NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers Garin Bjorklund and Dru Krebs will join the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League after the Tigers 2021-'22 season comes to a close Friday.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Two Medicine Hat Tigers will be continuing their seasons after the Tigers final game Friday.
Goaltender Garin Bjorklund and defenseman Dru Krebs will join the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League this weekend after playing against the Edmonton Oil Kings, game 68 of the Tigers season.
Hershey is the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Washington Capitals, which drafted Bjorklund 179th overall in 2020 and took Krebs 176th overall in 2021. Both attended training camp last September with the Capitals before returning to the Tigers.
The Bears have five more games on the regular season schedule after Friday and are in a position to head to the playoffs, sitting fourth in their division.
Krebs said it will be a really fun experience and said he hasn’t been promised a lineup spot or anything, but is looking forward to potentially playing some professional hockey.
“Just practice, kind of be around the guys and see what they’re doing and kind of get a new breath of fresh air,” Krebs said. “So it’s gonna be really cool to see, it’s my dream to play professional hockey, then to be able to practice with those guys is really an eye opener and kind of see what I need to do to get to the next level.”
Krebs said he’s excited to have the chance to experience pro hockey with Bjorklund by his side as they did in the fall. Bjorklund agreed and said he and “Dru-ster” have been good buddies for the past few years and have leaned on one another.
“It’s nice to go down there with a buddy and check things out, check out Hershey,” Bjorklund said. “When we were in Washington we checked out Washington and the White House. It was nice to kind of have a buddy down there and enjoy it, enjoy the experience with someone.”
Bjorklund said in the fall ahead of training camp with Washington that he wanted a pro contract before ultimately returning to Medicine Hat. He said he’s looking forward to the opportunity to hopefully turn some heads.
“I’m excited, obviously when you get the chance to go and play with some pro guys and at the professional level, it’s obviously really exciting,” BJorklund said. “I’m happy for the opportunity and I can’t wait to get down there and show them what I got and hopefully turn some heads and do my thing down there.”
Associate coach Joe Frazer likened the duo heading to Hershey to the Tigers recalling prospects this spring.
“It’s just like when we bring up our younger guys to kind of show them what they have to work on over the summer to hopefully make the team next year, it’s the same with Dru and Garin,” Frazer said. “They get to go and be a part of Hershey and they’ll know what to expect and what they have to improve on over the summer to make that jump.”
Frazer said seeing Krebs and Bjorklund get rewarded with a call-up is a reflection of their work this season.
“It’s a testament to them sticking with it and really coming to the rink every day trying to get better,” Frazer said. “That’s what we want to do, sign a pro contract, win a championship. So to see those guys get rewarded for their hard work this year, it’s great to see.”
One change Bjorklund might have to make upon arriving in Hershey is addressing his orange pads, which he laughed at saying they might not look good with the Bears’ brown jerseys.
“I’m sure we can throw some duct tape or some pad skins over top of them,” Bjorklund joked.
