Andy Devlin

2018-19 WHL Season Previews: Medicine Hat Tigers

It’s that time of year again! We at the DubNetwork always try to come up with a new order for previews each year and this season we are going with least recent to most recent Ed Chynoweth Cups for our order of previews. They will run 2-to-3 a day until September 20th. Then on September 21st – the day the season opens – we will have our predictions.

Six teams have not won a WHL title, so we went with least recent to most recent trips to the WHL final.

Only two teams have never been to the WHL final and they are the Prince George Cougars and Victoria Royals.

And now for your Medicine Hat Tigers.

The Tigers are entering their 48th season of existence in the Western Hockey League. The team has won five Ed Chynoweth Cups along with two Memorial Cups. Their best regular season came in the 1985-86 season when the team went 54-17-1 before losing in the WHL final. That was the beginning of three dominant seasons for the Tigers as they would go on to win back-to-back Championships and Memorial Cups the next two seasons.

2017-18: 

The defending Central Division champions would once again reign supreme with a not quite as stellar season. The division was much weaker than in 2016-17 but all the Tigers needed was 80 points to grab another banner to hang from their rafters.

Their post season would not go as well as hoped. The Tigers were knocked out of the first round by a surprising Brandon Wheat Kings team.

Off-season departures:

It was a fairly quiet off-season in Medicine Hat as the Tigers are in a good position to attempt a three-peat as Central Division Champions.

Forward Mark Rassell will be missed, His 50 goals and 30 assists put him in the top 30 of WHL scoring. He has moved on to the University of New Brunswick in the USports program. Defenseman Kristians Rubins  has signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization and will suit up with either the Toronto Marlies (AHL) or Newfoundland Growlers (ECHL). American Goaltender Michael Bullion has decided to move on to the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. All three players aged out of the Western Hockey League.

Defenseman David Quenneville signed with the New York Islanders organization and is expected to play for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in 2018-19. His presence will be missed on the Tigers blue line as he led all WHL defensemen in scoring with 80 points (26G-54A).

Jaeger White was dealt to the ICE for conditional compensation.

Linus Nassen was on loan to the Tigers and has since moved to the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL. He has yet to sign with the Florida Panthers affiliate though and is still an outside option to return to the Tigers.

2001-born forward Jalen Price was traded to the Everett Silvertips earlier today.

Newcomers: 

The Tigers opted to draft twice in the CHL import draft but only one of those players made it over to North America to play for them. First round selection, Danish goaltender Mads Sogaard signed with the team and is looking to split the time between the pipes with Jordan Hollett.

There are three forwards, three defensemen and a goalie still on the Tigers roster that would be considered rookies in the WHL.

2000-born Jaxson Steele along with 2001-born Nick McCarry and Corson Hopwo are all looking to break into the Tigers roster and gain some valuable WHL experience. Steele scored twice in his four games of preseason action and has played in 17 WHL regular season games.

McCarry (one game) and Hopwo (two games) have little experience as 15-year-olds and may find it difficult to stick as 16-year-olds as they require a set number of games if they are going to be on the team for the duration of the season.

Overage situation:

With just three players on the roster as 20-year-olds the Tigers appear to have their situation locked down. With it being a down year in the league when it comes to the 20-year-olds, the Tigers preferred to stick with the known, and should be happy with their situation.

Forward Ryan Jevne and defensemen Dylan MacPherson and Dalton Gally will all be eyeing a shot at an NHL contract or an invite to NHL camp next fall.

MacPherson is still in Springfield Thunderbirds camp, it is unknown if or when he will return to the Tigers. He is joined by import two-spotter Linus Nassen. Nassen is not on the preseason roster but could be returned to the Tigers or his homeland’s Lulea HF.

Import situation:

This is where things get trickier for the Tigers. They drafted twice in the CHL Import draft and did not get a commitment from their second round pick Vasili Podkolzin. Mads Sogaard did sign with the team, he’s coming off a season with the Austin Bruins of the NAHL. He played in 22 games sporting a 2.64 goals against average and a .909 save percentage.

There is also the possibility that Linus Nassen could return from his ATO with the Springfield Thunderbirds. He is also a 20-year-old and would take two roster spots.

Returning scorers:

Pts rank Player GP G A Pts
68 Jame Hamblin 70 21 43 64
91 Ryan Chyzowski 72 21 31 52
106 Ryan Jevne 69 20 27 47
126 Gary Haden 70 17 25 42

Returning goalies

Player GP GAA Sv % Record
Jordan Hollett 36 3.43 .896 16-13-4-0

Forwards:

Henry Rybinski (Andy Devlin)

An impressive cast of characters in the Tigers offense will mean that the Tigers will be able to put the puck in the net. The top four forwards remaining from last season had nearly 80 goals between them and are all a year older and should expect more ice time.

Hamblin is battling a wrist injury but should return at some point early on in the seasons.

Josh Williams had a nice Hlinka Gretzky Cup, capturing gold and showing off his very hard and accurate shot. He and fellow 2001-born returnee Henrik Rybinski should be set up for breakout years in the Tigers offense-driven system.

The supporting cast beyond those six are as good as any in the Central division, there are only three rookies that could be looking for ice time with the team.

Ryan Chyzowski remains at Vegas Golden Knights training camp. A timetable for his return is unknown.

Dalton Gally (photo Tyler Lowey)

Defense:

The Tigers did graduate an import defenseman in Kristians Rubins and lost David Quenneville to the New York Islanders organization as he has signed and is eligible to play in the AHL or ECHL.

The bulk of the defense does remain though and they were good enough to help Medicine Hat in winning the Central Division title last year.

There are also three rookies left on the preseason roster, partially due to Dylan MacPherson still being away at training camp and the three rookies have done well so far as to have earned a shot at defending for the Tigers. Eric Van Impe and Daniel Baker have the best shot at sticking with the team as they are 17-year-olds and have some experience with the team already.

16-year-old Ryan Watson has done well to make it this far but it is unknown if he will be able to stick with the club.

Medicine Hat could also see Nassen return which would bolster an already decent deense that could have them fighting for a division title with the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Goalies:

Jordan Hollett (photo-Doug Wyrostok)

Medicine Hat has had issues with trusting their goaltending since Marek Langhammer was part of the organization. Since that time they have had multiple starting goaltenders on their roster at the same time and could never really seem to choose one to stick with.

This season is much the same as the team has Jordan Hollett on the roster as well as Garin Bjorklund. That would appear to be a great tandem for them as Bjorklund could be eased into more games while Hollett took the lions share to assist in the development of Bjorklund.

Then the team went into the CHL import draft and selected Mads Sogaard. It’s not often a team will draft an import goalie and expect them to be the back up.

What the Tigers decide to do this season is anyone’s guess. If Sogaard can step in right away and be the starting goaltender, maybe Medicine Hat has the ability to use Hollett as a trade chip to bolster their roster in the event that they don’t see Nassen or MacPherson back. Only time will tell.

Outlook:

Medicine Hat will look to three-peat as division champions. They will need to go through division rival Lethbridge to get there but are poised to do so. Medicine Hat returns a ton of scoring and a cast of great defensive players. Their supporting cast is really good as well and has always been one of the reasons the Tigers have been a very successful franchise in the WHL.

Their goaltending situation is interesting in that they do often seem to not know what to do with a plethora of options in net. The right decision for them could mean bolstering an already very impressive roster in a division that is one of if not the weakest of the league. Giving Bjorklund some much needed opportunities could give them a goaltending star for years to come and it is the right season to do that.

Does this team have what it takes to win it all? I would say no they don’t with the powerful teams once again in the East Division but hanging a division title banner again next season isn’t a bad consolation prize.