NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
Cayden Glover protects the puck from Rhett Parsons during a Medicine Hat Tigers orientation camp scrimmage on Sunday, May 26, 2019 at the Family Leisure Centre.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
The Medicine Hat Tigers secured another piece of the puzzle during their annual orientation camp at the Family Leisure Centre this weekend.
Fifteen-year-old centre Cayden Glover became the second member of his bantam draft class to officially commit to a future with the club after signing the dotted line on a standard WHL player agreement Sunday.
“It’s a huge honour and I’m really happy,” said Glover. “I just can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
The Brandon product took the Winnipeg Bantam AAA League by storm with his hometown Wheat Kings this season, racking up a whopping 47 goals in just 36 games and adding 19 assists for a total of 66 points – 34 more than any of his teammates.
“Obviously my teammates helped me a lot with their playmaking ability and everything, getting me the puck in front of the net,” said Glover, adding he’ll be working through the summer to make an even bigger impact at training camp in the fall. “This shows me what I need to work on and how my summer is supposed to be. I need to work a lot on getting better and making my training camp a lot better than this one.”
Glover – selected early in the second round of this year’s bantam draft at 25th overall – joins first-round pick Oasiz Wiesblatt in signing with the Tigers this weekend. Wiesblatt put pen to paper Friday, then went on to prove his worth with a standout performance at camp.
“I can’t wait to come back,” said Wiesblatt, adding the work won’t stop through the summer. “I’ll just be working at Crash (Conditioning), trying to get better and hopefully when I’m 16 I’ll get to play.”
Tigers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston says he was thrilled to sign his top two picks, as both left an impressive mark this weekend.
“(Glover) is real good around the net, he put up big numbers this past season and I really liked his energy,” he said. “I got to know him and his family a little bit over the weekend, I like his personality, so I’m really excited to get him and Oasiz signed this weekend.”
The camp featured 14 prospects – 10 of whom heard their name called at this year’s bantam draft as well as three listed players and last year’s 99th overall pick, Rhett Parsons.
“They’re all great players,” said Wiesblatt. “They all deserve to come back in August. There’s nothing bad I can say about them, they’re all great.”
Former Tigers Dylan MacPherson and Jaeger White were also on the ice this weekend to assist with the team. Glover says it was a treat to get some on-ice guidance from a pair of veteran players who have been there before.
“They know the game really well,” he said. “They know where you’re supposed to be and how you’re supposed to play so it was fun playing with older guys.”
The only member of this year’s draft class that was not present at the camp was Richmond-based defenceman Henry Smith, who was absent due to prior commitments with lacrosse.
“He’s a competitive lacrosse player, so we plan on meeting with him and his family at the NHL draft,” said Clouston. “It’s in Vancouver this year so we’ll sit down with the family there.”
Clouston added this year’s draft class adds to an impressive group of prospective Tigers, including last year’s top two picks Cole Sillinger and Dru Krebs – who will be eligible to compete for a full-time spot with the team in the upcoming season.
“It’s really exciting,” he said. “It’s a ways out there, but there’s some talented hockey players that will look real good on our roster next year, the year after and the year after that.”
