NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Tyler MacKenzie carries the puck out of his end in the first period of a 4-3 win over the Kelowna Rockets on Dec. 17 at Co-op Place.
Tyler MacKenzie has put in a lot of stationary miles on a workout bike awaiting his return to the Medicine Hat Tigers lineup.
The 18-year-old is getting back into the lineup for the first time since Dec. 27, when he suffered an injury in a 3-2 loss in Lethbridge against the Hurricanes. He says there’s always something to learn while watching the game.
“We’ve come a long way since the New Year, the boys battled real hard in that little stint,” MacKenzie said. “We are coming together, our structure, comfortable with everyone playing their positions, so it’s been good.”
He had 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points in his first 36 games before going down with the upper body ailment. While watching from the press box, MacKenzie has seen a trend that has worked against the team all season, a need for consistency. While the Tigers strung together three wins in a row recently, it has been a lot of win one, lose one.
“Just keeping that full 60-, 65-minute effort will be important for us,” MacKenzie said.
Associate coach Joe Frazer was all smiles talking about seeing MacKenzie and his No. 11 back on the lineup card ahead of their game Saturday in Moose Jaw against the Warriors.
“It’s a huge addition, he’s always one of our most competitive guys who plays in all situations and we’ve missed him the last five weeks,” Frazer said. “Guys who have gotten opportunities with him out have excelled, and it’s just going to be a huge bonus getting him back.”
Tomas Mrsic was centring his own line for the last couple weeks but skated with MacKenzie and Brayden Boehm on Thursday. The only other listed injury on the Tigers roster is Brendan Lee, who was on the ice in a yellow, no-contact jersey and is still listed as week-to-week.
When it comes to making a return to the ice, Mackenzie says it’s about committing mentally and putting in the physical work. It’s not as easy as just lacing up the skates and getting back on the ice.
“When you get hurt, it’s not always easy to want to get up and go to the rink,” Mackenzie said. “You can’t really do much at the start but you have to be disciplined and keep yourself accountable, doing lots of rehab and keeping the cardio and legs active.”
This isn’t the first time MacKenzie has had to deal with returning from injury. His debut last year was delayed and then he missed the entire month of February with an ailment. He says the mentality just has to be about the team when it gets to that point.
“The team is bigger than you and and it is what’s most important,” MacKenzie said. “Because if those guys see you getting down on yourself, it might affect them. So just coming in every day with a positive attitude and trying to help the team win.”
After four games in six days last week, the Tigers had all week to practise and had Friday off before they’ll be in Moose Jaw on Saturday. After that contest, the Tigers head to Regina to face Connor Bedard and the Pats. MacKenzie was in the lineup three times last year against Bedard, and says they need to stick to their game against a talent like that.
“He’s a really good player obviously, and he’s skilled, we all see what he does, but we can’t focus on him too much,” MacKenzie said. “If you’re playing hard, we’ll have a good time. He’s a really good player, so we’re going to just have to stick to our game plan and maintain our structure.”
