NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Newly acquired Medicine Hat Tigers forward Marcus Pacheco stands for the lineup announcement during his local debut ahead of the 3-2 overtime win over the Red Deer Rebels on Tuesday at Co-op Place.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The newest Medicine Hat Tiger is ready as the club heads toward the second season.
Forward Marcus Pacheco was acquired from the Kelowna Rockets on Dec. 31 in exchange for Brett Calhoon, a third-round pick in 2024 and a fifth-round pick in 2025. The Rockets are sixth in the Western conference, giving Pacheco a different experience and scenario joining Tigers who are second in the East.
“The whole vibe even in the dressing room, all of the boys are dialled in and committed,” Pacheco said. “I love to see that, we want to win and that’s what we’re going for.”
The 18-year-old Edmonton product didn’t get much of a chance to wait around and think about the trade, he was on a plane and quickly in the lineup, starting in Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime victory at Co-op Place over the Red Deer Rebels. He had a shot on net in the contest and says it helped him get over the deal and he liked their game in the win.
“Just being with the guys, they’ve accepted me pretty well and it feels like home already,” Pacheco said.
He’s played at Co-op Place only once before, in the lineup when the Rockets visited last season for a 4-1 Medicine Hat victory on Dec. 17.
Associate coach Joe Frazer liked the winger’s first game and says he’ll only get better as time goes on.
“I like the way he plays, it suits our style perfect, a speed guy who has some skill,” Frazer said. “Those are the guys we look for because we want to be the fastest team in the league. He’s really going to help us be relentless on the forecheck and make us even quicker in transition.”
He had only played 14 games for Kelowna this season due to a lower-body injury delaying his start. He put up two goals and five points in that span, adding to his career totals of 15 goals and 42 points in 133 games entering Tuesday.
Away from the rink, Pacheco says he likes cars, clothes and shoes. He also reserves a lot of time for the online microeconomics course he’s taking at Athabasca University.
“I like anything business (related), finances and everything,” Pacheco said.
If dreams come true, he’d show up at Co-op Place for the next Tigers game driving a Porsche GT2 RS while donning off-white Jordan 1s. Until then, he’ll just dress to impress with what he has. Pacheco says he wasn’t able to bring his full lineup of suits to Medicine Hat after flying to the city after the trade.
While he looks for the best outfit outside the rink, Pacheco is looking forward to the Tigers’ three-in-three weekend which starts tonight at Red Deer. He is also more familiar with their opponents on Saturday and Sunday at Co-op Place, the Tri-City Americans and Spokane Chiefs.
“Red Deer is a tough team and I feel like those games are always like a playoff game but I think our speed and just transitioning can beat that all day,” Pacheco said. “Same with Tri-City, they’re a pretty good team and if we transition, use our speed and get shots on net, we can beat them for sure.”
Medicine Hat has won all three matchups this season against the Rebels, giving their Central division rivals a little more motivation heading into the game Frazer says.
“The guys are excited and we know they’re going to have one of their best games coming off the loss Tuesday and are going to be ready,” Frazer said. “We have to make sure we get off the bus and start on time.”
The Tigers will be without defenceman Bogdans Hodass in the contest, after the 20-year-old Latvian was assessed a one-game suspension for his boarding major and game misconduct in Tuesday’s win. Frazer says they’ll have to have guys step up and take those heavy minutes.
“There will be some key minutes and bigger roles to our younger defencemen who are playing well lately, so it’s going to obviously a big challenge,” Frazer said. “That’s a tough team to play because they’re big and heavy and they forecheck hard. As a defenceman, it’s one of the harder teams that we play, so that’s exciting opportunity for some of our younger guys.”
The Tigers could see some returns from the injured list. Forward Tomas Mrsic practised fully Thursday and is deemed probable to return from illness. Forward Cayden Lindstrom is still questionable with his upper body injury, practising Thursday in a yellow no contact jersey.
Saturday’s matchup against Tri-City will mark the return of former Tiger Pasha Bocharov who was traded ahead of the season. Sunday’s contest against Spokane will mean the Co-op Place debut of expected top-10 2024 NHL draft forward Berkly Catton.
Frazer says they watched both teams face-off against one another twice last week, getting ready for their final regular season games against Western conference opponents.
“Both teams bring different elements, Tri-City is a big, harder team and we’re really going to have to use our speed against them,” Frazer said. “Spokane is a lot like us with a quick transition, they have some real high end players who like to play with pace. So both teams are different, which is exciting, different challenges each night and it should be a good weekend.”
