NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Former Medicine Hat Tigers net minder Ethan McCallum squares up to make a save during Penticton Vees practice Thursday morning at Co-op Place. The Vees stopped in Medicine Hat for a skate ahead of their East division road trip starting tonight in Brandon against the Wheat Kings.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Penticton Vees have had a warm welcome to the Western League.
The WHL’s newest franchise has exploded onto the scene in historic fashion, amassing 35 wins through their first 54 games to tie the league’s expansion team win record. Penticton has tied the 2003-04 Everett Silvertips’ record of 35 wins and they sit two back of the QMJHL’s Longueuil Chevaliers (QMJHL) who had 37 in their inaugural season in 1982-83.
Forward Brady Birnie credits Vees head coach and general manager Fred Harbinson and his staff for assembling the team they did in the offseason.
Birnie was acquired alongside captain Nolan Stevenson and Brooks DeMars from the Swift Current Broncos, 19-goal scorer Diego Johnson and goaltender Ethan McCallum were both acquired from the Saskatoon Blades, and their leading scorer, Jacob Kvasnicka, was brought in from the Wenatchee Wild.
The former Bronco says they bonded as a group early in the season, one of the key factors to their success.
“All the winning, that just keeps the vibes high, and when vibes are high, you’re happy, everyone’s getting along and that just continues to grow,” Birnie said. “That’s part of the reason we’ve had success, winning a lot and then on our 14-game win streak, that really showed a lot about our group. We feel like because we did that, we can do whatever, the sky’s the limit at that point.”
The Vees are the WHL’s oldest team, with four overagers on their roster for this season, and an average age of 18.54. That shared age and experience, as well as the success, has helped bring them close.
“Everyone being similar in age, and even the guys who aren’t are awesome, great, young guys there and we all love them,” Birnie said. “It’s helped a lot that everyone’s interested in the same things.”
The Vees sit second in the Western conference, 15 points back of the Silvertips (45-7-2-1). They’re first in the B.C. division, 12 points up on the Prince George Cougars (32-20-2) and 13 points ahead of the Memorial Cup host Kelowna Rockets (29-18-5-2).
Birnie says the division has been their goal from the start of the season. He hopes they can continue finding success and rising as they head into the playoffs.
“It’s just going to keep growing and going into playoffs. I think we’ve found our identity now and just continue to grow on and establish that,” Birnie said. “You can’t just flip it on come the playoffs, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing or where they are in the standings. We’re preparing every night like it’s a playoff game and that’s going to lead into when late March comes and the playoffs start.”
McCallum finding
his own with Vees
The Vees tied the Silvertips’ WHL expansion win record on Monday with a 3-0 win over the Cougars. Penticton was backstopped by a 31-save shutout from McCallum, his first shutout with the Vees.
But the true highlight of the night came in the last four minutes when the former Medicine Hat Tigers net minder dropped the gloves with Cougars’ goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen. There was a scrum in the corner and the 19-year-old goalie says he purposely meant to tempt fate, finally getting his chance for a fight.
“I’ve always kind of shook in my gloves at some guys in the league and I shook it at him, and he was skated right up to me right away,” McCallum said.
“A little embarrassing that I fell though, it’s something maybe in the future to work on, just holding my feet a bit. But it was fun, me and him, there’s no hard feelings between each other. It was more of just to give the fans something to watch, give people some entertainment.”
McCallum has had a lot of fun in his time with the Vees, working his best numbers in his four years in the WHL. While in the blue and white he’s run 11-2-0-1, with a 2.05 goals against average and a .929 save percentage. His success is reflective of the group around him, he says.
“It’s a very well, structured coached team who helps me out, on nights where I’m not having my best they help make me settle in and it just works one to one,” McCallum said. “I owe them a couple saves and they’re there for me. It’s been good, it was a bit of a rocky start in Saskatoon but it was a blessing for them to be able to give me an opportunity to come to this team and play every other game.”
The Brandon, Man. product has enjoyed living in Penticton, just getting the city’s first snowfall on Wednesday. He’s also liked the dedication for success the franchise has exhibited, from the organization right down to the fans.
“Some people question their success, coming from the BCHL to here, but for them it was no difference,” McCallum said. “It doesn’t matter what league they’re in, they want to find that success and they did it. We have a great group of guys, super nice, warm place in Penticton, they’re nice fans, very consistent and supportive.”
McCallum has been impressed by the maturity of the group, able to battle in game and push through adversities. He sees it as their biggest strength ahead of the postseason.
“It’s about the guys in the room. We have that maturity coming across and I know Fred is going to coach us very well through that, to keep us calm through every single game, whether it’s Game 1 or Game 7,” McCallum said. “Hopefully come playoff time here we make a big push.”
He’s been looking forward to the East division trip for a few weeks, getting to play in front of friends and family tonight in Brandon for the first time since he was traded from Saskatoon in December.
McCallum had a blast from the past Thursday when the Vees practised in Medicine Hat at Co-op Place.
“You don’t think about it too much, you kind of forget, honestly, a little bit of your time here since you’re just so busy,” McCallum said. “Once you get used to a new team, you feel like you’ve been there forever and coming back to the hotel and the rink, you kind of get the nostalgia coming back here.”
He remembers how much he enjoyed the city and how thankful he is for the trade last season, eventually getting him to his new home with the Vees.
“It’s the perfect area for junior in the sense of size, transportation and the guys you get to be around,” McCallum said. “They have a great culture of building guys who work hard. It was awesome to be part of but I thank them every day for trading me and giving me more opportunities somewhere else.”
