NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers' defenceman Nate Corbet scans the ice with the puck in the first period of the Tigers' 5-4 preseason win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Sept. 9 at Co-op Place.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers are set for a final weekend of evaluation heading into the 2023-24 WHL regular season.
The Tigers’ penultimate preseason contest goes tonight when they host the Swift Current Broncos at Co-op Place. It’s the first time the two teams have faced off since Game 68 last season on Mar. 25, a 4-3 playoff-clinching win for Medicine Hat.
Associate coach Joe Frazer says the two teams furthered their rivalry last season and he is looking forward to the weekend’s action.
“Last year it turned into a great rivalry because we were both fighting for a playoff spot all year against each other and had a lot of really close games, a lot of overtime games,” Frazer said. “It has been a lot of fun competing against those guys over the year and our guys are excited, it’s the last chance to show what they have for a lot of guys. So these are really important to get ready heading into the season to play Calgary opening weekend.”
The Tigers still have 25 skaters and four goaltenders trying out for a spot on the opening night roster, with the release of former captain Owen MacNeil earlier this week and 2007-born goaltender Jordan Switzer being returned to NAX’s U18 team. Frazer’s message to the guys: Be the best you can be because that’s all you can control.
“Make sure you leave everything out there when it’s all said and done,” Frazer said. “Make sure you have no regrets, that’s honestly just life. You have to make sure you go after it. If you want something, you have to give it all you got and then the chips fall where they may. But you don’t want to look back and say, ‘I wish I would have worked a little harder, I wish I’d done this.’
“We’re built on work ethic and compete, that’s what we love here, that’s been the message. Let’s make sure we’re competing.”
After Friday’s game the team heads to Swift Current on Saturday for the final game of the exhibition season. The Tigers then open their 54th season in the Western Hockey League with a home-and-home series with the Hitmen, in Calgary on Sept. 22 and at Co-op Place on Sept. 23.
This is an exciting time for the team as the season nears, but with several roster decisions looming, it is also a difficult stretch for the coaches, who must decide who gets to be a Tiger and who does not. Having played in the WHL for three seasons and entering his 14th season as a coach, Frazer says this time of year always comes with mixed emotion.
“It’s a lot better to have to make the tough decisions,” Frazer said. “There’s years you don’t feel you have as much depth and you’re looking around the league to see what’s out there, and there’s years, like we feel this year, where we have a lot of depth. They’re tough decisions but it’s way better having to make these tough decisions because it means you have a lot of good players around and that’s a credit to our scouting staff bringing in the talent they have.
“It’s exciting that way but also, the human side of you, it’s always tough because as coaches, we’ve been in their shoes, too. Trying to make a team and whether you make it or you don’t make it, the emotions that go with it. It’s always bittersweet. You’re excited and there’s also the tough parts.”
