NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Marcus Pacheco scans for options with the puck in the first period of a 5-2 win over the Regina Pats on Feb. 6 at Co-op Place.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Marcus Pacheco is closer to friends and family and is feeling more and more at home in Medicine Hat.
The 18-year-old forward was acquired by the Tigers on Dec. 31 in a trade with the Kelowna Rockets that sent 18-year-old Brett Calhoon, a 2024 third-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick the other way.
With 18 games under his belt in the orange and black, Pacheco was all smiles talking about his first two months as a Tiger.
“I feel at home now,” the Edmonton product said. “It’s been awesome being close to home, and this team has been awesome so far with all the guys, knowing most of them really well now.”
He was in the lineup Monday in the Tigers’ 9-7 win in his hometown over the Oil Kings, his second time playing at Rogers Place in the WHL. He had more than 40 family and friends in attendance amidst the 12,370 fans at the game, sharing in the hometown experience.
“That rink is insane, last year was my first time playing there in the WHL and it was crazy,” Pacheco said. “This year it still gives you the same kind of feeling, but just felt at home.”
In his 18 games as a Tiger he has a goal and four points. While he’s not atop their scoring leaders, associate coach Joe Frazer says he’s liked how Pacheco has fit in and looked better and more comfortable with each game.
“He’s starting to use his speed, he’s got great structure and the line with Smitty (Shane Smith), (Hunter) St. Martin and Pacheco was a really good line for us in Edmonton, they have a lot of speed,” Frazer said. “They know how we want to play and it’s been a great line for us so far. The more he plays just the more and more comfortable he’s going to get, but he’s been really, really good.”
Pacheco has started to fill the roll on the proverbial third line that Brayden Boehm occupied before his long-term lower body injury in October. As he’s incorporated more and more speed as he’s gotten more comfortable, it is a line Frazer says will only further help them as playoffs approach.
“He brings some speed, and going back to his bantam draft, it’s something we really liked about him,” Frazer said. “So when we could acquire him that was (important). We want to be a fast team and he brings that. He’s hard on the forecheck, he’s getting up and you can see him get more and more comfortable, which is huge. We have 12 games left, I think it’ll be a key moving forward here.”
The speed game is something Pacheco says he enjoys a lot, and he takes pride in turning defence into offence. It’s that play that has found him earning more responsibility with a spot on the penalty kill.
“That’s been huge, I always want to help the team and use my speed to do what I can to be out there,” Pacheco said.
While he’s starting to fit in more and more on the ice, Pacheco says it was easy to fit in with his new team from his first day in Medicine Hat.
“It’s a family, literally we always talk about that and that is what it is,” Pacheco said. “It’s awesome and I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
