NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers rookie forward Shane Smith skates around in warmup ahead of the Tigers 6-2 loss to the Red Deer Rebels on Mar. 12.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers roster got even younger this week.
The club announced Sunday they recalled prospects Tomas Mrsic, Hunter St. Martin, Shane Smith and Josh Van Mulligen after their CSSHL seasons came to a close. Tuesday was their first practice with the team since the recall and Tigers associate coach Joe Frazer said they’ll remain with the team for the final 10 games.
He said this opportunity allows them to see what it will take for them to stick with the team next season.
“The reason they are here is we want them to see what they have to do this summer to be ready for next year,” Frazer said. “So when they are out there at practice or in workouts, now they get to know exactly what we need from them and we get to watch video with them and show them this is exactly what we need from them come August or September. Then it’s up to them to make sure they have a heck of a summer training and they are ready to push for spots.”
Mrsic was the only one not on the ice Tuesday but will be joining the team for Wednesday morning’s practice. Goaltender Ethan McCallum has been with the club sporadically since Beckett Langkow was placed on the shelf with a finger issue. McCallum said getting to watch number one starter Garin Bjorklund has been an awesome experience and he’s learned to keep battling.
“You just have to battle hard through every situation, even if it looks like you don’t have a chance you have to really battle though everything and make sure you get to that puck,” McCallum said. “He’s helped me a long way this week to teach me the reins a little bit.”
Frazer said this opportunity also allows the coaching staff to see how the prospects compete against one another and show how hard they’re willing to fight to get in the lineup.
“It lets us see them against each other, see how they compare,” Frazer said. “Get to see who is the hardest worker, most competitive and how they fit in with their teammates. As much as it is great for them to get to see everything here, it’s great for the staff to get to see how they fit in with the group and how hard they work.”
St. Martin said the coaching staff told them they have to be the hardest working players at practice if they want to get a spot in the lineup and said he welcomes the competition of having other prospects called up at the same time.
“I think the previous times it was just me and I was fighting for lineup spots by myself but now there’s a lot more guys and I feel like it is much more competitive for those spots,” St. Martin said. “It’s obviously a friendly environment but it’s a competitive one.”
The Edmonton product has donned the orange and black in nine games this season. Him and Smith are the most tenured prospects. Smith has played in seven games this year.
Smith said getting the call-up alongside three other players the Tigers have identified as pieces for the future is exciting.
“I think the competitiveness is good and I think it pushes us to be at our best,” Smith said. “We all bring different things to the table and if we keep pushing each other we are going to have a really bright future.”
The Cessford product spent most of his season with South Alberta Hockey Academy of the CSSHL and said he thinks the Tigers have something special with their young prospects.
“We have a lot of young guys, so I think we can keep building this year and then off into the summer we can improve more and next year I’m sure we’ll be really strong,” Smith said.
