Searching for more milestones

By Ryan McCracken on December 1, 2018.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com @MHNMcCracken

Ryan Jevne is the last of his kind.

The overage Medicine Hat Tigers winger is the final active member of his team to have laced up his skates for a Western Hockey League game at the franchise’s fabled former home, The Arena.

While Jevne admits it doesn’t necessarily qualify as an accomplishment, there’s no denying it’s a special part of his career, and one he’ll cherish for years to come.

“It was definitely cool to get a chance to play in an old rink like that with so much history, and then to get to move into this rink and feel the difference,” said Jevne, adding fans still talk to him about the old rink when he’s out in the community. “A lot of people love it and they miss it. It was one of those things that was kind of theirs, they really felt attached to it, especially with the winning that happened there.”

He may have only played three games at The Arena, but that storied barn left its mark on Jevne all the same. From the old-time-hockey aroma, to the ever-humbling wall of fame that covered the hallway outside the team’s dressing room with names and statistics of former Tiger greats, Jevne says you could feel the history from the moment you stepped inside.

“It kind of has that feeling. It kind of reminded me of when you go from playing here to a practice at a community rink. It’s kind of got that old-school smell to it that a lot of people can recognize,” said Jevne, who earned the title of alternate captain this season. “They had the hall of fame wall for the Tigers with all the old stats. To read some of those names — a lot of them were recognizable NHLers and a lot of them were guys you wouldn’t have heard of unless you played here — and to see their numbers was pretty incredible.”

Jevne admits he didn’t know a lot about the Tigers until May 2, 2013, the day his name was called at 35th overall in the WHL bantam draft. Sitting in Spanish class with the draft results running on a screen in the background, Jevne’s life changed forever.

“I honestly didn’t know much about the league. Not a lot of my friends had really made it to this level,” he said. “We were kind of following along, but not too closely because it’s one of those things that is a big deal but at the same time it really doesn’t mean much at that time because a lot of guys get drafted and nothing comes of it.”

Bearing that in mind, Jevne went to work. Over the next two years, the smaller-sized power forward established his potential and earned a full-time role for Medicine Hat’s first season at the Canalta Centre.

Leaving his home in Edmonton to pursue hockey at 17 years old is an undeniably daunting task, but Jevne says his parents did well to prepare him for an early independent life while helping foster his abilities on the ice from an early age.

“I think for everyone your family is hugely important. If you look back on it, especially nowadays with how expensive it is to play hockey, it’s a huge sacrifice. Even the driving and the hours, spending all that time, I’m extremely thankful,” he said. “A lot of people think you have to pour the money in to make sure you’re successful, but I think that money really goes to the memories you make as a kid.”

One of those memories came seven games into Jevne’s official rookie season, when he jumped over the boards, drove to the net and jammed a rebound past Kootenay Ice netminderWyatt Hoflin for his first career WHL goal.

“(David) Quenneville took a shot from the point and I just kind of took a weird chop at it from an awkward angle,” said Jevne. “It ended up popping up into the air and going over the goalie, so it was kind of a fluky one but they all count the same so it was a pretty exciting moment.”

The on-ice memories continued to form in Jevne’s sophomore season, when the Edmonton product was matched up on a new line alongside 17-year-old winger Tyler Preziuso and 16-year-old rookie centre Ryan Chyzowski. While he remained in a fourth-line energy-based role, Jevne found real chemistry with his new linemates — a trio that remains together to this day — and together they started slowly working their way up the depth chart.

“When we were on the fourth line we had three great lines in front of us so we weren’t counted on to score. We really just focused on having fun,” said Jevne, who managed nine goals and 19 assists while playing in all 72 games that season, then nearly doubled his production last year with 48 points in 69 nights. “Being on the fourth line, if you don’t keep it positive and you’re not having fun, the season can really drag on. So that was a big thing for us, just to have fun on the bench and on the ice when we got the chance.”

Tigers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston says Jevne has managed to consistently grow his game over the past three-plus seasons while staying committed to the team’s process and never straying from a tooth-and-nail work ethic. As a result, the 5-foot-9, 175-pound winger is perfect leadership material.

“Whenever you’ve got guys who have been here for a long time, you need them to set the example, to set the bar real high and have the new guys and the rest of the team follow. Jevne has done that. He’s been a worker and a soldier. He’s really come a long way,” said Clouston. “It wasn’t that long ago he was a fourth-line guy just making sure he got the puck out of our end. Now we’re relying on him to not only do those things but score goals and be a top-six offensive contributor.”

See Music, Page A10

With that leadership also comes control of the music selection in the dressing room, says Jevne, although his tastes don’t always align with those of his head coach.

“The old rock is what Clouie likes. I know me and Chyz especially are into the new rap and a couple of times we had it on and Clouie didn’t agree with it. But it’s music, it’s opinion based. I don’t think it’s anything personal against us, he just doesn’t enjoy it,” said Jevne, adding it can be a big responsibility.

“You can’t please everyone. You’ve got to find a balance between keeping everyone happy and playing stuff that gets everyone fired up É I do like classic rock and a lot of the guys seem to like it. A lot of guys like the country, but that’s not really our style so we try to stay away from that.”

While his position with the team has grown, Jevne says he tries to maintain the same energy-line mentality that earned him an overage season while adding new elements to his game. He’s again on pace for a career year — pushing his points-per-game average from 0.68 to 0.93 while collecting 10 goals and 15 assists through his first 27 games — but he’s still adding firsts to his resume.

After compiling seven two-goal performances through the first 236 games of his career, Jevne finally netted his first hat trick in Wednesday’s 6-2 victory over the Red Deer Rebels. What’s more, the coveted third goal was set up by Jaxon Steele and Corson Hopwo and stood as the first career assist for both rookie forwards.

“Sometimes you end up getting three firsts on one goal,” said Jevne. “That was a pretty special moment. I know both those young guys were happy to get their first assist too.”

An important part of Jevne’s role with the Tigers — both as a leader and as one of few to experience the transition from The Arena —has been to lay the framework for a new history at the Canalta Centre. From back-to-back Central Division banners to the retirement of Tom Lysiak’s No. 9 jersey, Jevne has been involved in his share of historic moments. But if he has anything to say about it, there will still be more to come in this final chapter of his Tigers career.

“It was a special feeling fans have with (The Arena) and that’s something we’re trying to develop here,” he said. “We’ve put up two Central Division banners but we want to get the bigger ones that matter more.”

Jevne and the Tigers return to the Canalta Centre Saturday to host the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the annual Medicine Hat News Teddy Bear Toss at 7:30 p.m.

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