Four Tigers prospects named to Canada’s U17 camp

By JAMES TUBB on June 10, 2022.

Four Medicine Hat Tigers rookies will have the chance to don Canada’s red and white this summer.

Tigers forwards Tomas Mrsic, Cayden Lindstrom and Diego Buttazzoni and goaltender Ethan McCallum have been named to Hockey Canada’s roster for their national U17 development camp. The four were draft picks of the Tigers back in December at the 2021 WHL draft.

It also marks the first time the Tigers have sent four players to one development camp since the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge started in 1986. Medicine Hat has sent three players to camps twice in the last 10 years, defenceman Daniel Baker, and forwards Henrik Rybinski and Josh Williams represented in 2017 and listed goaltender Daniel Toews, defenceman David Quenneville and forward Mason Shaw took part in the 2014 camp.

Tigers associate coach Joe Frazer said it’s an honour for the organization to have four players named to the development camp roster.

“It’s a great honour for these players to be recognized by Hockey Canada, and as an organization we are very proud of them,” Frazer told the News. “I think it says a lot about our scouting staff and how well they have done at finding and acquiring talent for us.”

No other WHL club has as many players attending the camp as the Tigers. Four teams (the Brandon Wheat Kings, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Red Deer Rebels and Seattle Thunderbirds) each have three players invited.

Mrsic, the eighth overall pick in the 2021 draft, played 10 games for Medicine Hat last season and scored his first WHL goal in Lethbridge on February 27.

Before donning the orange and black, Mrsic finished his CSSHL season with 41 goals and 98 points in 28 games for Delta Hockey Academy’s U17 prep team.

Lindstrom, drafted 54th overall by the Tigers in 2021 and a Delta Hockey Academy teammate of Mrsic, had 25 goals and 60 points in 31 games at the U17 level.

Lindstrom also made his WHL debut this season, dressing in six contests.

McCallum earned a handful of call-ups as a back-up goaltender with the Tigers after being drafted 39th overall.

The Brandon product had a 5-15-2 record in 24 games for the Notre Dame U16 AAA Hounds this past season, with a 4.19 goals against average and .904 save percentage.

Buttazzoni, who is the lone player of the group who has not yet signed a WHL standard player agreement with the Tigers, played for the Burnaby Winter Club U18 team last season, putting up 19 goals and 54 points in 32 games. Buttazzoni was selected 37th overall by the Tigers, and has committed to playing with the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express in the 2022-23 season.

Mrsic and Lindstrom with Delta and Buttazzoni with Burnaby all captured CSSHL championships last season at the U17 and U18 levels respectively.

Forward Oasiz Wiesblatt is the latest Tiger to be invited to the national team camp, taking part in 2020.

Hockey Canada will be bringing 100 players from across the country to the week-long evaluation camp, with the top 66 players being selected for teams for the 2022 World U17 Hockey Challenge.

The national U17 development camp will be held from July 10-16 at Winsport’s Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary.