Spilka ready to build off first taste of WHL
By James Tubb on November 2, 2023.
NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Vasyl Spilka celebrates his first WHL point on captain Tyler MacKenzie’s game-winning goal Friday night at Co-op Place over the Edmonton Oil Kings.Vasyl Spilka has gotten his feet wet in the Western Hockey League and is ready to put on a show.
The 17-year-old Czechia forward made his WHL and Medicine Hat Tigers debut over the weekend, suiting up in both of the team’s wins. The contests marked his first game action since April in Czechia due to a shoulder injury suffered while preparing for the U18 Hlinka Gretzky tournament.
He says there were some nerves but that it was an enjoyable debut weekend.
“It was pretty special for me, I was so excited and pretty nervous before the first game, but then I enjoyed it a lot,” Spilka said.
He took part in his solo rookie lap ahead of their 7-4 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings on Friday. He says it wasn’t until after his first shift that he felt the nerves go away and was able to just play.
The Tigers selected Spilka 87th overall in the 2023 CHL Import draft and the 17-yearold has been practising with the team since the start of the year while rehabbing his injury and getting up to game speed.
Spilka made an impact late in his first game, setting up the eventual game-winning goal after coming off the bench, taking a pass in the slot and sending it to captain Tyler MacKenzie at the side of the net for the tally.
Spilka says the first point and having an impact meant a lot to him and he appreciated how excited his teammates were for him.
“It gives me a little bit of confidence because I didn’t play for a long time, it was a huge goal and I was so happy,”
Spilka said.
“I hope I score tomorrow, this is one of the best crowds in the league and I’m looking forward to scoring in front of them.”
MacKenzie was complimentary of the young forward and is proud of how hard he has worked to get into the lineup.
“It’s his first game coming back from injury and coming overseas, it’s not easy for the guy to be able to just come into a game and be an impact player like that,” MacKenzie said. “That was a great pass by him and then he had a huge block after that, later in the third. You just love to see guys playing like that.”
Spilka also had an assist in Medicine Hat’s 6-3 win Saturday over the Seattle Thunderbirds. He was lined up with fellow rookies Kadon McCann and Brett Calhoon in his first two games. He says they helped him a lot on and off the ice and says they brought a lot of energy while making their limited shifts count.
Associate coach Joe Frazer liked what he saw from the import forward and spoke highly about how Spilka handled a backto-back in his first game action.
“He was physical which was important for his mindset moving forward with that injury, just being physical and being ready, I thought he was great,” Frazer said. “That line was good all weekend when we needed an energy shift, they usually got it in the O-zone and had a little buzz shift for us, got us centred or took the momentum back.”
Head coach Willie Desjardins says the young forward will get better as time goes on and liked what he saw of his first taste of the WHL.
“He made a great play, that was a really big goal for us, he assisted on that one; he sees the game really well, it’ll take at least a month before he’s kind of on top of his game,” Desjardins said.
Spilka was one of five Tigers named on the NHL Central Scouting’s players to watch list for the 2024 NHL Draft. He was listed as a player with limited viewing, the only on the list, due to his shoulder injury. With the rest of the season ahead of him and a spot in the lineup, he says he’s looking to continue the ‘Spilka Show’ and thinks it will improve with each game.
“It will be better, if I have more experience in the league, it will be better from this point,” Spilka said.
Spilka was in the lineup for the Tigers on Wednesday when they hosted the Portland Winterhawks at Co-op Place.
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