NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Tomas Mrsic loads up for a shot in the first period of the 6-4 loss against the Red Deer Rebels on Nov. 16 at Co-op Place.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
First-year Western Hockey League players have the first half to get used to the new league and build consistency. The second half is where they can prove they belong.
The Medicine Hat Tigers have had two 16-year-olds step up and become everyday players this season in forwards Tomas Mrsic and Cayden Lindstrom. Both were selected in the Dec. 2021 WHL draft (Mrsic eighth, Lindstrom 54th) and both represented Canada at the U17 World Hockey Challenge in November.
Associate coach Joe Frazer says they’ve taken big steps in their game from the start of the year and looks for them to build consistency.
“That’s always the hardest part coming in as a young guy, you can have a couple of good shifts, and then it’s having a good game and then it’s putting together good games back to back and just continuing that,” Frazer said. “We’re seeing that with both Mrsic and Lindstrom, they’re starting to put stretches of games together and that’s really exciting because they’re both super talented. If they can find that consistency for 60 minutes, and game in and game out, that’s going to be huge for us.”
Lindstrom leads the duo in scoring with nine goals and 18 points in 28 games. Mrsic isn’t far behind with five goals and 11 points in 25 games. Lindstrom says he didn’t start as well as he could have and looks to commit to defence first in the second half.
“It was all right, the start was a little slow but I think I’ve been picking it up a bit and just sticking to my defensive zone a bit more, I need to do that,” Lindstrom said. “Defence builds offence, so once I get my defence going, I think my offence is going to really carry over.”
Lindstrom played in six games last season after being drafted and had six shots but could not find the back of the net. His first WHL goal came on the road, where he also had an assist in the Tigers 6-3 win over the Everett Silvertips on Oct. 7. Mrsic suited up in 10 games in the 2021-22 season, getting his first WHL goal in a 9-2 loss in Lethbridge against the Hurricanes. He says he’s gained a lot of confidence this season and looks to capitalize even more in the second half.
“It’s been pretty good, I’ve been progressing and getting better every game and every practice. It’s just getting used to the league because it’s pretty hard league to play in,” Mrsic said. “I want to bear down on my chances, I’ve had a lot of chances in the past couple of games and if I bear down that will lead to success for our team.”
Besides Mrsic and Lindstrom the Tigers have five rookies in their lineup in forwards Hunter St. Martin, Shane Smith, Cru Hanas, defenceman Josh Van Mulligen and goaltender Evan May. Lindstrom sits eighth in rookie league scoring and Smith, who played 10 games before this year without a point, is in 12th with 11 goals and 15 points. Those 11 goals have him third in rookie goal scoring.
Head coach Willie Desjardins says the second half of the season is where rookies tend to get better and where he sees the Tigers having success. That will only happen, he says, if they keep getting better.
“It’s (about) being more accountable,” Desjardins said. The coaches have had a chance to work with each player and tell them if they’re doing it right or wrong. So they learn the league a little bit more and maybe feel like they’re more prepared for it. But it’s a big step. The other problem with the second half is games are much harder to win than in the first half. If we play the same in the second half, we’re not going to win, we’re going to have to play better. We’ll see what happens but we’re excited to be able to go after teams.”
