NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
Medicine Hat Tigers defenceman Parker Gavlas defends against Portland Winterhawks winger Kishaun Gervais during a Western Hockey League game at the Canalta Centre on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
Parker Gavlas has been giving the Medicine Hat Tigers some extra punch on the back end – literally and figuratively.
The 20-year-old defenceman has been a physical force on Medicine Hat’s blue line since joining the team in a trade with the Edmonton Oil Kings to start the season. From three points of offensive production to bruising body checks on opposing players, Gavlas has been giving the Tabbies plenty to work with.
“He’s been outstanding. He’s a real gamer, he’s probably our best D every night,” said Tigers assistant coach Joe Frazer. “He’s big, he’s physical, he’s strong. He’s in unbelievable shape so he can play all night. I think you see his confidence growing each night with the puck and that’s why we gave him a chance on the power play (Tuesday). I think he’s been really good.”
It only took 16 minutes for the 6-foot, 184-pound Saskatoon product to establish his physical side with the Tigers in their season opener against at the Enmax Centre. After being hounded by Lethbridge Hurricanes winger Tyson Phare to drop the mitts following a hit on Zack Stringer, Gavlas agreed and let his fists fly before taking his new rival to the ice.
“The guy asked me to fight a couple times, so I finally said yes and did the job,” said Gavlas, adding physical play is a big part of his game, but he doesn’t go chasing down fights. “That’s just the way I play. I’m a physical guy. I don’t shy away from that stuff. It’s just how I’ve always played and I plan to keep it that way.”
Medicine Hat acquired Gavlas in exchange for a fourth-round bantam draft pick on Sept. 16. While his addition to the roster resulted in forward Hayden Ostir being cut from the team as the odd overager out, Gavlas has been filling the void well by providing some leadership and poise on defence.
“He definitely brings some grit and we definitely needed that on the back end. And he brings older leadership,” said Brett Kemp, who played with Gavlas on the Oil Kings last season before joining the Tigers at the trade deadline. “Edmonton went pretty far in the playoffs and he was one of their key defencemen, so to have him on our side now – we know how he plays and how good he can be.”
After compiling 11 points in 58 regular season games then adding another four over 16 playoff contests last year, Gavlas joined up with the Tigers and quickly found chemistry with 19-year-old defensive counterpart Trevor Longo. While the two competed against each other to open the playoffs last season – a series Gavlas’ Oil Kings won in six games before falling to the Prince Albert Raiders in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final – Gavlas says they’ve been complimenting each other well on the ice and building a strong bond away from the arena.
“It’s been good. Me and him have some really good chemistry,” said Gavlas, who has spent the first eight games of the season alongside Longo. “We’re talking lots and we’re good off the ice too so that helps a lot.”
Gavlas and the Tigers (5-2-1-0) return to the Canalta Centre tonight to host the Winnipeg Ice (3-3-1-0) at 7:30 p.m.
