NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Cayden Lindstrom stops up with the puck in the final scrimmage of the Tigers training camp on Sunday.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The 2006 WHL draft class had a unique experience last season with an opportunity to suit up for games before attending their first training camp, which didn’t occur until this past weekend.
Two of the Medicine Hat Tigers’ 2021 draft picks – forwards Tomas Mrsic and Cayden Lindstrom – suited up for a combined 16 regular season games last campaign and were on the ice for their first camp over the weekend.
Other members of that class shared a similar experience. Goaltender Ethan McCallum was the backup for multiple games, and defencemen Simon Martin and Nate Corbet practiced with the club in the 2021-22 season.
Lindstrom described it as a weird experience entering his first camp after already donning the orange and black.
“Usually, you have a training camp when you’re 15 but we didn’t really get that; we just kind of hopped around in the games,” Lindstrom said. “But that doesn’t really matter to me, I think it doesn’t really matter to Tomas either, we’re ready to go.”
The 2021 draft was pushed from May until December to allow players the opportunity to showcase their skills after missing so much time on the ice due to COVID-19. It also allowed for scouting staffs to watch and see how players had grown and gotten better since they had not played since the 2019-20 season.
Both Mrsic and Lindstrom were drafted from the U17 Delta Hockey Academy where they put up a combined 66 goals and 158 points last season.
Mrsic said meeting a majority of the team before camp made it an easier and more comfortable experience.
“Just knowing most of the guys and being more comfortable on the ice with the puck, carrying it more,” Mrsic said. “Just not as nervous. I wasn’t nervous at all coming in, just cool and calm.”
Tigers associate coach Joe Frazer said the 2006-born players getting that taste of game action provided them with a valuable experience entering this camp.
“It was good last year, because a lot of them got to play real games at the end of the season once their years ended, especially Mrsic and Lindstrom, who played regular season games,” Frazer said. “I think they were used to the pace, they’re ready for it. But it was just great to get these guys in their training camp, get that under their belt.”
McCallum is still looking for that first WHL game for his career but said being around the team last year helped him get more comfortable at camp and understand expectations.
“Not a lot of new faces around, it was good to talk to the guys and I was a bit more used to everyone, the environment was a lot better coming back to this camp,” McCallum said. “Last year helped a lot for sure, getting those couple of games and being up here a few weeks to kind of show me the reins a bit.
“It was hard obviously getting used to the first training camp but since having that experience throughout the games and practices last season, they taught me what I need to do, so I kind of knew my expectations and how to set them up.”
Frazer said any extra experience goes a long way, as players have to navigate the difficult switch from minor hockey to the WHL.
“There’s always an adjustment period, no matter who you are in this league coming from Midget to the Western league, it’s an adjustment for anybody,” Frazer said. “The quicker you can get comfortable and the quicker you’ll find your confidence, the better you’re going to play. At the end of last year to get guys in to practice, play regular games, I think it’s huge. You get to see what it’s all about and you get to see how much work you had to put in the summer. You also get comfortable around your future teammates and that’s really important if you wanted to get started as a young guy.”
