NEWS FILE PHOTO
Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender Mads Søgaard stretches out to make a save during Game 4 of the Western Hockey League's Eastern Conference quarter-final on Wednesday, March, 27, 2019 at the Canalta Centre. Søgaard returned to Medicine Hat Sunday, Sept. 15 after spending time at the Ottawa Senators camp this month.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
A lot has changed since Mads Søgaard set foot in Medicine Hat last September.
On top of achieving a rise to local stardom and earning a 37th overall selection from the Ottawa Senators in June’s NHL entry draft, the 18-year-old Tigers goaltender enters this season as the go-to guy in the Gas City – but Søgaard says nothing is ever that simple.
“I don’t look at it that way,” said Søgaard, who split the crease with Jordan Hollett last season before earning the No. 1 role down the stretch, but enters this season alongside 17-year-old Garin Bjorklund. “Garin is a really good goalie too and I’m really confident in my abilities, so I think we’ve got two guys who are really good and can play every night. I just want to earn my time on the ice and play very well.”
Søgaard returned to Medicine Hat Sunday after competing at the Senators’ rookie showcase and sticking around for a few days of main training camp to test his mettle against some veteran NHL talent.
“It was really fun to get on the ice with the big boys and see what it’s all about at the NHL level,” said Søgaard. “It’s kind of hard to describe, honestly. The passes are just on the tape every time. And even if it’s a bad pass they figure out a way to catch it so it looks like it’s a perfect pass. They’re just a couple per cent better at everything than at the junior level. It was really fun to see what it’s like and face those harder shots.”
Tigers assistant coach Ryan Smith says Søgaard’s return comes at a perfect time with the season opener set for Friday in Lethbridge against the rival Hurricanes, and he seems to be coming back with a new jolt of confidence after earning a solid look with the Senators.
“I think those three or four days he spent in Ottawa with the NHLers can only help him personally, but it also helps us,” Smith said of Søgaard, who posted a .921 save percentage and a 2.64 goals against average with a 19-8-2-2 record last season. “He wants to improve on his numbers from last year and show that it’s not a fluke or anything – and I don’t think anybody ever thought that, but he’s got that to prove. He’s got to prove to Ottawa that he’s ready to get into their system next year, and I think also in this league he wants to win. That’s the most important thing. He cares so much about the team.”
After giving him a taste of main camp, Søgaard says the Sens highlighted a few areas of his game to work on with the Tigers before sending him back to Medicine Hat for the upcoming season.
“We had three things wrote down as the main focus for me going back, so I’m trying to work on those things and do what they say,” he said. “A little bit of technical stuff with some post play, staying kind of even with my eyes and stuff like that, and the last one was good movement on my feet. Those were the three technical things and the things I’ll be looking at improving on the ice.”
Søgaard also enters this season with a new, but very familiar face on the roster. The Tigers acquired Søgaard’s long-time friend and Danish teammate Jonathan Brinkman with the 34th overall pick in June’s CHL import draft, giving the 6-foot-7, 196-pound netminder another Dane in the dressing room.
“It’s good to have a guy from back home around and I think he’s doing a good job too. It’s been a little bit of an adaption for him to get into North American hockey and I think he’s handled it well,” said Søgaard, who played with Brinkman at the IIHF World Junior Championship last year. “I’m excited to see him wearing a Tigers jersey and excited to get the season started.”
Søgaard says he’s been doing what he can to help Brinkman transition into a life in Canada, however Brinkman got the chance to get to know the rest of the team on his own while Søgaard was away at camp with the Senators.
“Mads going away took some confidence away but the guys took good care of me and I’m starting to know people very well, so I think it was good,” said Brinkman. “All the guys have been taking good care of me, and the coaches as well, and my billets.”
Brinkman – who put up six points in 32 games with his hometown Aalborg Pirates in the Danish league last year – added he’s excited to get the season going, both alongside his close friend and with a new team that caters to his strengths.
“It’s just perfect for me, especially the way with play. We play fast and with pace,” he said. “I’ve been on a line with Bryan Lockner for a while so I have good chemistry with him, and I’m playing with Kemp too now so that’s good.”
The Tigers enter the Enmax Centre to take on the Hurricanes on Friday at 7 p.m.
