Rassell likes his options

By Ryan McCracken on September 6, 2018.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com @MHNMcCracken

Mark Rassell isn’t taking any chances when it comes to his future.

The former Medicine Hat Tigers captain touched down in Los Angeles Wednesday to forge a potential career with the Kings. But if an entry-level contract isn’t in the cards, Rassell will head to the University of New Brunswick to play with the Varsity Reds while firming up a fall-back plan as a business undergrad.

“I told (UNB) I won’t accept an AHL offer,” said Rassell, adding signing an AHL contract for the upcoming season would prevent him from playing U Sports hockey until 2020 if things didn’t work out professionally. “I think it’s too risky to just try pro for a year and if it doesn’t work out you have to give up your first season in U Sports. Having to sit out a whole hockey season just to try playing pro on an AHL contract just doesn’t seem worth it to me.”

Despite his decision to turn down any potential AHL contracts, Rassell says he hopes to suit up with the Kings’ affiliate Ontario Reign this season, but with the security of a three-year entry-level NHL contract.

Regardless of where he ends up, Rassell will have the luxury of spending his season in front of a beautiful backdrop —in either Los Angeles with the Kings, Fredericton with the Varsity Reds or Ontario, Calif. with the Reign.

“I’ve been saying it all summer: it’s a win-win for me, whatever happens,” said Rassell. “I’m not just going to dip my toes in, I’m going to go all-in for LA and if I earn that deal, awesome. That’s a dream come true and everything is working out well. If not I get to go to school for free with the WHL scholarship, play some great hockey and experience the east coast of Canada.”

Tigers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston lauded Rassell’s mature approach to the forked road before him — insisting he believes the Calgary product will find a fruitful career in professional hockey, and a stint in U Sports does nothing to curb that belief.

“I think it’s a great decision. I think with the scholarship program the Western Hockey League offers, it’s the way to go,” said Clouston. “If it’s not an NHL deal then he’s got five years of school to work on and continue to develop. That’s the great thing about U Sports, is that there’s so many players now playing for another three, four or five years and then getting pro deals, whether it’s in North America or Europe. I think it’s the best of both worlds.”

Rassell spent last off-season competing for a place with his hometown Calgary Flames and went on to record a 50-goal season with the Tigers. While a handful of factors prevented him from immediately signing a contract in the days following Medicine Hat’s Eastern Conference quarter-final defeat at the hands of the Brandon Wheat Kings, Rassell says his agent was consistently fielding calls from NHL teams before narrowing the list down to two — the Kings and the Minnesota Wild.

Rassell laced up his skates with the Kings at rookie camp over the summer, and was planning to follow it up with a trip to Minnesota, but the Kings stepped in and asked him to reconsider while offering him a place at main camp this month.

“After my week in L.A. they kind of said ‘Hey we don’t really want you going to Minnesota because we don’t want to lose you. We want you to come to our rookie tournament and we’re going to give you every opportunity you need to prove to us that you’re with an NHL contract,'” said Rassell. “I called my agent and said there was no point going to Minnesota anymore.”

Following his experience at Flames camp last summer, Rassell remarked that he was surprised to discover just how close he was to NHL-ready. After wreaking havoc on WHL goaltenders all season long and establishing himself as a valuable prospect with the Kings in July, Rassell’s dream is quickly approaching reality.

When he started his Tigers career as an undersized and undrafted 17-year-old, that prospect of playing on NHL ice seemed little more than a fantasy.

“I’m talking to NHL teams and I’m in contention for getting an NHL contract. If you said that to me when I was 18, I wouldn’t have believed you,” said Rassell, adding he credits Clouston for believing in his abilities at a young age and fostering those talents over the years to come. “It just goes to show how far I’ve come.”

While he’ll only be able to watch Tigers games from a distance this season, Rassell says he believes the team is in good hands after watching his close friend James Hamblin earn the captaincy last week.

Although the two former linemates have significantly different approaches to the role — with Rassell taking an upbeat vocal presence in the dressing room and with media, while Hamblin leads by example with a more serious tone —Rassell says he believes this year’s young core of players will greatly benefit from Hamblin’s demeanour, but only after he cracks a few jokes about the situation.

“I know I always give him a hard time online, but deep down we’re good buddies,” said Rassell. “I was in Medicine Hat for four or five days and we hung out quite a bit and we kind of talked about what it takes.

“Him and I have different personalities. He’s a quieter kid, but I think he’ll do great as captain for the Tigers squad.”

Asked whether he received any captaining tips from Rassell following his appointment as captain last week, Hamblin said the former 50-goal scorer tends to shoot first.

“That guy, give me tips? No, more chirps than tips,” said Hamblin. “For me, leadership’s more about leading by example, being that player everyone looks to whether that’s on or off the ice.”

Rassell added he anticipates Medicine Hat’s entire leadership group —which includes captain Hamblin and alternates Ryan Jevne, Ryan Chyzowski and Bryan Lockner — will instil a positive atmosphere in which the team’s younger players can grow and thrive.

“They all have life experience, they’ve all played in the league for a while and they know what it takes. I’m really looking forward to seeing what the Tigers do this year. I’m really excited and really proud to be an alumni there.”

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