Danes aim for return trip: Tigers Søgaard, Brinkman heading to World Juniors qualifying event in Belarus

By RYAN MCCRACKEN on November 28, 2019.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken

Mads Søgaard and Jonathan Brinkman are getting a shot at redemption.

After being relegated from the IIHF World Junior Championship last season, the Danish members of the Medicine Hat Tigers will return to international ice at the Division 1 tournament in December for a chance to return to junior hockey’s biggest stage next year.

While Søgaard would be too old to compete in the 2020/21 event, the 6-foot-7, 201-pound netminder is set on making sure whoever comes next will get the same chance he did.

“I want to be able to give back and help the team win,” said Søgaard, a 37th overall draft pick of the Ottawa Senators. “Obviously every time you get the chance to represent your country it’s a huge honour. Last year’s world juniors didn’t go as expected and we ended up getting relegated, so I think all the guys who were there have a little bit of a sour taste in their mouth and they want to get back up there. It’s my last year so I want to end junior national team stuff on a good note.”

The World Junior Championship’s Division 1 tournament features a six-team round robin, and the squad with the most points will earn a trip back to the main event in Edmonton and Red Deer next year. Denmark opens its run on Dec. 9 against Latvia.

“This year I think our group looks good. I think there’s a lot of talent,” said Søgaard, adding he’ll be playing with Brinkman’s future in mind as well. “I know for (Brinkman), he has the chance to go again the year after, so I just want to try to help him out to get back up there and obviously win the tournament.”

Brinkman posted one assist over six games as a 17-year-old at the World Junior Championship last season. After being selected by the Tigers with the 34th overall pick in the summer’s Canadian Hockey League bantam draft and producing 11 points over 24 games to start his career in orange and black, Brinkman says he’ll be entering this year’s Division 1 tournament with one thing on his mind.

“I want to lead this team back into the real world juniors against the big teams like Canada,” said Brinkman. “It was a disappointing loss last year in the relegation games but we want to get back into that tournament.”

Brinkman admits he had “a tough first month” after reporting to the Tigers, but the 6-foot, 178-pound forward has been hitting his stride of late with three goals and three assists over the past seven contests.

“I think he’s improved a lot,” said Søgaard. “He’s very focused and wants to get better every day. That’s huge for us, that’s what we do here in Medicine Hat. He’s just fit into the culture like that. He’s a great addition to our team. He just works hard and goes out there and does his best every single day and I think that’s going to translate well onto the national team too.”

While Brinkman’s performance at last year’s world junior tournament helped put him on Medicine Hat’s radar, it also helped Søgaard earn a place in the Ottawa Senators system.

After the draft, Søgaard spent two weeks at training camp with the big-league club in September before returning to the Tigers to start the season and says the experience left him feeling even more prepared for the international stage this time around.

“With all that I’ve been through with the (Senators) camp and world juniors before, I feel very prepared for it and I’m really pumped to go out there and help the team win,” said Søgaard.

“I’m feeling pretty good about myself right now.”

The opportunity for Søgaard and Brinkman also presents a challenge for the Tigers, as both players will leave for the tournament – which runs Dec. 9-15 in Minsk, Belarus – following Saturday’s game against the Saskatoon Blades.

Tabby head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins says the recent addition of forward Cyle McNabb – acquired in a trade with the Saskatoon Blades Tuesday – helps to address Brinkman’s absence, and Evan Fradette will likely be called up from the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Fort McMurray Oil Barons to serve as backup to Garin Bjorklund while the Danes compete for their country.

“(Fradette) has been playing well and he’s looking for a chance,” said Desjardins. “We’ve kind of thought out this process, we knew that it was going to be happening. We’re excited for both guys, they’re both good players and it’s a great chance for them to represent their country.”

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