NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forwards Noah Danielson and Oasiz Wiesblatt pose with some teddy bears during the Tigers teddy bear toss game on Dec. 4 against the Brandon Wheat Kings.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Christmas break not only allows the Medicine Hat Tigers the ability to get away from the game, but also see family and friends they haven’t seen since the start of the Western Hockey League season.
Thirteen of the 25 players on the Tigers roster have hometowns outside of Alberta, which makes getting that extra time off even more special than it already is. Just like all families come the holidays, the young Tabbies have many a traditions to further celebrate the time together.
The one tradition almost all of them share once they get back home, is hitting up outdoor rinks with their friends and family. Hunter St. Martin, Oasiz Wiesblatt, Reid Andresen and Tyler MacKenzie all say they would hit the ice while away from the Tigers.
Tigers netminder, Garin Bjorklund says his family in Grand Prairie always has a big Christmas Day dinner and does a gift exchange. He also says he usually heads to an outdoor rink with his brother and they compete against one another as siblings do. Bjorklund was not afraid to admit that his brother usually beats him in their ODR activities.
“He’s the player,” Bjorklund said. “I got the hands but he’s got the speed and whatnot so he usually beats me.”
Bjorklund did say, very humbly, that he picks up his wins when it comes to their annual gingerbread contest.
“I usually win in that, I’m more creative,” Bjorklund said.
Both Ferster and Andresen spend the holidays with both sides of their families. Andresen visits both sets of grandparents on Christmas Day whereas Ferster spends both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the different members of his family.
Tigers rookie forward Steven Arp’s family does the Ukrainian tradition of the 12 dishes of Christmas. It’s something the Swan River, Man. product says he looks forward to come the holidays.
“We have the pirogies, cabbage rolls and we get the whole family together that’s the good part,” Arp said.
Medicine Hat’s eighth overall pick in the 2021 draft, Tomas Mrsic, who made his WHL debut in the Tigers last two games before the holidays had interesting holiday plans.
His family was heading to Hawaii but he was sticking around with his dad, as he was set to play in the Mac’s U18AAA Tournament in Calgary. That conversation with the News came six days before the tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.
One thing the Surrey, B.C. product said he would partake in while the rest of his family is in Hawaii is watching his favourite Christmas movie, Home Alone.
Of the 11 Tigers polled on their favourite holiday movie, Home Alone was second in the rankings. Arp was the only outlier as he said ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ was his go to holiday flick. Will Ferrell’s ‘Elf’ was the common choice as guys said they preferred the humour of Ferrell and the film. That was Oren Shtrom’s reason for tabbing it as his number one choice.
“Can’t go wrong with Will Ferrell, he’s a funny guy,” Shtrom said.
Shtrom says his family has some young kids still so he will be up early on the big day opening gifts. He added he’s looking forward to opening the same gift he gets every year.
“Look forward to the pyjama bottoms every year, those are probably the best gift.”
The Tigers have a few more days with their families before they don the orange and black again and hit the ice for the second half of the season. They are back in action on the road in Calgary on Dec. 28 against the Hitmen.
