Medicine Hat Tigers' defenceman Matt Paranych watches his pass in the first period of the Tigers' 5-4 preseason win at Co-op Place against the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Sept. 9.--NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
After spending last season as the potential injury call-up on defence for the Medicine Hat Tigers, Matt Paranych is looking to earn his roster spot and keep it.
The 16-year-old defenceman is entering the first WHL season he can be in the lineup full time. Last year, Paranych was in line to be the first call-up in case of an injury to a Tigers’ blue line that proved to be the healthiest in the league.
Three defencemen played all 68 games, Dru Krebs missed the season opener before playing 67 and when an injury occurred, Pasha Bocharov and Kurtis Smythe flipped between forward and defence to fill the void. That left Paranych, practising with the team and even warming up for games before being scratched, waiting for the debut opportunity fellow 2007-born Tigers got.
Looking back on the season, the Edmonton product says it didn’t feel great in the moment but he doesn’t see it as a big deal now and is ready to prove himself this year.
“Seeing other guys like my friends playing and they’re all talking about it, having fun, and I couldn’t really relate to them, it was tough sometimes,” Paranych said. “I went on the U.S. road trip and had a couple of other stints where maybe I would have gotten to play. But I just had the mindset, I’m going to keep working and just keep practising with the team and I got really comfortable with them.”
While he didn’t get into any WHL regular season games last year, he suited up in one preseason game, Paranych took full advantage of his U18 season. He led the South Alberta Hockey Academy in defence scoring with seven goals and 32 points in 29 games. That stat line put him third among league D-men in scoring and second in point-per-game production within defenders, earning himself the CSSHL’s U18 top defender award.
If named to the Tigers’ opening night roster, Paranych says he has no individual goals in mind beyond being his best every night.
“The season is definitely a learning season going up in the Western Hockey League,” Paranych said. “It’s a big jump from the CSSHL and I’m not really focusing too much on points or goals or assists or anything. It’s just about playing on the team and learning as much as I can to go into an NHL Draft year at 17.”
Associate coach Joe Frazer works with the Tigers’ defencemen and is on their side of the bench during games. He says the Tigers are excited about how Paranych has played so far and they are looking forward to his growth.
“He’s been great, he moves the puck so well, he can skate and he really worked on his defensive game and his gap (game) this summer with the skating and edge work,” Frazer said. “He loves to join the rush and make plays offensively.”
This training camp and preseason has given the young defenceman a new experience as he’s no longer a WHL prospect but a rookie working for that much desired roster spot. It’s something he says is just part of growing up in hockey and is something he approaches with a positive mindset and excitement.
He’s making this step into being in the WHL full time, potentially alongside four other Tigers’ 2022 draft prospects, first overall pick Gavin McKenna, 16th overall Hayden Harsanyi and 23rd overall selection Kadon McCann. All four are still on the Tigers’ preseason roster and are working toward making their first WHL lineup together. They’ve also all grown up playing together, with Paranych, McCann and Harsanyi all from Alberta and McKenna travelling from Whitehorse to play in minor hockey tournaments.
It’s something not lost on Paranych, as he looks to begin a season alongside those three and begin his WHL career.
“Hayden Harsanyi and I, we’ve been playing together since we’ve been eight, nine years old and I’ve grown up with him basically,” Paranych said. “It’s been really cool and I played against Kadon at the Alberta Winter Games and he’s the same height as he is today and Gavin and Team Alberta too, it’s crazy to see how far we’ve gone, it’s really exciting.”
