NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender Jordan Switzer keeps his eye on the puck after making a save during one of the Tigers training camp scrimmages last weekend.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Jordan Switzer didn’t come to Medicine Hat Tigers training camp expecting to sign a contract. But the 15-year-old net minder is excited to get his hockey career started.
“It’s awesome, just growing up you always want to play in the Dub and eventually make it to the NHL, and now I am one step closer so that’s really exciting to me,” Switzer said.
The Edmonton product put pen to paper with the Tigers on Tuesday, four months after beingdrafted 111th overall in the WHL draft. He said as a young player his thoughts heading into training camp were to put his head down and work hard and seize any opportunity that came his way.
He said getting a contract in his first camp gives him a confidence boost from the coaching staff.
“Even on the ice you know that people have your back and if you’re having a bad game, they still believe in you and you can rebound and have a good season,” Switzer said.
Switzer is the fifth member of the Tigers 2022 draft class to sign their WHL player agreements. He joins first overall pick Gavin McKenna, 16th pick Hayden Harsanyi, 23rd pick Kadon McCann and 45th pick Matthew Paranych as 2007 born players to commit to the Tabbies. He said it is a lot of fun having known those players for a long time and getting to start their WHL careers together.
“I grew up playing with these guys so it’s cool to see them get picked and then eventually all sign with the same team. It’s awesome that these guys are all close, we play together and we’re excited to see what the future has.”
Head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins said Switzer is a really good goaltender, and that he and the rest of the 2022 draft class form a group to build around.
“Probably his( Switzer’s) No. 1 thing was his save percentage in camp; he was up to .950, .960, and for a young guy it was outstanding. If you look at his history, he’s won everywhere he’s gone, a really quiet demeanour in the net and just a guy we know can be a a really good player for us down the road,” Desjardins said.
“That whole group is exciting for us, we’re just going to keep building and adding to it. It reminds me a little bit of what would be the ’07 group with (Kris) Russell, (Darren) Helm and all of that group. Kevin Undershute, David Schlemko and Good Baldwin, it was a really good group at that age group and I think you need that. When you get down to winning it’s your 18- and 19-year-olds that are going to carry you and we’re starting to build for that group.”
Switzer said he enjoyed his training camp experience and getting to see the facilities, playing alongside his future teammates and learning from Tigers goalie coach Matt Wong and 19-year-old starter Beckett Langkow.
“It’s awesome just seeing that experience. When we’re skating out there it’s all business, and seeing the reads he’s giving me, getting feedback from multiple perspectives, it’s awesome just working on my game with them,” Switzer said.
Switzer was in Medicine Hat for rookie camp in June but has had more of a chance to see the city this time around. He said they’ve toured some local restaurants, including a couple trips to the Keg where his go-to order is a medium done steak with some mashed potatoes.
He’s hoping to stick with the Tigers as long as he can before returning to the CSSHL’s Northern Alberta Xtreme for the rest of the 2022-23 season.
He appeared in 14 games with the Northern Alberta Xtreme U15 Prep team during the 2021-22 season, registering a 12-1 record with a 2.06 goals-against-average and a .917 save percentage. His biggest takeaway from his first taste of the WHL is how he can bring the game up to his pace in order to succeed.
“When I’m playing my game I can kind of slow the play down and put the rebounds where I want it to really control the play in front of me and get those players in front of me calm,” Switzer said. “That’s the biggest thing that I’ve noticed here, even when the pace is higher I can kind of slow it down and that’s what I’m playing at my best.”
