PHOTO COURTESY PERRY BERGSON THE BRANDON SUN
Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender Ethan McCallum of Brandon squares to make a save as defenceman Dru Krebs and Brandon Wheat Kings forward Matteo Michels battle for position during the second period in Western Hockey League action at Westoba Place on Saturday.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
A return home often allows the opportunity to see friends and family and enjoy some home cooking. When Ethan McCallum returned to Brandon to face off against his hometown team, the Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender did some cooking of his own.
The 17-year-old net minder backstopped the Tigers to a 3-2 victory Nov. 18, making 26 saves enroute to picking up his second career WHL win, doing so in the building he grew up watching hockey in.
It was a start McCallum had been thinking about for a long time and was excited for the opportunity.
“The day prior to the game on the bus ride there I was for sure thinking about it a lot, coming back home and having all that family come out to watch,” McCallum said. “Especially some I haven’t seen in a couple of years, or at least since Notre Dame, so just having them all come out and watch was very special. To pick up two points is important every night, and to get it in my hometown was even more special.”
He says there were 20 family members and friends in attendance that he knew of ahead of time, with another 10 or so showing up as a surprise to take in the memorable start. His dad had one of the suites in the rink for his work Christmas party, which allowed family to rotate watching there and in their seats.
They were able to watch quite the show with McCallum standing tall in net, serving disappointment to Wheat Kings’ faithful but giving those cheering for him plenty of opportunities to do so. He liked his game in the win and also sees areas to improve.
McCallum says the last five minutes where Brandon was pushing makes things easier and more enjoyable, facing a barrage of shots.
“It’s more enjoyable in those type games because it’s more competitive,” McCallum said. “In the last five minutes Brandon came out really hard, but as well, we came back there and showed them we weren’t going to give up, and to come out in the last minutes there on top was just super important.”
Head coach Willie Desjardins was impressed with his game and says besides the first period of his first start, he has shined.
“The only bad game he had was going into Regina and we didn’t have any kind of a warmup so it was kind of a tough one for him,” Desjardins said. He’s rebounded really well, like two starts have been great for him. If you take off that first period in Regina he’s got unbelievable numbers, so that’s been good, and going in there (against Brandon), the second goal he might have wanted back but he rebounded well and it’s good to see.”
McCallum’s first start came against the Regina Pats on Oct. 4, a 4-2 loss in the game where the Tigers’ bus did not arrive at the rink until 20 minutes before warmups due to a breakdown. He allowed three goals on 14 shots in the first period before being pulled.
Since then, in two wins he’s allowed four goals on 44 shots for a 1.50 goals against average and a .948 save percentage. That differs greatly from his stat line of 2.57 goals against and .917 save percentage when including his Regina start.
McCallum says while his confidence grows from two straight wins, he says it never dipped even after the rough start against the Pats.
“I’ve always been confident, even after Regina, I don’t think there was anything wrong with my play in Regina and as well as the team,” McCallum said. “I just think in general I’ve come closer to the teammates around me and that’s just built up confidence from there to make me feel I can be more confident that I can play in this league.”
That was a goal McCallum set for himself heading into the season, wanting to become more approachable with teammates after shutting himself out following his brief backup role in the 2021-22 season and being sent to U18.
He made it an objective coming into this camp to be more open and available as a teammate and also help push the group to be better, something he says two months into the season has made it even more enjoyable.
“It’s been a lot better, it’s been a lot healthier for sure mentally on my game,” McCallum said. “I hope it’s helping the guys around me as well. But just mentally, being more focused on my teammates around me and making it more of an enjoyable experience just overall builds that confidence for myself.”
WHL Scholarship
program invests in 350 graduate players
The league announced Wednesday 350 graduate players have been awarded WHL Scholarships for the 2023-24 academic season.
The 2023-24 campaign serves as the 31st year of the WHL Scholarship program, which has served nearly 8,000 scholarships reflecting an investment of more than $35 million by WHL clubs, according to a league release.
For every season played in the WHL, players receive a guaranteed full year of WHL Scholarship including tuition, textbooks and compulsory fees to a post-secondary institution of their choice. The WHL Scholarship is a fully guaranteed academic scholarship with no requirement to play university hockey to qualify.
There are 20 former players who have their scholarships from playing with the Tigers.
