Medicine Hat Tigers forward Teague Patton turns up ice as his line mate Andrew Basha carried the puck through the neutral zone in the Tigers 5-4 win over the Regina Pats last Tuesday. - NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The youngest line on the Medicine Hat Tigers has continued to find its step.
The combo of Teague Patton, Oasiz Wiesblatt and Andrew Basha came together in early February and has stuck as a regular pairings ever since.
All three have fewer than 100 games in the Western Hockey League, but have continued to show growth with each game. Wiesblatt and Patton set up Basha for their team’s lone goal in Friday’s 4-1 loss in Swift Current against the Broncos.
Tigers associate coach Joe Frazer spoke highly of the line after the Tigers 2-0 loss at Co-op Place against the Broncos Saturday.
“Every time they’re on the ice they have a chance to score or at least create something offensively,” Frazer said. “For them it’s maturing and learning the defensive side too; when should we be more risky, when we have to play a little bit more defensively. That’s just a learning curve for that line but it’s great to see how confident they are with the puck. They can make plays and now it’s just rounding out that full game to play in the Western League.”
Both Wiesblatt and Patton debuted last season for the Tigers in the developmental campaign and have started to show confidence in their abilities with their in-game play.
Patton, 17, has three assists in his last four games and has become more of a puck carrier as his game count has ticked up. The same can be said for Wiesblatt, who has started showing the potential that led the Tigers to picking him 12th overall in 2019. Wiesblatt sits second in team scoring with 10 goals and 26 points in 58 games.
Basha, who debuted in orange and black in November after starting the season with the South Alberta Hockey Academy, has continued to draw praise from the coaching staff for his confidence with the puck.
The 16-year-old Calgary product said he’s enjoyed playing with Patton and Wiesblatt and the confidence they’ve found this year.
“It’s great, they’re both really good players,” Basha said. “I think we’re a fast, skilled line and we’re close off the ice as well. I think every day just building more and more chemistry and hopefully we stay good together.”
When asked if that chemistry off the ice came from all three having played at SAHA, Basha said it had more to do with their age.
“With Oasiz, I drive him every day so I just got close to him,” Basha said. “I don’t know if it was SAHA, we don’t really talk about that. I think we’re just younger guys and I think we’ve gravitated towards one another. They’re both great guys and great players so it’s a lot of fun.”
Basha joked that Wiesblatt and Oren Shtrom, who he also drives to the rink, haven’t paid for gas and it’s something he’s had a couple conversations with them about but quickly said, “it’s not that big of a deal.”
Tigers recall prospects
The Tigers recalled four prospects Sunday as the Canadian Sport School Hockey League season came to a close over the weekend.
Forward Shane Smith and defenceman Josh Van Mulligen were brought up from SAHA. Both have played seven and eight games, respectively, in orange and black this season. Smith had 19 goals and 42 points in 33 games with SAHA this season where Van Mulligen contributed seven goals and 25 points in 27 contests for the U18 squad.
Forward Hunter St. Martin was called up from OHA Edmonton of the CSSHL after scoring 10 goals and 29 points in 26 games. He’s dressed in nine games for the Tigers this year.
Tomas Mrsic, Medicine Hat’s eighth overall pick in the 2021 WHL draft, was the last player recalled. In 28 regular season games with the Delta Hockey Academy, Mrsic had 41 goals and 98 points. His U17 Delta team captured first place in the CSSHL Western Championships Sunday with a 9-3 win, where Mrsic had a goal and three assists.
Cayden Lindstrom, the team’s 54th pick in the 2021 draft, also plays for Delta and had one goal in the championship win. Lindstrom had 25 goals and 60 points in 31 games with Delta this year.
Another Tigers prospect won gold Sunday as Diego Buttazzoni, picked 39th overall in 2021, captured first place in the U18 division with the Burnaby Winter Club. In 32 regular season games with Burnaby, Buttazzoni had 19 goals and 54 points.
