Jevne draws back into Tigers lineup

By Ryan McCracken on January 10, 2018.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com @MHNMcCracken

Ryan Jevne is done serving time.

The 19-year-old Medicine Hat Tigers winger will draw back into the lineup tonight against the Saskatoon Blades after serving a three-game suspension for checking to the head. Considering the Edmonton product played all 72 games with the Tigers last season, being forced to watch from the stands while healthy was a frustrating experience, but Jevne says he managed to learn from it in more ways than one.

“It’s not something I’m used to, being in the stands,” he said. “It’s a different perspective, you get to watch and kind of get a different angle. It sucks being out but you can learn from it.”

Jevne added there was no intent to injure when he laid a neutral ice body check on Kootenay Ice winger Gilian Kohler during Medicine Hat’s New Year’s Day game, but it was ruled a check to the head and Kohler suffered a concussion.

“I had a phone call with the league and they said it’s just one of those hits they’re trying to prevent. The guy got a concussion and couldn’t make the road trip with Kootenay,” said Jevne. “They said he didn’t have a chance to defend himself. I saw it a little bit differently, I thought I went stick on puck, but once it’s in the league’s hands it’s out of my control and I just have to deal with it.”

Jevne added he was impressed by young players like Henry Rybinski, who has been filling in on the top line with Hayden Ostir nursing a finger injury, and Baxter Anderson, who stepped into Jevne’s role alongside Ryan Chyzowski and Tyler Preziuso during his absence.

“I thought they did really well. Obviously as a young guy you don’t want guys to get hurt or suspended but when you get that chance it’s exciting. You have an opportunity to play more minutes in different situations,” said Jevne, who has 10 goals and 14 assists in 38 games this season. “I thought they did a really good job and helped our team. That’s good to see, hopefully they can take that bit of confidence and run with it.”

Jevne returns to the lineup with good timing. The Tigers (22-16-3-0) embark on the first leg of a four-game East Division road trip tonight against the Saskatoon Blades (21-18-2-1) before following it up with three games in three nights against the Regina Pats (21-19-3-0) on Friday, the Brandon Wheat Kings (27-12-0-1) Saturday and the Moose Jaw Warriors (33-6-1-2) Sunday.

“It’s probably the biggest challenge of the year. It’s our first three-in-three, Saskatoon has been playing some great hockey and obviously the three other teams are phenomenal. We’re going to have to play our best, this time of year they’ve added some pretty big pieces so it’s going to be tough but we always look forward to a good challenge.”

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