Soakin’ in the Tubb: Strong start to year for Tigers with room to grow

By JAMES TUBB on December 27, 2022.

There’s a lot to like about the Medicine Hat Tigers start to the 2022-23 WHL season.

The Tigers have already surpassed their win total from last season, and 35 games in to the year look like an entirely different team with a lot of the same players on the roster.

They sit in eighth place of the Eastern Conference with a record of 13-17-4-1, good for the final playoff spot which sets them up for an exciting second half of the season.

The biggest story to me has been how quickly the line of Oasiz Wiesblatt, Andrew Basha and Brendan Lee has become an offensive leader on this younger team that relies on all four lines for success.

All three have combined for 40 goals, 53 assists and 93 points, often assisting on each other’s goals. There have been many nights where any of the three have been the best player on the ice for both teams, and the Tigers will need more of that in the second half.

Frankly, there has been a bunch of stand-out efforts from Tigers to start the year, as expected at the start of a campaign where the team wanted to prove last season was just a rough building point for future success. Top prospect Gavin McKenna has shined in his eight games at the WHL level, and has quickly become must-see hockey every time he’s in the lineup.

Staying at forward, 18-year-olds Tyler Mackenzie and Brayden Boehm have embraced bigger roles and have excelled playing on both special teams and at even strength. The penalty killing duo of Hunter St. Martin and Shane Smith quickly became the Tigers’ go-to penalty killers at the ages of 17 and have not looked back, playing stingy hockey when needed and adding some early offence.

Defensively, 17-year-old Reid Andresen has stepped up in a big way, playing key minutes at even strength and on special teams. I’d call it a breakout season for the 11th overall pick in the 2020 draft as he is stating to have an impact on the game from the backend.

Beckett Langkow has taken the starter’s role between the pipes in stride and would play all 68 games of the season if he could. The 19-year-old has all 13 of the Tigers wins and has had some of his best games in the WHL in the first half. His goaltending partner Evan May has proved that numbers don’t tell the full story of a player. The 18-year-old net minder was acquired by trade in October coming off of a 4.31 GAA season in the BCHL. What wasn’t known at the time was how bad the team in front of him was that season, and May has put any questions to bed with his presence in his eight starts for the Tigers.

I can only imagine how excited the rest of his team will be when he registers his first win of the season, which will be his first in the WHL. It will come sooner than later, not that he’s concerned. He has said he just focuses on bringing his best every night.

That kind of mindset has to be the motto for the Tigers in their final 33 games of the season – consistently playing their best. The message from the coaching staff through the first four months has been the need to put together a full, 60-minute effort. Four times the Tigers have lost when leading after 20 minutes and only once when leading after two periods. When tied after the first period, they have a record of 4-8-2-0, after two periods, 1-5-1-1.

They have done a good job of scoring early in the third when carrying a lead in the frame to secure the win, that has helped the young team learn how to play with a lead. Fans would like to see them be able to grab momentum in a tied game more and win more of the games where they’ve been the better team. The first half was about learning how to win again and dictate pace with speed and structure, the second will have to be about staying consistent and applying what they’ve learned.

Fans should also look for big second halves from 16-year-olds Cayden Lindstrom and Tomas Mrsic. Both have admitted to having slower starts than they would have liked but have looked comfortable and confident since returning from playing for Canada at the U17 Hockey Challenge.

Lindstrom has started to carry play himself and has sneakily been the Tigers’ best man in the face-off dot, winning 52.4 per cent of his draws. Mrsic is carrying the puck more and getting himself in the corners and working for the puck when needed.

There have been a lot of positives for the Tigers through their first 35 games and they’re in the playoff hunt where they wanted to be. Now they’ll need to play even better to remain there and bring playoff hockey back to Medicine Hat.

James Tubb is a sports reporter with the Medicine Hat News. He can be reached at jtubb@medicinehatnews.com