Hollett to make debut against former team

By Ryan McCracken on October 6, 2017.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com @MHNMcCracken

The day has finally arrived for Jordan Hollett.

After waiting nearly five months since being traded from the Regina Pats to the Medicine Hat Tigers, the 18-year-old netminder is set to make his debut at the Canalta Centre tonight against his former franchise.

“I think the excitement just to get my first game of the season under my belt is the major thing but there’s a little bit of added excitement playing against my former team as well,” said Hollett. “It should be a good night.”

Hollett officially became a member of the Medicine Hat Tigers on May 22 in the trade that sent Matt Bradley to Regina. The Langley product went on to spend his offseason training to fill the No. 1 spot in Medicine Hat while soaking in some time at Ottawa Senators development camp after being selected 183rd overall in this year’s NHL entry draft. But Hollett was hit hard with a case of mononucleosis that pushed him off the ice for more than a month.

“It’s been a lot of work,” said Hollett, who went 15-2-2-0 with a .901 save percentage and a 2.83 goals against average with the Pats last year. “Last week I sort of started getting into practices, every practice taking more and more shots, feeling more and more comfortable and stopping more and more pucks.”

While the illness led to significant weight loss, the 6-foot-5, 210-pound goaltender has since returned to form, and Tigers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston says he’s been a highly determined individual through the last week of practices.

“He’s showed real well and gotten better each day,” said Clouston. “I thought (Wednesday) in practice he competed extremely hard. We do some small area games and he looked great. He looked confident. He’s a big man and takes up lots of the net. He competed hard on loose pucks and scrambles. He looked ready to go.”

Hollett added he’ll be running hot into Friday’s contest. While he says there’s always a bit of added motivation that comes with the first game of the season — and every one that follows for that matter — there’s no denying his desire to prove the Pats wrong in their decision to trade him away.

“I think with every game there’s the motivation to show what you can do and sort of prove people wrong, but I guess in this one there’s a bit of added incentive to prove people wrong,” he said. “It’s going to be an emotional game, I think. It’s going to be something I’m first experiencing at this level so I’m just trying to use that excitement and energy and come out with a win hopefully.”

Hollett and the Tigers hit the ice tonight at 7:30 p.m. The night will also feature Bradley’s first return to the Canalta Centre since being traded in the off-season.

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