Eric Van Impe (black) fights Noah Danielson (orange) for the puck along the boards in a drill during the first day of Tigers training camp on Wednesday at Co-op Place. -- NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
For a lot of Tigers players, getting on the ice Wednesday was something they’ve missed.
Medicine Hat was able to play an extremely condensed season last year, only 23 games, which means heading into this years training camp, a lot of guys hadn’t participated in an organized skate for a long time.
For defensemen Eric Van Impe, one of the most senior guys on the team, getting back on the ice with the guys is very welcomed.
“It’s good to get back to some normalcy and just do things we are normally doing,” said Van Impe. “Getting back into pre-season compared to last year not having really a full camp or no pre-season games, so it’ll be good to get back into the flow of it.”
The 19-year-old is entering his fourth season in Medicine Hat and even with that experience, because of the culture within the team he says he doesn’t feel like he has to take on any new leadership role.
“We’ve got a good culture here, so you just kind of grow up and the older you get the more mature,” said Van Impe. “Obviously there are more roles that come with it but as a person it won’t really change me, so I’m just excited to get back to it.”
When asked if he had taken any of the new guys around town to show them Medicine Hat, Van Impe laughed and said that would happen later in the season.
He will have at least one new teammate to show around as the Tigers completed a trade Tuesday with the Spokane Chiefs for forward Owen MacNeil. Medicine Hat sent two draft picks back to the Chiefs.
For head coach Willie Desjardins, MacNeil brings solidarity down the middle for the Tigers.
“We’re excited,” he said. “We were able to get an older centre-man that’s played in the league, we expect really good things from him. He competes hard, he’s smart defensively. So he’s a guy that can step in and play and we’re excited about that.”
Desjardins, who is entering his third year in his second stint as head coach and general manager of the Tigers, said that cuts will be made throughout the training camp to allow guys to settle with their next team.
As for his captain and leadership group, Desjardins says the team will wait roughly until the season starts to name them. It will be later than normal as the Tigers usually name their leadership group early in the pre-season but he says the coaching staff just hasn’t looked into filling the role yet.
When asked if he was waiting for players like Cole Sillinger, Dru Krebs and Lukas Svejkovsky to potentially return from NHL camps, he said that wasn’t the case.
“We certainly have some really high-end guys at camp but I think they are going to be at camp for a while so, I don’t think that will be a factor,” he said.
The Tigers begin pre-season action this weekend, as they travel to Lethbridge on Friday to open a home-and-home set against the Hurricanes, which will conclude Saturday night at Co-op Place. Puck drop for the Saturday game is 7 p.m.
