NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender Beckett Langkow slides to his left to make a save in the first goalie session of Tigers training camp on Sept. 2.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
In his third Western Hockey League season, Beckett Langkow will be the guy in net for the Medicine Hat Tigers.
The 19-year-old will be the Tigers’ starting goaltender after playing a backup role behind Garin Bjorklund for the last two seasons. With Bjorklund starting his pro career at the age of 20, the net is all Langkow’s and it’s an opportunity he has been waiting for.
“It’s nice coming in and knowing what to expect. I know I am going to get a lot of games this year and my work ethic doesn’t really change,” Langkow said. “I pride myself being a hard worker and I’m still going to keep doing the same things day in and day out and it’s just going to be nice to get a lot more playing time this year.”
The Vegreville product said he spent his summer working on his game but did not share exact details as it was his technical game.
“It was a pretty eventful summer with working out and training and skating on the ice. There was a couple things in my game that I took into the summer to work on and I think I improved them so I’m happy about that,” Langkow said. “Then off ice, I put a lot of work in and I’m feeling good on the ice right now, so it was a good summer.
Tigers associate coach Joe Frazer said Langkow has made the needed efforts to earn the role.
“We’re excited for him, he’s been a great goalie all the way up and he’s put a lot of work and he’s been looking forward to this,” Frazer said. “He has big shoes to fill, obviously. We know he’s ready and we know he’s excited about the opportunity and he’s going to run with it.”
The Tigers backup position has not been decided with multiple options in Zach Zahara, Ethan McCallum and James Venne still on the pre-season roster. McCallum backed up Bjorklund multiple times last season, Venne played in the 2021-22 pre-season and Zahara is the lone of the three with regular season action, coming in relief in two games last year.
Langkow said all of the goalies in camp have been good to work with and he will be happy with whomever he gets to push back and forth with to be better and have a good season.
McCallum said the veteran net minder is an easy person to work with because of how he relates with his teammates.
“Beckett is a super nice guy and he has the personality where he can kind of change down on the ages so you can kind of relate to each other and you can have normal conversations, you’re not having that awkward silence,” McCallum said. “He’s a pretty good guy, he’s a funny guy to be around and he’s always there to help me out if I need it and I’m always there to help him if he needs it, too.”
Langkow joined the Tigers as a free agent signing ahead of the 2020 WHL season from the Fort Saskatchewan Ranger Midget AAA team. As one of the older players in the Tigers’ lineup, Langkow said he’s looked back on his first couple of seasons and first training camps to reflect on what kind of a leaders he had then and how he wants to lead.
“Looking at the guys that I looked up to and just trying to be like them and set a good example,” Langkow said. “Just have to make sure you’re talking to all of the young guys, and I want to be a guy who they all want to be around.
The one player Langkow said he looked up to from his first camp was goaltender Jordan Hollett. He said their relationship reminded him of how he has been working with Tigers’ 15-year-old goaltending prospect Jordan Switzer.
“It’s a bit similar to what’s going on right now with Switzer, he’s 15, I’m 19, it’s funny how that works,” Langkow said. “I came in as a free agent invitee and he was really nice from the get-go and was talking to me. I think that’s something I’ll always remember and I still think about it to this day.”
