NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers defenceman Reid Andresen carries the puck out of his end in the second period of the Tigers 2-1 loss Saturday night against the Saskatoon Blades at Co-op Place.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Unlike Allen Iverson, Reid Andresen is all about practice.
The 17-year-old Medicine Hat Tigers’ defenceman has found his stride in his sophomore WHL season, sitting tied for fourth in team scoring with five goals and 13 points. He attributes the success to confidence found in practice that has translated to game time.
“The confidence has been going good for me lately, I have to be better in the D-zone that’s for sure but offensively I can contribute more for sure. But I have keep going,” Andresen said. “Honestly it’s just practice. Building chemistry with my teammates, working hard, getting some confidence and making sure we’re always prepared and just ready to go for each game.”
The Saskatoon product sits in the top-20 for defencemen in league scoring and is the Tigers’ highest scoring defender. He says that offensive success starts in his own end.
“Good defence turns into good offence,” Andresen said. “Just making sure I am taking care of our D-zone, getting lots of shots on net and looking for guys open in front and in the O-zone. So I just have to keep it going, get lots of puck movement and just keep shooting.”
Last season was his first full campaign in the WHL with 64 games under his belt after playing 11 games in the 2020-21 COVID-19 exhibition season. Associate coach Joe Frazer says Andresen has taken everything they’ve thrown at him this year and ran with it alongside his defence partner Josh Van Mulligen.
“Reid’s gotten better and better each week here, he’s playing well and the power play seems to give him lots of confidence,” Frazer said. “He’s given us a ton of good minutes, usually around the 18-19 minute mark. So he’s playing some big minutes and some big roles and he just has so much confidence with the puck, making those smart little passes. He’s just a really, really smart defender with a great stick.
“It’s great to see him and Van Mulligen, both of those guys have been really good and both have given us a ton of good minutes. We’re asking quite a bit from them and they’re doing well and they keep getting better.”
Andresen started the year on what was the second power play unit before being bumped up to the first unit when Bogdans Hodass went down with injury. Frazer says it’s Andresen’s IQ on the ice that has helped him succeed in that role.
“He has great vision, high hockey IQ especially in the O-zone,” Frazer said. “He’s one of our best passers, when you watch him, most of his passes are on the tape, or in the wheelhouse for the guy to shoot it quick.”
Andresen credits the rest of the power play for his success on the man advantage. He’s liked the times the Tigers utilize two defencemen on the power play.
“It’s pretty cool when we have different defencemen on the power play, just because of the amount of talent we have in the back end there,” Andresen said. “I just enjoy the power play a lot obviously, but power play time is a privilege and we have to make the best of it and just keep doing what we’re doing.”
He says it’s also been more fun playing Tigers hockey this season as they already sit one game short of their 11-win 2021-22 season. On top of his team finding more success, this year is important for Andresen as he enters his first summer of eligibility in the NHL entry draft in June.
He says he tries not to think about it too much but has the potential at being drafted in the back of his head.
“I just try to play my game to the best of my ability and hopefully just impress the scouts,” Andresen said. “But obviously and most importantly, I just want to help the team win.”
