NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers defenceman Kurtis Smythe carries the puck up ice in the first period of a 2-0 loss against the Calgary Hitmen on March 18 at Co-op Place.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers’ oldest players are ready to do whatever it takes to extend their Western Hockey League careers in the playoffs.
Medicine Hat’s three overage players – Brendan Lee, Dallon Melin and Kurtis Smythe – head into the Tigers’ first-round playoff series against the Winnipeg Ice with the sun starting to set on their WHL careers. Whenever the team’s season is over their junior hockey days are complete.
Melin, who’s played 254 regular season games in the WHL with the Red Deer Rebels and Tigers, says the three of them can’t look at the series in the lens of their last games but treat it as normal.
“Even the last little bit of the season we’ve felt that urgency of we have to push to get there,” Melin said. “We’ve kind of been in the mold of getting ready for playoffs for the last, little while here. So, I think we’re going to be ready for that.”
Smythe, with 178 regular season games between the Portland Winter Hawks and Medicine Hat, wouldn’t go as far to adapt the popular term ‘The Last Dance’ for their playoff run but says he’s just taking it one game at a time.
“It’s playoffs, you could lose a series and now that’s over, but no, I’m not really looking too far,” Smythe said. “I’m just paying attention to Game 1 in Winnipeg on Friday night and that’s my goal right now for us to win that game and for me to play my best to help the team win that game. That’s what I’m looking forward to right now.”
Melin and Smythe are the only two Tigers with playoff experience, combining for 23 games (Melin 12, Smythe 11) in the 2021-22 playoffs with their respective teams.
Both have been sharing wisdom with teammates heading down the playoff push about how to handle the pressure, and have continued spreading the knowledge ahead of Game 1 tonight. Melin says one important part of playing in the playoffs is being good each day.
“We can play our game, we can’t sit back and watch them or wait for them to do something, we have to take our game to them,” Melin said. “That’s the kind of the mindset we have to have going in, we can beat anybody.
“Being in the position of the underdog role, we can really relish in that and it’s huge for teams. We’re going up against a great team, but I truly think our team can play against anyone and we’re going to be ready for them. They have tons of talent, tons of good players but we’re going to play hard and we’re going to be ready to go.”
The Tigers have been in a playoff mindset and approach since returning from Christmas, holding their own for the eighth and final playoff spot. Smythe says experiencing that pressure for as long as they did will only help them.
“The last few weeks we’ve been playing playoff hockey and it’s been in our heads that way,” Smythe said. “It’s an advantage to look at, while other teams when they’ve clinched (early) and they’re playing, they already know they’re in. We’ve been playing hard and we’ve been playing to the very last game in the regular season to make it. So it’s good for everyone in this room because it’s going to make it a little bit of an easier transition to the playoffs. I know it’s a totally different beast but it’s exciting.”
Unlike Melin and Smythe, Lee will be heading into his first playoffs in the WHL after spending time with the Everett Silvertips and Saskatoon Blades before being traded to Medicine Hat in 2021-22. The 180-game vet is relishing his first opportunity in his final season.
“COVID-19 kinda came into play the first two years and then last year, even if we made playoffs I didn’t finish the season,” Lee said. “Finally having a full season here and making playoffs is an unbelievable feeling. I’m super grateful for the opportunity to keep going into this postseason and I’m excited to show that we’ve got.”
Like most WHL overage players, the Tigers’ trio was named the three stars in their final home game. Lee was happy to celebrate Medicine Hat’s 4-3 clinching win over the Swift Current Broncos with Melin.
“I was really excited and then coming in after the game into the tunnel after Dallon got the first star, we kind of just looked at each other and we just said, ‘we did it’ and had a big hug and good moment there,” Lee said. “That was a pretty awesome feeling.”
Lee says he will treat it like a normal night and come into Game 1 with a level head while keeping a short memory to avoid getting too wrapped up in the postseason atmosphere. Smythe says it will take a shift before everyone experiencing it for the first time can fully get into the game.
“The first shift of the first period of the first game is going to be a totally different shock to them, it was for me but everyone on this team is a good hockey player and we’ve gotten here for a reason,” Smythe said. “Everyone’s going to be able to adapt well and go into the situation.
“I tell guys, if they ask, to not worry, everyone is a good hockey player and you’re in the right spot that you need to be in. Just have that faith in yourself, believe in yourself and believe in the team and that’s all you can do to go out there and try your hardest.”
While the Tigers’ veterans have been offering advice to anyone asking ahead of the playoffs, the youngest Tabbies are focused in on doing all they can to give the three senior members as many games as possible.
“We’re just trying to do everything we can for them,” 17-year-old forward Tomas Mrsic said. “Trying to win for them and do everything we can for them to keep playing more games in this league and just appreciate how much they do for our team.”
Melin says that kind of sentiment means a lot as an overager.
“It’s a special part of the league and that’s what being a team is, you know your graduating players, who they are and what they’ve done,” Melin said. “When you’re 16, 17, you do what you would want other players to do for you when you’re older and I think that’s something that goes a little bit more unnoticed than it should because it is a special thing with junior hockey.”
