NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Brayden Boehm scans the action during warmup ahead of the Tigers 6-1 win against the Brandon Wheat Kings on Nov. 16 at Co-op Place.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Brayden Boehm has always been the fastest player on his team, and it’s no longer just an asset of his – it’s a weapon.
The 18-year-old has had a strong start to his third season with the Medicine Hat Tigers, putting up eight goals and 13 points in 21 games. Already surpassing his career high of goals, he’s now six points away from passing his points high.
He reached his 100th game mark in the Western Hockey League on Nov. 18, the Tigers’ 4-3 overtime loss in Saskatoon against the Blades. The Nanaimo product scored in the game by out racing the Blades defenders and chipping in a dump-in from Tyler MacKenzie in the neutral zone.
Associate coach Joe Frazer says Boehm has been really good for the Tigers this season, especially utilizing his speed.
“He brings so much speed for us, he’s attacking more off the rush now,” Frazer said. “He’s always had speed but this year he’s wide driving and taking it to the net a lot more, and he’s been rewarded for it.
“He has to be the pace-setter because we believe he’s one of the fastest if not the fastest guys on the ice, so when he’s setting the pace and making sure all of our guys are keeping up to him, then we are playing fast as a team.”
Boehm says the speed has always come easy to him and he sees it as his way of giving back and helping the team. He says putting all his skills together is starting to work this year.
“The hands keeping up with the feet, that’s been a struggle of mine,” Boehm said. “But I think things are starting to go for me, and I’m starting to get pucks in the right place. Obviously my confidence is where I’ll take an extra second and hold on to a puck and make a play. It’s been super nice to have.”
The confidence has come from starting to put things together physically and getting more comfortable with the league. He says the team success and working together has helped him be productive as well.
“The confidence is high right now, the team is rolling, so it helps when guys are doing that,” Boehm said. “It also helps when you have four lines that can go out there, and if you have a bad shift, you’re not worried about someone else having a bad shift. You can just focus on the next one.”
Boehm and the Tigers are coming off a one-point weekend with the overtime loss in Saskatoon and a 5-4 regulation loss to the Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday.
Frazer says they need to continue working on their discipline after the Tigers were penalized 11 times Saturday night.
“We can’t get emotionally wound up at the refs, they’re just doing their jobs and the penalties were all penalties,” Frazer said. “We want to be a speed team, not just on offence but on defence, closing gaps quick, checking with our legs and keeping the stick out of there. It’s just another learning experience for group.”
The Tigers look to bounce back tonight when they host the Edmonton Oil Kings at Co-op Place. There will be some lineup decisions made after morning skate with forward Oasiz Wiesblatt, who missed the last 40 minutes of the Raiders game with a lower body injury, and defenceman Bogdans Hodass, who has missed the last three contests with an upper body injury.
Wiesblatt skated by himself Tuesday and Hodass practised with the team in a yellow, no-contact jersey. Frazer says they’ll see how both feel in the morning but are hopeful for the 7 p.m. game against Edmonton.
“There’s just intensity (in the room), we know we let a game slip away Saturday and we have to make sure we’re on top of our game because Edmonton obviously had a great weekend, they’re going to be coming in flying, so we have to make sure we’re ready to go,” Frazer said.
