NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN Medicine Hat Tigers captain James Hamblin deflects a shot on Swift Current Broncos goaltender Jordan Fairlie during a Western Hockey League game at Canalta Centre on Sept. 28, 2019.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
The Medicine Hat Tigers have taken an unorthodox approach to their power play to start the Western Hockey League season.
The first power play unit is comprised of James Hamblin, Cole Sillinger, Ryan Chyzowski, Brett Kemp and Elijah Brown. If something seems amiss, it’s because the group boasts five forwards without a single defenceman – but that fact hasn’t stopped the effectiveness of Medicine Hat’s man advantage.
“It’s not usual to have not one defenceman out there, but it seems to work for us,” said assistant coach Ryan Smith, whose Tigers have the eighth-best power play in the WHL with a 21.7 per cent rate of success. “Those guys, the five forwards, are key guys. They know how to put the puck in the net.
“You want your power play to be really effective. You want the other team to know that, so they play a little different 5-on-5. You don’t want to take a penalty against us, that’s kind of what we want to get to. I don’t know if we’re there yet but that’s the goal.”
While Medicine Hat was dealt its first regulation loss since Sept. 29 in Sunday’s 6-3 setback to the Calgary Hitmen, the man advantage provided a bright spot in the first period – converting for two quick goals off the stick of Chyzowski to stake an early 3-0 lead.
“It’s worked really well. I think that’s one positive we can take away from Calgary, just how well that worked,” said Hamblin. “We’re just going to keep improving on it. We have a few things we want to get better at but it’s been working so far.”
Smith added a key advantage of having five skilled forwards on the same unit is their versatility across the offensive zone. All five players are capable of scoring from anywhere inside the blue line, as well as crashing for a rebound, creating traffic in front or finding a lane from the point.
“They’re interchangeable,” said Smith. “One can be at the top running it, another can be down low in front of the net, one can be in the slot. We try to get them in set positions, and they know where they want to be for more success, but they adapt pretty quickly.”
Hamblin agreed the unit’s versatility is a driving force behind its success. Even when they’re not cashing in with a notch on the scoreboard, Hamblin says the power play is still making opposing teams pay for their mistakes by generating momentum.
“I think that’s just it – all five guys can contribute,” he said. “I think if we use our skill every time we should at least be creating lots of opportunities. If we’re not scoring we at least want to create momentum. It’s been working really well and hopefully we can keep it up.”
Medicine Hat’s dominance up front has advantages for the defensive group as well, as all six blue-liners get a breather every time the team’s top power play unit hops over the boards. Tabby defenceman Trevor Longo added the benefits extend into even strength as well. Medicine Hat has outshot the opposition in 11 of its 12 games this season, which Longo says often results in prolonged periods of pressure in the offensive zone.
“We have a ton of depth up front and they do a great job of getting pucks on net. Always being in their zone more than our zone, it’s obviously easy,” said Longo. “Our forwards, all four lines can play really well, and it’s nice as a defenceman knowing that — They just make some plays that you don’t even think are possible.”
The Tigers (8-3-1-0) return to the ice Friday in Edmonton against the Oil Kings (8-1-3-0).
