding so far this season, centering veteran forwards Brett Kemp and Ryan Chyzowski. The Regina-native has not been out of place on special teams either.
The Captain Speaks
James Hamblin, now 20, has seen plenty of the British Columbia landscape during his five-year career in the WHL.
His first run through the B.C. Division came in 2015-16, his rookie campaign. In fact, the Tigers broke up its trips out west and actually traveled into B.C. on five separate occasions during Hamblin’s first three seasons.
Things seemed to have changed on the scheduling side. Prior to last season, the WHL reduced the number of games played from 72 to 68. The Tigers hosted B.C. Division teams last season but did not travel to British Columbia. This season, the Tigers will visit each B.C. Division locale.
Hamblin, a key leader in Medicine Hat this season, is looking forward to the trip and understands how he can help the team.
“For one thing, just have a bit of fun,” Hamblin said. “Being on the road for that long is usually a blast for us. And those teams are usually pretty good. We don’t get to see them as much, so the preparation with film is usually a pretty big key.”
Hamblin is pleased with the Tigers start to the current campaign.
“I think to start the season, some teams might have underestimated us a bit,” Hamblin said. “But now that teams have seen us, they know that we’re going to bring a battle to them. We’ve got to be prepared to play our best every night. That’s really all we can do.”
The Tigers have had some time off ahead of the road trip. Medicine Hat played in Lethbridge last Saturday.
“I think it was good to have this week to get physically and mentally prepared for that long haul,” Hamblin said. “We know going in it’s going to be tough. Playing away from home is never easy. But, we have to look at it as an opportunity to get better and just go after it.”
Tigers Tales…Hamblin (6G, 11A), Sillinger (8G, 9A) and Chyzowski (9G, 8A) are tied for the team lead in scoring. Kemp (3G, 13A) is next…Defenceman Daniel Baker, 19, leads the blueline brigade with five goals. Now in his third season, he has a total of seven goals during his career. He also leads the team with a plus-10 rating…Chyzowski has been named to Team WHL and will play in one or both games in the CIBC Canada/Russia Series at Saskatoon (Nov. 13) and Prince Albert (Nov. 14)…The Tigers have fired 590 shots at the opposition this season while surrendering a total of 417. Medicine Hat has been outshot once through 14 games…Goaltender Garin Bjorklund is 4-0 this season. The 17-year-old has given up seven goals, compiling a 1.66 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage. He is 6-0 for his career…The Tigers are not the only team missing a key youngster with the IIHF World U17 Hockey Challenge on the docket. Fans in Kamloops, who had hoped to see a matchup between Sillinger and high-octane rookie Logan Stankhoven on Nov. 9, will see neither player when the Tigers meet the Blazers. Stankhoven will also be at the World U17, playing for Team Canada Red…The Tigers play Saturday in Victoria, Sunday in Langley against the Vancouver Giants, Wednesday in Prince George against the Cougars, Friday versus the Kelowna Rockets then Saturday in Kamloops…The road trip serves as a homecoming of sorts for players with family ties to British Columbia, including Baxter Anderson (Fort Langley, BC), Corson Hopwo (Duncan, BC), Tyler Preziuso (Victoria, BC), Trevor Longo (North Vancouver, BC) and Chyzowski (Kamloops, BC)…Next home game is Nov. 16 against the Edmonton Oil Kings…The Tigers announced its Nov. 30 game against the Saskatoon Blades at Canalta Centre will include the annual Teddy Bear Toss. Stay tuned for more details.
