NEWS PHOTO MO CRANKER
Medicine Hat Tigers defenseman Dylan Plouffe fires a puck up the ice Saturday in a game against the Calgary Hitmen.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
Dylan Plouffe has entered a whole new world with the Medicine Hat Tigers.
The 20-year-old defenceman spent the first 272 games of his Western Hockey League career mastering the defensive structure of the Vancouver Giants, but ever since joining the orange and black in a trade on Dec. 7, Plouffe has been tasked with transitioning to Medicine Hat’s “run-and-gun” approach to the game.
“It’s totally opposite from what I’m used to back in Vancouver,” said Plouffe. “It’s more of a run-and-gun game that’s all based around offence as opposed to back there, where it’s very structured in the D-zone and more about slowing the game down. But that’s all about how you adjust in the game of hockey. It’s just how you read and react to things. I think for me it’ll take a little more time to get used to, but I think I’m going to do well with it.”
Tigers centre Elijah Brown – who grew up playing minor hockey with Plouffe in the Edmonton area – says he expects the big-bodied blueliner will quickly find his bearings in the new system and become a key factor in Medicine Hat’s push for the Ed Chynoweth Cup this season.
“Our system is a little bit different than Vancouver’s, so you can kind of tell he’s doing their type of play, but he’ll fit in good,” said Brown. “It’ll take a couple more games, maybe, but he’s a point guy and he’ll start contributing for us.”
It may not be what he’s used to, but after picking up an 11-3 win over the Saskatoon Blades and an 8-4 win over the Prince Albert Raiders in the days following his acquisition, the 6-foot, 201-pound Sherwood Park product said it’s an undeniably exciting brand of hockey.
“It’s really cool to see. It’s something that I’m not used to … It’s nice to see goals go in from everywhere and it’s really fun to be a part of,” said Plouffe, adding it’s been great getting used to things under head coach Willie Desjardins. “He’s a great coach. He has a lot of pedigree in this league and he’s been around the NHL and things like that, so for me, just gaining a better relationship with him is going to be good.”
Plouffe heard wind of the trade the evening before it was announced, and in less than 24 hours he and fellow Giant-turned-Tiger Lukas Svejkovsky were on the ice in Medicine Hat for a 5-0 loss to the Everett Silvertips on the day the deal broke.
After an off-day, the team had its first official practice as a new unit and went on to score 19 goals in back-to-back wins over the Saskatoon and Prince Albert that Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Following an off-day Thursday, Plouffe, Svejkovsky and the Tigers were back at it for a pair of games against the Red Deer Rebels and Edmonton Oil Kings before a well-deserved holiday break.
“It’s been probably the longest week of my life,” said Plouffe, who had five goals and 17 assists through 28 games with Vancouver this season. “Get here, hop right into a game, then hop on the bus. But I’m going to try my best to get adjusted to the game they play around here. I think I’m taking little steps toward how I want to play here, but I think that’ll come along.”
Tigers beat Hitmen
The Tigers played host to the Calgary Hitmen Saturday at the Canalta Centre and the home team was able to hold on for a 3-1 victory.
The Tabbies got goals from James Hamblin, Jonathan Brinkman and Brett Kemp – all of which came in the first 20 minutes.
Josh Prokop scored for the Hitmen in the second, but Tabbies goaltender Mads Sogaard made 33 saves on 34 shots to secure the win for the home team. The attendance was 3,837.
The Tigers will travel to Calgary for a Wednesday game in the New Year.
