NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Shane Smith keeps his eye on the puck ahead of a face-off in the Tigers 9-1 win against the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Sept. 24.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
At the beginning of the Medicine Hat Tigers season Shane Smith didn’t think he would score a lot. The 17-year-old is coming off the U.S. road trip with five goals, including his first WHL goal and hat trick.
Smith says getting rewarded with the offence, especially his first career goal, was beyond rewarding.
“That first goal is definitely a moment I’ll never forget, and then scoring that third one, obviously another moment I’ll never forget,” Smith said. “I’m just thankful for all the guys; it starts in the room and being comfortable with all the guys and then just gaining that confidence and chemistry with my line mates.”
Smith’s first goal came in the Tigers’ 6-3 win against the Everett Silvertips on Oct. 7, and his hat trick was in the Tigers’ 11-3 beat-down of the Tri-City Americans on Oct. 12.
Heading into the road trip, the Cessford, Alta. product had suited up for 13 games in the orange and black across three seasons and had been held off of the scoresheet. Getting those goals was a weight off the shoulder and Medicine Hat Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins was excited to see him get rewarded like he did.
“Smitty really plays hard all the time and he doesn’t get all the credit he deserves,” Desjardins said. “But he goes out, he kills penalties, he works hard, he’s never asked anything about how he plays or his minutes. When you have a guy like that, it is just great to see him get rewarded.”
The U.S. road trip was a fun time for Smith even beyond the goal scoring. He, like many of the Tigers, was getting his first crack at playing in the United States due to WHL’s COVID-19 restrictions with cross conference play.
“A lot of the guys, including me, haven’t experienced the rinks or the atmosphere down there, and all five teams had really great atmospheres, great arenas,” Smith said. “It was fun on our days off when we had time to go around the town, and those cities are really nice.”
He says Spokane was the nicest but the group had the most fun in Portland with their days off. Their time in Portland included Thanksgiving dinner where Smith says he was one of two Tigers, the other unnamed, to be “shoe checked” at dinner.
The shoe check, a popular prank among hockey players at all levels, is when food is smeared or placed on the front of their shoe while at dinner and unaware. Those ‘caught’ with food on their shoes have to either sing or dance to the group’s liking.
Smith says he had mashed potatoes put on his shoe but they slid off in time. He says he won’t have another meal in peace this season but loves those type of harmless jokes with his friends.
“It’s always fun to mess around with the guys,” Smith said. “It’s really about stepping out of your comfort zone. It’s fun bothering the guys and just seeing the reactions when they’re the ones getting shoe checked.”
With the Tigers back at home and the mashed potato remnants cleaned from his shoes, Smith and the Tigers gear up for a two-game set against the Red Deer Rebels and Brandon Wheat Kings at Co-op Place on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Associate coach Joe Frazer says for guys like Smith who are playing really well, doing that consistently is what will make them and the team better.
“It takes discipline to make sure you’re doing the right things every day. We say you’re not playing good because you’re scoring, you’re scoring because you’re playing playing the right way,” Frazer said. “You look at a guy like Shane Smith, he just plays the right way every day and it’s great to see him get rewarded. Guys who play the right way and do it every day; those are the guys who continuously get rewarded for it.”
