NEWS FILE PHOTO
Medicine Hat Tigers' defenceman Nate Corbet warms up ahead of the Tigers' preseason contest on Sept. 9. He made his WHL regular season debut last Friday at Red Deer in a 4-2 win over the Rebels.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
For one shift, it was a game Nate Corbet will never forget. After that, his WHL debut was just another night of patrolling the blue line.
The 17-year-old Medicine Hat Tigers’ defenceman made his WHL debut in a 4-1 win at Red Deer over the Rebels on Sept. 29. It was a moment he says he’s been working toward.
“It’s that opportunity I’ve been looking forward to for so long, and just super grateful,” Corbet said. “I was just trying to take it all in at once and it was pretty overwhelming, but I settled into it and it was just a great experience.
“The first shift I was just trying not to make any mistakes but then I realized I had to play my game and just settle in.”
Corbet played for the South Alberta Hockey Academy’s U18 team last season while also practising with the Tigers throughout the year. He had three goals and 23 points in 34 games with SAHA and played a role in the local academy winning a second straight Circle K Classic. He’s enjoyed getting to share that experience with five of his current Tiger teammates.
“It was just developing those relationships last year, getting into this year it already feels like I’m part of a family that I’ve been part of for a while,” Corbet said. “It just makes coming here that much more easier, a lot more fun, and I feel a lot more included in that home here.”
Corbet was drafted by the Tigers 60th overall in 2021 and played three games in the preseason this year before being named to the roster to open the season. Head coach Willie Desjardins describes Corbet as a great young man who puts a lot into his game, and he likes what he saw from the blue liners debut.
“It’s hard when you get into games, it’s a big step for guys, but Nate works extremely hard,” Desjardins said. “He took the steps even from his last exhibition game where he had some penalties, he had to address that and he was way better this last game, so it was good to see. Just a really good young man who puts a lot into the game.”
Corbet himself says he’s happy with how much he’s grown since last season and even from the start of training camp this fall. He says it’s overwhelming, in a good way, being able to be at Co-op Place every day, and sees it as a privilege he looks to continue.
The Calgary product is also grateful for the learning experience of playing alongside three 20-year-old defencemen in Dru Krebs, Rhett Parsons and Bogdans Hodass.
“They’ve been great mentors to me and they’ve made me feel really included,” Corbet said. “I’ve learned a ton from them; always asking questions, and they’ve been really welcoming to me and have helped me a ton as well.”
Corbet was in the Tigers’ lineup on Wednesday night with the club on the road to face the Regina Pats, the first of three games for the week.
It was a night of debuts for the Tigers on Wednesday, with goaltender Ethan McCallum and defenceman Blake Ekren-Bratton getting into their first WHL games.
