NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
Medicine Hat Tigers Dru Krebs (left) and Cole Sillinger load up the team bus ahead of their road trip to Red Deer on Friday, Sept. 13 at the Canalta Centre.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
The 50th season of Medicine Hat Tigers hockey is sure to be unlike any other – the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge will see to that much.
The international tournament descends on the Gas City and Swift Current in early November and forces the Tigers onto a nine-game road trip that spans 27 days and covers more than 5,000 kilometres.
“That’s a lot of games away from home,” said Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins. “I think whenever things happen you have to make it work for you. It’s always a tough situation, but you’ve got to make it work for you … That’s the time of year where you have to bond together, you’ve got to work as a team because it’s going to be tough to win that many when you’re out on the road that long.”
Centre Elijah Brown agreed time spent on the road makes for some of the best memories – whether on the bus, in the hotel or in the ice in various arenas across the league. And with the trip starting on their 12th game of the regular season, it’s a perfect opportunity for new teammates to bond and build chemistry on both sides of the glass.
“The road is where you build your relationships,” said Brown. “I’m never sleeping on the bus trips. I’m always up late at night looking over shoulders to see who’s up so I can bug them a little. The boys give me a little bit of crap for that, but I love the road.”
But that fun always comes with a caveat.
“You’ve got to win,” he said. “If you’re losing on the road, everyone’s not in the best mood. So you’ve definitely got to win on the road.”
The trip opens with a divisional battle against the Hitmen on Oct. 20 in Calgary and sends the Tigers through Edmonton and Lethbridge before leading them out west for an eight-day sprint through all five B.C. Division markets, then a final stop in Red Deer to take on the Rebels Nov. 15. While it’s sure to provide a challenge, it also allows the half-dozen B.C. products on Medicine Hat’s roster to play in front of friends and family while showcasing the province to their teammates.
“I think a lot of the Alberta boys talk about how Alberta is nicer than B.C., so I’m just hoping they see the mountains and see the water,” said defenceman Trevor Longo, a product of North Vancouver. “I’m really looking forward to it as one of the B.C. boys on the team here – we didn’t get to go back last year. But not only going to B.C., those few weeks only with the guys, you’re with them all day every day. It’s a ton of fun and that’s where you really get close. It’s nice that it’s early in the year.”
It won’t be all hockey and tourism however, as the trip will provide a significant challenge for those enrolled in high school and post-secondary classes. Tigers alternate captain Ryan Chyzowski knows well the struggles of studying on the road, but believes their nine-game trip will allow the team’s younger students to build character and properly manage their responsibilities.
“I think it’s just a little bit of added stress on those kids. They don’t just have to worry about the hockey, they’ve got to worry about the school stuff too. I think it’s good for them though,” said Chyzowski, who is currently taking a calculus class through Athabasca University. “It teaches them a bit of time management and teaches them that it’s not always just focusing on hockey. I think it’s real good for them, and real important that they kind of benefit from that and learn through the difficulties of it.”
While they won’t be competing for international glory, the Tabbies will be playing one of their most intriguing games of the season on the eve of the under-17 gold medal game when they face off against Shaun Clouston’s Kamloops Blazers on Nov. 9 at the Sandman Centre. Clouston was fired from the Tigers to make way for Desjardins in late May, but the longtime Hat head coach and general manager – who spent his first seven years in the Gas City as an assistant and associate coach under Desjardins – quickly found work in the B.C. Division.
“It’ll be cool after playing underneath him for four years,” said alternate captain Tyler Preziuso. “It’ll be good to see him and I just hope the best for them, but I obviously want to win that game.”
The silver lining of the demanding scheduling shift comes in a pair of homestands that bookend the four-week stint away from the Canalta Centre. The Tigers charge up for the road with five straight games on home ice and return to the Gas City the following month to another four consecutive contests without stepping back onto the bus.
“It’s going to be pretty cool,” said Tigers defenceman Cole Clayton, adding he’s hoping the Hockey Challenge will create a buzz that extends into their returning homestand. “Obviously we’re looking to be a better home team this year and play really well in front of our fans. There will be lots of fans coming out for the U17s and then hopefully they carry that over when we get back and watch us come play too.”
With any luck, there will be one member of the Tigers who won’t make the journey west. Sixteen-year-old Regina product Cole Sillinger is entering his first full season of WHL eligibility and earned a trip to Hockey Canada’s under-17 development camp in July after a strong performance in Medicine Hat’s six-game series loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings in the first round of the playoffs. Canada will send three squads to the eight-team tournament in November, which will be co-hosted by Medicine Hat and Swift Current with medal games taking place at the Canalta Centre.
“It’ll be cool for the fans here,” said Preziuso. “I’m not sure if Sillinger is on the team or not yet, but I can imagine he’ll be on it so they can support him out here. I know lots of guys who played in it in the past who have said great things about it, so I think the fans are looking forward to it.”
