NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Forward Misha Volotovskii skates towards the Medicine Hat Tigers' bench after scoring in the first period of a 10-2 win over the Swift Current Broncos on Dec. 13 at Co-op Place.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
There was no right answer to the Medicine Hat Tigers overage question for head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins as Thursday’s trade deadline approached.
After forward Andrew Basha was reassigned from the AHL to the WHL by the Calgary Flames on Jan. 2, they were left with four overagers, forwards Ethan Neutens and Misha Volotovskii, defenceman Josh Van Mulligen, and then Basha.
A move they did not foresee having to make was in front of them and after days of deliberations, the Tigers traded Volotovskii to the Vancouver Giants for a 2026 third-round pick and a 2029 fifth-round pick.
Desjardins says there was no clearcut answer on which 20-year-old they would move, having won the 2025 Ed Chynoweth Cup with all of them.
“Volotovskii is such a good person and a good player for us, so you have to do the best you can and that’s a decision we made,” Desjardins said. “That says how much we like Neutens, Van Mulligen and Bash, because that speaks volumes of what we think of those guys. It’s been trying because for a week now I’ve known I’m going to have to make this trade and I knew for a week it was going to be a difficult trade to make.”
Volotovskii was acquired by the Tigers at the 2025 WHL trade deadline, joining the orange and black alongside defenceman Tanner Molendyk from the Saskatoon Blades.
After being acquired last year he suited up in 29 regular season games, tallying four goals and 12 points. Volotovskii had three goals and six points in 17 games in last year’s playoffs, adding an assist in four Memorial Cup games.
In 36 games this season with the Tigers, the Calgary product has 11 goals and 25 points.
Desjardins says a lot of discussion went into the one trade and the return wasn’t the focus in the move. In the same situation he says they could have had 10 different trades, any option bring a difficult result.
“That is no disrespect to Josh and Ethan, those guys are incredible, it’s just how much we liked Volo, he was such a good person and good fit,” Desjardins said. “I wanted him for a long time when we got him in that trade, I had worked on him for two years prior to try to get him and he was a big part of the Molendyk trade.
“Everybody thought it was just a little part, but he was a big part. I wouldn’t have made the trade if I couldn’t have got him to be part of it.”
He says it took time to make the move because of how difficult it was to make the decision and to ultimately move on from Volotovskii.
“My job is to make the team the best I can and it’s hard. I had my 20s and I talked to them,” Desjardins said. “I would do everything I could for each one of those guys, but I still have to do what I think is best for the team. I have 22 guys train hard all summer to have a chance to play. So it’s my job to try to do what I think is best for them.”
The Tigers come out of the deadline with 14 forwards, seven defencemen and two goalies. On top of getting Basha into the lineup, they acquired 19-year-old forward Luke Cozens from Lethbridge on Wednesday, trading defenceman Kyle Heger to the Hurricanes.
They’re running a 15-game win streak and have picked up points in 19 straight games.
“I’ve liked how hard we’re playing, there’s lots of good things, now we have a different group that we have to put together, we’ve got some work to do and some time to gel with this group,” Desjardins said. “Getting Veeti (Väisänen) back will be big, but we have five returning defenceman from our Memorial Cup team. That’s a pretty great place to start.”
Desjardins says trade prices were high around the league as the deadline approached. They remain atop the Eastern conference standings, one point up on the Prince Albert Raiders who added Vancouver Canucks forward prospect Braedon Cootes to their East division-leading roster. The Edmonton Oil Kings, also a point back of the Tigers in the Central division, added defenceman Carter Sotheran to their blue line.
“A lot of things happened and we’ll find out where we stand here as we start playing the second half,” Desjardins said.
The Tigers host the Seattle Thunderbirds tonight at Co-op Place. Seattle acquired Dallas Stars forward prospect Cameron Schmidt from Vancouver and forward Noah Kosick from the Swift Current Broncos.
