NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers' rookie Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll and forward Hayden Harsanyi watch the puck after a face-off in a scrimmage on Saturday at Co-op Place on the second day of training camp.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers got a look at future talent and their core for the upcoming season this weekend.
Three days of training camp action came to a close Sunday with a rookie and prospect scrimmage, wrapping up the 56 skater and six goalie camp held at Co-op Place. Head coach and general manger Willie Desjardins liked what he saw from the weekend.
“Lots of good young prospects, some local guys that came out and played really well, they did well at camp and that says good things about Medicine Hat Minor Hockey,” Desjardins said. “Overall, there were certainly some good offensive performances which we like to see.
“It was a good camp, it was a good start and now we get going on the real stuff.”
The Tigers get preseason action underway tonight at Lethbridge, taking on the Hurricanes. It’s the second year in a row they’ve played preseason action the first Tuesday after training camp, something Desjardins says allows prospects a chance to get back to their fall programs.
“You have young guys that can o home, they don’t have to stay with you longer,” Desjardins said. “It gives us a chance to see them and then get them back to their own team, it’s really good.”
One of those players is forward Luke Ruptash, the Tigers’ 16th overall pick in the 2024 WHL draft. The weekend was his first training camp with the team, one he says exceeded expectations.
“It’s competitive, nothing that I would expect,” Ruptash said. “It was a lot faster than what I’m used to but I think I can play with them.
“I would say my feet weren’t moving the first game, but I got used to it, so I was better throughout the weekend.”
He enjoyed getting to know the rest of the 2008 and 2009-born group in the Tigers organization, a mix of players who will be responsible for supplementing the older talent in years to come. That is the group that will largely play in the first preseason game, an opportunity Ruptash says he’s excited for.
“It’ll be awesome if I can get in a game, a dream come true,” he said.
The weekend also gave a second look for 2023 U.S. Draft pick Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll, who signed with the Tigers in April. He took part in last year’s camp, unsigned and looking at his options. With his name penned in orange and black, the Salt Lake City, Utah product felt a new wave of comfort this time around.
“It was fun seeing where I fit in with the boys again after developing for a year with the Chicago Mission, it was good to get up and play against the other boys,” Gordon-Carroll said.
The 15-year-old forward is coming off a first place with the United States at the U17 Five Nations tournament in Slovakia. He enjoyed scootering around Budapest and getting the chance to see the European cities.
Gordon-Carroll wasn’t able to play in preseason or regular games last season due to being unsigned. He’s looking forward to that chance this year and seeing what he can bring to the Tigers’ lineup.
“I’m ready to get after it, I put a lot of work over the summer to get into shape,” Gordon-Carroll said. “I’m ready to bang some bodies, get my body torn up and grind through it.”
The Tigers enter the preseason with 39 skaters and four goalies on their roster. That doesn’t include forward Cayden Lindstrom who is in Columbus with the Blue Jackets rehabbing from a back injury suffered last season.
Medicine Hat will host the Calgary Hitmen on Sept. 7 at Co-op Place for the first home preseason action.
