NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Former Medicine Hat Tigers captain Owen MacNeil calls for the puck during the Tigers. 5-4 preseason win Saturday at Co-op Place against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
There are no easy decisions when it comes to trimming rosters ahead of the regular season, and the Medicine Hat Tigers made a heavy one this week, releasing overage captain Owen MacNeil.
“It was a really hard thing for us, he was captain last year and an incredible kid – like unbelievable – and was a really good leader for us,” Willie Desjardins said Tuesday.
“But you have to go both ways, you owe it to him to give him a chance someplace else he can get on; if he’s not going to get the opportunity here it’s not fair either. But it’s a tough story because he’s such a good person and has so many things. It’s hard for him because the strength of our team, we have so many good, young forwards. Lots of times it’s not them, it’s what you have around them, and we just have a ton of good forwards right now and so it makes it hard.”
MacNeil was one of five 20-year-olds on the Medicine Hat roster, with each team only allowed to carry three overage players. The Calgary product was acquired by the Tigers in a trade with the Spokane Chiefs ahead of the 2021-22 season. A year later, he was named the 39th captain in franchise history on Oct. 26, 2022. MacNeil is thankful for the opportunity with the Tigers and says he has no regrets.
“I had some guys who are now passed on from the league I was friends with and everyone told me it’s a great place to play, a great group of guys, and you’ll enjoy coming here,” MacNeil said. “I had high hopes for myself and for the team and right away it’s a pretty easy community-like feel here. Everyone’s welcoming and a tight knit group, so it’s easy to come in as a new guy and I loved it right away. I had high hopes and they exceeded my expectations. It was a lot of fun here and I made a lot of good memories and a lot of good friends.”
MacNeil suited up for 130 games across the two seasons for the Tigers, totalling 16 goals and 49 points. Desjardins says he couldn’t have imagined the impact MacNeil would have on the franchise but he was a such a strong leader.
“Because his big impact was his leadership, you can’t see leadership when you evaluate a player, and I talked about him in the (dressing) room this morning, he will leave his mark on this program with the things he’s done,” Desjardins said. “That’s the hard thing, when you are trying to become an elite team again, you’re going to make lots of tough decisions, that’s not the only one, there’ll be a lot of other ones coming. But that’s what happens when you get there because you have way more tough decisions.”
MacNeil was given the captaincy after a team voting process tagged his name as his peers’ first choice. He wishes he could continue in the role but is honoured he was able to fulfil it last season and enjoy the success they had.
“We had a huge turnaround year and I’m proud of what we were able to accomplish in such a short time,” MacNeil said. “From, obviously, the disappointing year before and a hard series to jump right into against Winnipeg there, I think we learned a lot of things and they’re going to take a lot of those things we learned last year to this year. But, it was a hell of a year and a lot of fun.”
He has a lot of fond memories from his two seasons in Medicine Hat, with the Game 68 victory against the Swift Current Broncos to punch a playoff ticket as one of the top.
“When it came down to that final game against Swift and the whole city rallying around us and our group, knowing we were going to win that game and just the feeling after, it was something I’ll never forget,” MacNeil said. “It’s the epitome of what everybody seeks in junior hockey, those moments like that, few of us get to experience that and I was fortunate enough to experience it.”
He’s taking a bit of time to react to the news but is focused on finding another spot in the WHL to play out his age-20 season. MacNeil says his billets, John and Carole Woolfrey-Harris, made him feel like family and he is thankful to all who helped make the city a second home.
“My family was extremely thankful for me being able to come here and fit in right away,” MacNeil said. “The guys, the coaches and the community kind of absorbing me right away and I made a lot of good memories here and I am pretty fortunate enough to play for the Tigers, it’s one of the highest class organizations in the league and it’s known for that. A lot of guys around the league wish they could play here and I was lucky enough to be a guy who did play here and have a little bit of success here.”
