Western Hockey League vice president of hockey operations Richard Doerksen holds up the Medicine Hat Tigers logo announcing their winning of WHL draft lottery Thursday afternoon. The Tigers will pick first overall in the WHL's prospect draft on May 19.--PHOTO COURTESY WHL
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers will have their pick of the litter in this year’s WHL prospects draft.
The Tigers won the Western Hockey League’s draft lottery Thursday afternoon, and for the third time in franchise history will pick first overall in the prospect draft on May 19.
Tigers director of player personnel Bobby Fox said it’s a big moment for the organization.
“It’s an exciting time for the scouting staff and it opens up a lot of different possibilities,” Fox said. “We’re going to be able to add a really good player.”
Medicine Hat entered Thursday’s draft lottery with the best odds after a difficult season where they finished last in the WHL with an 11-53-3-1 record, marking their fewest wins and points in franchise history.
Fox said no one wants to go through a season like that again, and a step like this brings them out of this quicker.
“It’s so tough on players, coaches, operational stuff, everything, it’s not easy and you want to give hope, you want to bring excitement back to the rink,” Fox said. “We’ve made some sacrifices with some of the trades we made this year to get out of it quicker. So it is exciting and the future’s bright.”
Along with the first, the Tigers also hold the 16th overall pick, acquired from the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Lukas Svejkovsky trade on Dec. 27. The Tigers’ second-round pick will be the first of that round as well, giving them three selections in the first 23.
Fox said having the highest selection doesn’t make the job any easier, as they still have to choose the right person as much as the best player.
“There’s a lot of different things that go into the player you pick,” Fox said. “Players have options, you still need to prove that you’re the best option moving forward. We do have a history of developing NHL pro prospects, so we’re in a good position.
“You want to bring in a player that’s a game changer, a player that makes a difference on a shift by shift basis. Someone who has some elite qualities and it going to be making it exciting to coach, to watch and to bring success to the team.”
The Tigers are only five months removed from drafting Tomas Mrsic eighth in the 2021 WHL prospect draft, which was moved due to COVID-19 shutdowns in the hockey world.
The prospect among the 2007 draft class who has stood out the most this season has been forward Gavin McKenna out of Kelowna’s Rink Hockey Academy program.
McKenna, who turned 14 years old back in December, led the Canadian Sport School Hockey League’s U18 Prep division with 65 points in 35 games.
Fox wouldn’t comment on who the Tigers are looking at for the first pick but said it’s easy to not get too excited about whomever they pick because he will be so young.
“He’s still only 14, he can’t even play on a full-time basis next year,” Fox said. “He’s two years away and so we have to make sure that we’re giving him every opportunity and putting him in situations to succeed, so he is able to make an impact when he gets here.”
This year’s first overall pick is the first time the team has selected first since drafting Jay Bouwmeester in 1998 and Ryan Hollweg in 1999.
