NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Brendan Lee points to teammate Andrew Basha who assisted on his first period power play goal in the Tigers 6-1 win on Nov. 16, 2022 at Co-op Place against the Brandon Wheat Kings.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Brendan Lee has had his own off-season waiting to get back into an orange and black jersey.
The just-turned 21-year-old Medicine Hat Tigers forward hasn’t played since Jan. 7 due to an upper body injury, and interrupted a stretch of two goals and five points in four games. He’s just excited to get back and play in a game.
“I had a bit of a long break there and had to get back in shape, it was kind of a little offseason,” lee said. “I’m really excited to show what I’ve got and be back in the lineup with the guys and they’re definitely winning right now, it’s awesome.”
The Tigers have picked up points in their last eight games and are in a playoff spot heading into a weekend home-and-home series agains the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Lee says it’s always hard to sit back and watch his team play instead of being on the ice but with them finding success, it became a little easier to tolerate.
Associate coach Joe Frazer says no player wants to sit out games and credits how their injured players haven’t sat back but worked hard to get back in action.
“It’s been great to see how hard our injured guys have worked to get back in, have to give a lot of credit to Tommy (Wilde),” Frazer said. “He puts a ton of time in with those guys to make sure they’re healthy and ready to go. Same with Mikki (Lanuk), tons of work, it’s a group effort.
“But the athlete has to do all the work and it’s impressive how hard our guys have worked through the injuries to come back. And they’ve all looked faster and better when they’ve come back.”
Frazer has taken note of how much Lee has been working while on the shelf and noticed how much harder his already lethal shot is hitting the back of the net.
“He’s worked so hard off the ice to get ready for this weekend, he’s excited,” Frazer said. “He’s flying this week of practice, probably the hardest his shot has been and his shot is top notch already. I think he added a few miles per hour on it. He’s put a lot of time in the gym to make sure he’s ready and we’re really excited them back.”
The Seattle product has 20 goals and 38 points in 39 games this season. Lee smiled when asked about his now even harder shot and says it was either sit back and do nothing or get better.
“The first couple of days off being injured, it was good to get a little rest there,” Lee said. But after that, I really didn’t have anything to save it for, no games to play. So I stayed a little longer, got here a little earlier to the rink and shot some pucks and it obviously helped out.”
Getting back into the lineup as they continue their postseason push is something Lee is excited for, as like all but two of his Tigers teammates, he’s never played in the WHL playoffs. He’s noticed a change not in how his teammates are acting, but how they are preparing and working each day.
“The culture is changing for sure and it’s changing for the better,” lee said. “More guys are coming in early, more guys are staying late and it’s really good on our team. It’s making us better not just this year but in the following years after. Some of the younger guys will carry it on and makes a championship mindset.”
Before his injury Lee skated alongside Oasiz Wiesblatt and Andrew Basha who have continued their strong seasons with Pasha Bocharov on their wing. In practice this week Lee has slotted alongside captain Owen MacNeil and Shane Smith.
Lee says his and Smith’s offence paired with MacNeil’s experience will give them a strong line. MacNeil agreed it will be a trio to watch this weekend.
“It’s good for Shaner and I, Lee’ser can obviously put the puck in the net,” MacNeil said. “He’s an older guy in the room, guys look up to him and the way he plays a game, it’ll help us score and bring a lot of goals to our team.
“You get a guy like that on your line, it’s obviously nice to look forward to that. We had a good week of practice and it’s going to be a big weekend for his return. I know he’s itching to get going and it’s going to be a good weekend as a group.”
