Tigers 2018-19 Preview: Automatic chemistry

By Ryan McCracken on September 22, 2018.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com @MHNMcCracken

Chemistry is hard to come by at any level. So when three young men get the chance to play on the same line for three consecutive seasons, they tend to know how lucky they are.

Ryan Jevne, Tyler Preziuso and Ryan Chyzowski are three of the fortuitous few to have that luxury over their past few seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers — and this year that line will be shifted into a top-six setting.

“I think it’s something you don’t see all that often,” said Tigers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston, confirming he has no plans to separate the trio. “We do expect those three guys to play together again, so that will be three years in a row.”

Jevne was the first to appear with the Tigers as a call-up in 2014-15 season. He went on to earn a full-time role at the start of the following year and spent the majority of his campaign on a line with fellow rookie Preziuso. It wasn’t until the following season that Chyzowski cracked the league as a 16-year-old and the energetic line was born.

“I just love playing with them,” said Preziuso, adding they all compliment each other’s games. “Jevs is definitely a fast skater so it’s fun trying to keep up with him all the time and it’s easy getting Chyz the puck all the time. He’s got a bomb of a shot and we’re used to playing with each other now so it should be a good year.”

What started as a fourth line trio, relied on to generate energy and eat minutes in the enemy zone, quickly started to blossom into something more. After combining for 64 points in 2016-17 —their first season together as three —Jevne, Preziuso and Chyzowski more than doubled those numbers last season with 132 combined points on the year.

“That chemistry is almost automatic now,” said Jevne. “There’s nothing new, nothing changes. I think for this season, we all have really high hopes for our numbers and I think we can really help the team win a lot of games.”

Clouston added he hopes to see the three linemates build on their work from last season without sacrificing the fierce mentality that separates them from the pack.

“They’ve always been a very hard working trio. They’ve always competed and played with lots of energy,” said Clouston. “I think that is a major part of their identity and I think it’s important they hang onto that. That can be a mistake or an error when players get into that top six. With more ice time and more responsibility they sometimes have a tendency to get away from that identity.

“I think that’s what’s made them successful and I think that’s what will continue to make them successful. Not that they can’t be more creative as they get older and create even more chemistry, but I think the important part is that they are energy guys, they’ve got a lot of speed on that line, there’s some physicality, and those are components that have made them successful.”

The three agreed, with Jevne pointing out they’ve always held true to that identity — one that helped establish their presence in the WHL as a challenging line to face off against — while working together to add new facets to their game over the years.

“I think it worked for us when we were younger, having that energy and that excitement. Even when we weren’t playing as much we were able to contribute,” said Jevne. “As we’ve gotten older and our roles have gotten a little bigger, we’ve got to stay true to what we knew when we were younger and what worked. Each year we just kind of add a little bit, a new dynamic that helps us put the puck in the net.”

While all three plan on posting career numbers in a more important role up front this season, Preziuso agreed they cannot afford to sacrifice their identity as grinders in the process.

“We grind out there, we get the puck deep every chance we have and we just buzz on them. So we still almost have that fourth-line identity, we’re just higher up in the lineup,” he said. “We started off being fourth-line grinders out there and now we’re making our way up to the first and second line, but we definitely have to keep that part of our game.”

Chyzowski —who returned from main camp with the Vegas Golden Knights this week — says the level of chemistry and camaraderie they share allows them to make adjustments on the fly while capitalizing on each other’s tendencies.

“It just makes the game more comfortable,”said Chyzowski. “It makes it easier for us to talk things through, talk about what’s going good, what goes bad and what we can make better out of every situation. It’s great.

“They’re some of my best buddies on the team and it just makes the game a lot easier to play with them.”

Adding to their offensive responsibilities, Chyzowski and Jevne will also be leaned on as leaders this season. Under captain James Hamblin, both Jevne and Chyzowski will be sporting As on their chests when the puck drops this season.

While it will be a new adjustment for Chyzowski, it will mark Jevne’s second year with an alternate captaincy.

“It’s great. Obviously with Jimmy being our captain, that’s someone we can follow. Then with me, Chyz and (Lockner), that’s three other guys who can really set the example,” he said. “We’re going to have to coordinate exactly how we want to do it but it should be pretty exciting this year.”.”

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