Dream comes true for Willms

By Sean Rooney on August 28, 2018.

srooney@medicinehatnews.com @MHNRooney

About a dozen years ago, a four-year-old Caleb Willms wrote a letter to a cousin who was playing on a junior A hockey team.

“I said I want to play WHL with him one day,” said Willms after signing to play for the Medicine Hat Tigers Monday. “I’ve been thinking about this day for a while.”

The 16-year-old is too young to play full-time in the league yet, but he’s well on his way.

After putting up 10 points (three goals, seven assists) for the midget AAA Airdrie CFR Bisons this past season, the undrafted small forward from Cochrane has shown enough promise in training camp that the Tigers picked him up.

“Caleb is a smart, skilled forward, that has a nose for the net,” said team director of player personnel Bobby Fox in a press release. “He has excellent hands and can control the puck in tight quarters. He works and competes and we are excited to monitor his development.”

The Tigers also signed goaltender Mads Søgaard to a standard player agreement Monday, an expected move after the Danish keeper was picked in the CHL import draft.

Both players are getting their first taste of the orange and black, and it’s so far, so good.

“It’s been really good,” said Søgaard, a 17-year-old from Aalbord, Denmark. “It reminds me a lot of my hometown, it’s not a big transition at all. I’m very excited with what’s coming up next.”

Willms should get in a couple exhibition games this weekend against Lethbridge but will eventually head back to the Bisons for the regular season. Medicine Hat could bring him up for a couple games but the long-term goal would be to make the roster next fall.

So far at this camp, he’s just trying not to be overwhelmed.

“This week has been a surreal experience really, just with all the vet players showing me the way of a Tiger, how you’ve got to play to win… the leadership has been unbelievable,” said Willms, who had 38 points in 30 games his last year in bantam. “Just the speed and size with everybody is the wow factor for me. I’m not the biggest guy out there, they’re all bigger, stronger, faster, and it shows what I have to get to. It’s really good for me to look at them.”

Søgaard will play this year, the only question being how much with veteran Jordan Hollett returning. He knows all he can do is his best and see where things go from there.

“Just get better as a hockey player, show my teammates and the coaches that I can play here, that they should have faith in me and trust me when I’m in net,” he said. “I want to gain their trust, keep on developing.”

Being signed is one more thing off the checklist. The Tigers continue training camp leading up to Friday’s game in Lethbridge and a rematch Saturday in Taber.

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