NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers rookie forward Andrew Basha carries the puck through the neutral zone in the first period of the Tigers 5-3 loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings on Feb. 12.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Andrew Basha has impressed in his first 27 games donning the orange and black.
The 16-year-old has one goal and six assists for seven points in his first 26 games but has impressed with his growing confidence with the puck.
In Medicine Hat’s 4-1 loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings last Wednesday, Basha deked around a Brandon defender before dishing the puck to forward Teague Patton who found the back of the net.
Patton gave all the credit on the goal to Basha for setting him up.
“That was a nice play there by Bash to find me,” Patton said. “I was lucky I got that one in there… without him I wouldn’t have put that one in.”
Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins said after the loss to Brandon that he thought Basha played well in the game and he thinks he can be a good player.
“It’s exciting when you see a young player play well and get you hoping and looking forward for the future,” Desjardins said. “He’s gotten better as he goes and he’s going to be a good player. It’s good for us to have somebody that’s going to be like that coming along.”
Basha said he thinks everything is getting better with him as he continues getting into games.
“My habits are getting better,” Basha said. “Confidence is huge right now for me and I think getting trusted more helps with that.”
Basha was taken 105th overall by the Tigers in the 2020 WHL draft. Before suiting up for his first WHL game on Nov. 23, the Calgary product played for South Alberta Hockey Academy of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League.
He had seven goals and 16 assists for 23 points in 14 games with the SAHA U18 male prep team.
Basha said he’s found he’s not as nervous going into game as he was earlier in the season and added it’s been a lot more fun having the confidence to make plays with the puck.
When asked if he was surprised about how quickly Basha has gained confidence, Tigers associate coach Joe Frazer said Tuesday that players mature at different times but said he think’s Basha’s confidence comes from his time at SAHA.
“This is a tough league, some guys step in and take off and don’t miss a beat from midget. Others it takes a year, year and a half,” Frazer said. “It’s such a mental grind as it is a physical one in this league. To see him come in and the confidence he has, I think it stems from how well he did this year in midget at SAHA. That was great for him to go back there for a little bit and put up points and get that confidence and now he’s carried that here. He’s been real good for us.”
