NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins directs a drill in the first day of training camp on Sept. 2.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Medicine Hat Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins has a clear goal for his team this season: to contend every night and make the playoffs.
The Tigers enter the 2022-23 season on the heels of a franchise worst 11-53-3-1 record which put them in last place of not only the Western Hockey League but the entire Canadian Hockey League. Desjardins says they want more consistency in their lineup and feels his group has stuff to prove.
“We took the steps that we did last year because we know we want to be, not just a playoff team, we want to be a championship team down the road. And sometimes you have to take a step back to take three ahead,” Desjardins said. “So last year certainly was a step back but we knew we had to take that to get ourselves in the spot for the future.”
The 2022-23 season gets underway Saturday for the Medicine Hat Tigers as they host their Highway 3 rival, the Lethbridge Hurricanes, at Co-op Place. Desjardins is looking forward to getting the season started and putting his team to the actual test.
“It’ll be exciting, you always wonder how guys made out over the summer, and I think we have some guys who have made big strides, but now we have to see it in games,” Desjardins said. “Exhibition doesn’t tell you where you’re at, some teams play more guys than others. You can’t really tell, so we’ll get a way better feel for where we’re at.”
Desjardins, who is entering his 12th season at the Tigers helm, says they’re not a finished product and it will be a challenge for them to reach the playoffs, but hr is looking forward to them continuing to build for the future.
“It was a lot harder last year because that future was a lot farther away. The future is a lot closer now,” Desjardins said. “You’re seeing lots of guys that are starting to come of age and that’s exciting for us. It’s a little bit similar to when I first got here, and there’s a makings of a really good team here.”
Part of that makeup includes Tigers’ 2022 first overall pick Gavin McKenna, who will make his WHL debut in the orange and black in Saturday’s home opener. McKenna is limited to five WHL games this season until his U18 team, the Dunmore-based South Alberta Hockey Academy, is eliminated from the playoffs, or he is recalled due to Tigers’ injury.
Desjardins said the influx of McKenna and the Tigers’ other top prospects will be exciting for the fans.
“There are some special players here, there’s some guys that are going to be NHL picks or some guys that who knows how good they can be? I think the fans are excited about that,” Desjardins said. “We all want to win, they want to come and see us win and we want to do well. Our challenges are still there, but I don’t want to be average. I don’t. And sometimes you don’t move quite as quick as you want. But we want to be a competitive team every night and we want to have some great times ahead of us.”
The Tigers have not named a captain heading into the home opener. Forwards Tyler MacKenzie, Owen MacNeil and defencemen Rhett Parsons, Bogdans Hodass and Dru Krebs have all worn the ‘A’ in a preseason game. With Krebs away at Washington Capitals NHL camp to start the year, Desjardins said they will wait another week or two to officially name a leadership group. He said it’s always good when you have a lot of good people on your team to pick from.
“It’s something you look forward to, your leadership is a big part of you winning,” Desjardins said. “We need good leaders and I think we have some good people to choose from this year.”
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