NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
20-year-old forward Alex Drover looks for a pace during Medicine Hat Tigers practice Tuesday morning at Co-op Place.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
He has only one practice under his belt but Alex Drover already likes the Medicine Hat Tigers orange and black.
“I love it, orange is my favourite colour and it’s always been my favourite color,” Drover says. “The Tiger logo is intense, I love that. It’s a great jersey. The orange and black, it’s different. But I’m super excited to be wearing it.”
The Port-aux-Basques, Nfld. product is one of four 20-year-olds trying out for the Tigers’ three overage positions, looking to play one more year of junior hockey. He’s competing alongside Dallon Melin, Oskari Kuntonen and Brendan Lee for the three spots. If he makes the team, it will be his first season in the Western Hockey League.
Drover joins Medicine Hat from the Rimouski Oceanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In 2021-22, he had 14 goals and 37 points in 44 games before a shoulder injury put an end to his year. Drover was a 10th overall pick by the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in 2018 QMJHL draft before he was moved to the Saint John Sea Dogs and three years later, the Oceanic. In 178 career QMJHL games he had 29 goals and 77 points.
He said his first practice was fast and he enjoyed working with the Tigers roster and their shooters. Drover said there wasn’t a big difference between QMJHL or WHL practices run by head coach Willie Desjardins and associate coach Joe Frazer.
“Coach Willie and coach Joe, they run a great practice and there’s a lot of intensity,” Drover said. “One thing I really noticed about the team is they really care about pushing each other, they keep each other accountable. If anyone is slacking off or they’re not having their best day, the team is still looking out for each other and that’s a great value to have in the organization.”
Grover was available to the Tigers after clearing waivers in the QMJHL. He said he is excited and happy to be in Medicine Hat.
“They watched a lot of video on me and they were happy with me. I’ve done a lot of research on the organization, it’s a winning franchise. It just felt right,” Drover said. “It felt like we’re going to have a great connection. The big thing is, I think I can help the team and I hope that coach Willie thinks so as well.”
Frazer said it was all positives watching Drover’s first practice.
“He looked good, he can shoot the puck, he worked really hard and is quicker than what it looked like on video,” Frazer said.
Drover said his game is offensive minded and he brings a lot of intensity on the ice. As a 20-year-old, he’s also looking to bring leadership to a young Tigers team.
“When the team needs something on the ice, they need some intensity, I want to be that guy. Off the ice, the values of this organization are phenomenal and I feel I can fit in very well with it. If someone’s having a bad day or some little things are going wrong, I want to be one of the leaders in the room that can help the younger guys; because you know in the ‘Q’ it’s 16 year olds, here it’s 15-year-olds. I want to be a good mentor for the younger ones and hopefully help them the best I can.”
If he makes the Tigers, Drover will be excited to don the orange and black for his final season of junior hockey. He also has another item in mind, which is fishing and catching himself a “bucket-list fish” he wants to catch in the area.
“The prehistoric sturgeon, I heard it runs through the the Saskatchewan River. If I get some free time, I’m dying to go out,” Drover said. “Fishing is just something I enjoy, being on the water, I just love having nature around me. I find it so calming. It’s so different from the game, I just love both sides of it and I just have a great time with my family as well.”
Tigers trade Ferster
The Tigers traded recently released forward Ashton Ferster to the Kamloops Blazer on Tuesday for an 8th round pick in 2025.
The 19-year-old played 66 games last season for the Tigers, putting up nine goals and 19 points.
Frazer said he was happy to see Ferster get another opportunity in the WHL.
“It’s really exciting for him, I know they’re down lots of forwards because they have a lot of guys at NHL camps. He’s going to have a great opportunity there to show his stuff,” Frazer said. “We’re just real happy we can find a spot to continue on and get an opportunity.”
In a team release, Desjardins said they wish Ferster all the best moving forward.
“We want to thank Ashton and his family, he was a great Tiger and really good character guy,” Desjardins said.
