FILE PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Brendan Lee celebrates a goal in his 20-year-old overage season in the Western Hockey League.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Brendan Lee wouldn’t change a thing about his Western Hockey League career.
The 21-year-old Seattle product totalled 180 career games, putting up 53 goals and 99 points in that span playing for the Everrett Silvertips and Saskatoon Blades, before finishing his junior career in Medicine Hat with the Tigers.
“I’m extremely grateful for the time that I had and each organization, I got to play in three different ones and I loved every bit of it,” Lee said. “Obviously, I had a lot of ups and downs with injuries and COVID but looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
He debuted in the 2019-20 season with the Silvertips and remained in Everett during the COVID bubble season. Lee joined the Blades in 2021-22 before getting traded to the Tigers that year, setting him up for his best year in the league, where he had 32 goals and 59 points in 57 games this season.
“Starting my career in Everett, I grew up watching them and that was kind of a dream come true and the fanbase there was amazing,” Lee said. “Moving on to Saskatoon, it’s obviously a high-esteem organization and everything’s run really well there, great facilities and everything, I was fortunate to have that.
“Then ending my career in Medicine Hat, it’s been totally awesome. The coaching staff is great, the facilities are second to none, the fan base has been awesome. I’ve loved my time here and everywhere.”
Battling multiple injuries throughout the career and having COVID-19 shortened seasons, Lee says he grew as a person while navigating those hardships.
“It let me learn some things, through COVID, how hard you can work when you have all that time off and just meeting different players, especially on different teams. I played with a lot of amazing guys that are moving on to the NHL, I’ve learned so much over the years.”
He’s enjoyed the opportunity to experience playing in three of the four divisions in the WHL and is thankful for the billet families he had in each city who made going to the rink every day enjoyable, all the coaches for making him better and his teammates.
“I’ve had plenty of different billet families and obviously my own family, I just want to thank everyone who’s had me in their home and just treated me as their own kid,” Lee said. “Every coaching staff I’ve been part of, they’ve pushed me to be the best player I am and they’ve made me the man I am.
“My teammates have made everything great. When you’re down, they bring you up and they’re always there for you. It’s been a great time meeting new friends.”
Lee says being a dual citizen and getting to experience the U.S. division and their fans was hands down his favourite part of playing in the WHL. He also has no doubts about what he’ll miss from playing in the WHL and that’s just being in the rink every day with his friends.
“Waking up early and coming to the rink, I’m just excited to stay late even, shooting (pucks) around, playing HORSE, anything that happens in the rink is pretty awesome,” Lee said. “That opportunity you get to have as a teenager, I’m excited for the guys moving forward.”
Lee was all smiles saying only three players on the Tigers had beat him, Andrew Basha, Tyler MacKenzie and Pasha Bocharov, who joined him from Saskatoon and is one of his best friends.
“He’s been there for me all the time and I’m always there for him, just how we’ve grown as a couple of guys,” Lee said. “In that first year we didn’t know what we were going to get into and now that we’re here, we’re older and we’re more mature. We’re one of the first guys at the ranks, if I’m not waking up, he’s waking me up and if he’s not waking up, I’m waking him up. He’s always had my back, he’s a great guy.”
His plan is to play professional hockey come this fall but is also open to playing USports, as long as he can keep playing hockey.
While looking back on his Western Hockey League career, Lee says a 14-year-old version of himself would look at his career with pride.
“He’d be pretty proud of me, I always wanted to play hockey all my life and play professional hockey and I’m pretty close and I think he’d be pretty proud of that.”
