Medicine Hat Tigers captain Bryce Pickford skates out for an intro with the Ed Chynoweth Cup during pregame ceremonies Saturday at Co-op Place ahead of a 5-2, season-opening win over the Regina Pats.--NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers had one last chance to reflect on their championship season.
The defending WHL champions unveiled three banners Saturday night at Co-op Place ahead of a 5-2, season-opening win over the Regina Pats. The trio of banners -the Central division, Eastern conference and WHL championship -were unveiled with more to be hung later.
Despite the championship banner falling during the ceremony, it was a night for the Tigers and the 4,969 in attendance to relive the 16-2 run that resulted in the franchise’s sixth championship.
“It’s such a great feeling, it’s great for our fans in our city, they were such a big part of it,” head coach Willie Desjardins said. “It wasn’t just the team, it was the whole city that won a championship. Our fans are great for us and we’re thankful. It was nice to win.”
Defenceman Bryce Pickford, named the 42nd captain in franchise history ahead of the game, skated out with the Ed Chynoweth Cup during the player introductions, adding a pair of goals and an assist in the win.
He didn’t know he was going to get to carry out the Cup, but he says it capped off a special night for him and the team.
“I was so excited and to see the banners get raised and the video with all the old teammates is awesome,” Pickford said. “A lot of emotions, it just kind of brings back the good memories and we want to try and do it this year, too.”
The Tigers’ 2025 championship was Pickford’s second in the WHL, winning the league title with the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2023. He says the first win in the playoffs, a 4-0 shutout win over the Swift Current Broncos in Game 1, was his favourite moment from the run.
“We knew that we were going to be good, but we had to go out there and earn it,” Pickford said. “Everybody wanted to take down the big old team. But the first game, we kind of realized that we have something special here.”
There were 10 returning players from the Tigers championship run in the lineup, with forwards Ethan Neutens and Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll watching while out due to injury. Marcus Pacheco, who is playing for the University of Alberta this season, returned to Co-op Place for the ceremony.
Forward Kadon McCann was released from the Calgary Flames’ camp Saturday afternoon and the 18-year-old made the drive to be in the lineup. Returning Finnish defencemen Veeti Vaiäsänen and Niilopekka Muhonen missed the game due to being with their NHL clubs. Muhonen was reassigned Monday.
The championship video highlights many of the standout moments in the Tigers’ championship run, from Harrison Meneghin’s Game 1 shutout, days after the passing of his father Derek, to the many highlight plays from Gavin McKenna. For those part of the title win, it was a moment to reflect on the battle of a playoff run. For the Tigers’ rookies, it was a motivator according to forward Noah Davidson.
“That’s our goal for this year, to do what they did and hopefully win a Memorial Cup,” Davidson said. “Just seeing what they did and what they had to do, it brings a lot of experience in the room.”
Including Davidson, the Tigers had six rookies make their debuts on Saturday with four recording their first points. Davidson had a goal and an assist, Stengrim scored and Defenceman Kyle Heger and forward Yaroslav Bryzgalov had helpers. Luke Ruptash also recorded his first WHL point with an assist.
“It felt good, got the crowd into it early, which I thought was awesome,’ Stengrim said. “It was a great crowd tonight, so I thought that was big for the squad.”
The only two debuts not capped off with a point were from backup goalie Carter Casey and 19-year-old forward Dayton Reschny. Desjardins liked the efforts from his debut players but says they have a way to go as a team.
“There’s a lot of learning and sometimes you win and you think that you can do that every night, and we won’t get away with it every night, but tonight we got the win,” Desjardins said. “It’s great to get a win in the home opener, that’s a great night to get a win.”
Defenceman Jonas Woo had a goal and an assist in the win.
The season-opening vcitory started with the Tigers outshooting Regina 33-8 through 40 minutes, leading 4-0. Regina out-worked the home team in the third, firing 15 shots to the Tigers eight, scoring twice. Desjardins says there’s work to be done to ensure they play a full game.
“We tired in the third, guys just couldn’t sustain and it’s hard,” Desjardins said. “It’s different, when you played third line last year, to play up this year, it’s a lot harder. So we’re going to have to make sure we’re smart and sharing the workload.”
The Tigers are off until Friday when they head to Swift Current to face the Broncos before hosting the Saskatoon Blades on Saturday.
They will likely be without assistant captain Josh Van Mulligen. The overage defenceman was hit from behind late in the second period and did not return to the game in the third. Desjardins says Van Mulligen, who played his 200th WHL game on Saturday, will, “be out for a while.”
Van Mulligen missed the month of October last season due to an upper-body injury.
