NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Brett Calhoon points to his friends in the crowd after scoring his first Western Hockey League goal Saturday in a 7-3 win over the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday at Co-op Place.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Brett Calhoon achieved two hockey dreams often shared with minor hockey players with one goal Saturday.
The 18-year-old scored his first Western Hockey League goal in the Tigers’ 7-3 win over the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday. Hailing from Oliver, B.C. he grew up a Blazers fan and was happy to get his first against his childhood team.
The other dream? Scoring on a breakaway immediately after stepping out of the penalty box.
“I took the penalty which didn’t feel too good so once I got out of the box and got that breakaway, it felt great,” Calhoon said about scoring his goal. “The first thing I did was look at my SAHA teammates, it was great.”
Saturday’s game was Calhoon’s eighth in the Tigers lineup and with the goal, he has three points in those contests. He’s spent the majority of the season playing with the South Alberta Hockey Academy in the CSSHL’s U18 league. There he has 12 goals and 27 points in 24 games.
Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins was happy to see him get his first on Saturday.
“He’s played hard, that’s a really tough game to come into, that’s not fair for a young guy to have to come in and play against guys that are NHL guys, that’s a pretty big step,” Desjardins said. “He came in, he played hard, so did (Cru) Hanas and we need everybody going.”
Associate coach Joe Frazer was all smiles talking about Calhoon getting his first and how he’s fit in with the Tigers.
“You’ll never forget your first goal, especially against his hometown team, that’s pretty exciting,” Frazer said. “He’s played well when we’ve called him up.
“He works hard, plays an honest game and he’s physical, not afraid to go hard to the net. He brings the energy that we need with the physicality and he’s hard on the forecheck.”
Calhoon has faced some of the WHL’s top teams in his eight games, going up against Winnipeg, Regina and the Blazers, all boasting NHL-level talent. It’s an experience he says he’s enjoyed.
“It’s great competition coming from the CSSHL, getting that jump and playing against these guys, it’s going to make you better no matter what,” Calhoon said. “It’s great to play against them, it’s hard but I love it.”
Calhoon was not in the lineup Tuesday when they hosted the Swift Current Broncos, dressing instead in SAHA’s game at Big Marble Go Centre against the International Hockey Academy.
