Soakin’ in the Tubb: What a year it could be for the Tigers

By JAMES TUBB on September 21, 2024.

t’s been a long time since there’s been this level of excitement around the Medicine Hat Tigers.

From the offseason acquisitions, a large returning group burning for success, the rise of Gavin McKenna entering his second full season in the WHL and the submission of a bid to host the 2026 Memorial Cup, it’s quite a time to follow the orange and black.

With the excitement comes expectations and aspirations – including the CHL putting the Tigers atop the preseason rankings of all three leagues. The growing number of podcasts focusing on the WHL, which is a great source of coverage for the league, have Medicine Hat as the favourite out of the Eastern Conference, if not the favourite to win a sixth Ed Chynoweth Cup.

It’s way too early to plan parades or banner hangings, but there is a lot to be excited about and fans shouldn’t hesitate to feel it after hanging through the leanest of lean in 2021-22 and following along as the organization worked its way to this point.

This group has a lot still yet to prove, despite making the playoffs the last two seasons. In 2022-23 it was the force of the hockey gods, rising from the 11-win season to the eighth and final playoff spot. The next season, holding onto the Central division lead until losing it in the second half and finishing fourth, but getting home ice for round one.

Both playoff matchups however – versus the Winnipeg Ice and then Red Deer Rebels – served up the same result: An offseason that came much too soon.

The 2024-25 Tigers, on paper, have the talent to overcome the fact they’ve won just one of their nine playoff games in the last two seasons. And they appear to have the tools needed to win the club’s first playoff series since the 2016-17 season.

But we won’t know if they can until the end of March comes and the real season begins, and there are 68 games to play first. The regular season must serve as a runway for this team to, first, get into the dance, then second, bond and buy in to the system Willie Desjardins and the rest of the coaching staff have outlined.

They know they’re a good hockey team, players can read the scouting report and see the rankings from outside the organization. They also understand how little that means at this point of the season.

“We can have a special group and everyone says we are going to be good, but are we going to be good, I don’t know,” defenceman Nate Corbet said. “We have to do it and it’s only on us. Coaches can’t do it for us, nobody else can do it for us, it’s up to the players. So I’m looking forward to a new season, the summer couldn’t end quick enough for the season to start.”

It’s a sentiment echoing the words of Desjardins heading into the season – they have the top talent but they’re not a top team. Yet.

Still, the Tigers faithful have the right to be excited about this team, to relish in the ups and be upset and worried in the downs. That’s what having a team that projects to be at this level brings, the expectation of wins and the disappointment of defeat.

Health willing, it ought to be more ups than downs though, and this is a group with the fire power at forward that could challenge WHL scoring records if all goes right.

There’s a long road ahead for the Tigers in what could be an exciting season, and it’s now time to enjoy the ride.

Tub(b) Thoughts

â€¢ Rookies Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll, Liam and Markus Ruck all practised Friday with visors in place of the cages they’ve worn previously. Rookies can ditch the metal bars if they’re slated to play a majority of their WHL cub’s remaining games, pointing to the sign they’re here for the long haul.

â€¢ Another season starts with a goalie trio, Zach Zahara, Ethan McCallum and Jordan Switzer all have the opportunity to grab the starter spot and run with it. Desjardins didn’t see anyone take the baton in the preseason, he wants that to happen sooner than later. The Tigers have three games in the first two weeks, which gives each goalie a chance. We’ll see if they get another run around the rotation. While he wants the decision to be made soon, Desjardins isn’t going to rush change for change sake.

â€¢ All four offseason trade acquisitions have expressed an early comfort with the new club. There’s a shared desire for a quick start in Medicine Hat.

â€¢ I was intrigued by Regina Pats’ forward Braxton Whitehead’s commitment to the Arizona State. CHL players are not yet eligible to play at the NCAA level but that dam may soon burst. I like the idea of players getting the opportunity to play at that high level after their CHL careers are over. I have some reservation on what it will do to the USports Level in Canada as well as the potential of a NCAA commitment to be used in trade leverage in the WHL. But that bridge will come at some point, hats off to Whitehead for challenging the norm.

â€¢ The hope is to have a regular Tigers/WHL column on a weekly basis to supplement the News’ coverage. Any thoughts or ideas about what readers would like are welcome.

James Tubb is sports reporter with the Medicine Hat News. He can be reached at jtubb@medicinehatnews.com