NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender Ethan McCallum makes a breakaway save in the second period of their 5-4 double overtime Game 1 loss to the Red Deer Rebels on March 29.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Beyond the Medicine Hat Tigers’ injury troubles in the second half, one of the main focal points on the season was the goaltending rotation.
The first half of the year saw 19-year-old Evan May lead in starts, with rookies 18-year-old Zach Zahara and freshly turned 18-year-old Ethan McCallum working their way through a rotation. All three saw games and the younger two saw even more while May was recovering from injury.
That duo took over full time when May was sent to the Moose Jaw Warriors at the WHL’s trade deadline for a third-round pick in 2027.
Zahara and McCallum each appeared in 20-plus games, with Zahara getting the net 31 times while McCallum was limited to 23 with an injury in February.
Zahara finished his year with a 16-7-3 record, putting up a 3.15 goals against average and a .893 save percentage. McCallum’s regular season stat line was 11-8-1 with a 3.06 GAA and .886 save percentage.
For Zahara, who appeared twice in relief in the 2021-22 season, this year was his first full chance to showcase he belonged in the WHL.
“It was a long time coming kind of thing, it took a lot longer than I wanted it to but I’m happy it happened,” Zahara said. “Now I’m just getting ready for big summer moving forward and coming to camp next year.”
McCallum also got his first chance after playing half a season at the South Alberta Hockey Academy with Zahara the year prior. He missed time last season with injury and says he leaves this season with more aspirations of improvement.
“There’s things that you want to work on and you wish could have gone in a different direction,” McCallum said. “But I’m not gonna look in the past, the past is the past. I just have to focus on next season and I just have to worry about putting the team ahead of myself.”
McCallum says no matter if he’s playing well or not, he wants to ensure he gives the team a chance to win by playing to his strengths.
They both appeared in two-and-a-half playoff games, with Zahara starting Games 2, 3 and 5. McCallum started Games 1 and 4, then in relief in Game 5.
Zahara picked up the lone win in the first-round series against the Red Deer Rebels, working a 3.08 GAA and a .908 SVP. McCallum recorded a 3.53 and .869.
Looking back on the season and the goaltender decisions throughout, head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins says they wouldn’t have made a move any earlier than they did as they were still looking to see what they had in their three goalies before a move could be made.
He says a trade wasn’t going to happen unless they received a good enough offer, and when they did, they took it.
“It was, ‘Hey we got a good offer, let’s get the young guys a chance to see what they can do,'” Desjardins said. “Looking back at it, our young guys played good at different times during the year.”
Desjardins says he’s not a coach who likes going through a goalie rotation and has always had a preferred one to turn to through the season. He says that’s just not how this year went.
Moving May gives the team more flexibility next season, Desjardins says, as he would take up one of the overage slots they can now use on another high-end 20-year-old player.
The Tigers will find themselves in familiar territory this training camp, working through three goaltenders for the second year in a row as 17-year-old prospect Jordan Switzer looks to make the jump to the WHL.
The 17-year-old net minder played two games with the Tigers this season, picking up a 24-save win in relief. He made a start, allowing four goals before getting pulled in the second period.
Switzer played the majority of his season at the U18 level with the Northern Alberta Xtreme, putting up a 14-1 record with a shutout and a stat line of .3.06 GAA and a .902 SVP.
The Edmonton product heads into an off-season with a chip on his shoulder, looking to turn heads and earn a roster spot at camp.
“Some people look at it as the (Tigers) have two returning goalies, kind of counting me out a little bit, but I kind of have that fire under my belly that I want to be here and it’s not going to be any other place but here,” Switzer said.
“People can think what they want, but I like having that doubt in people’s minds, like that underdog story, it’s a cool feeling to have.”
When it comes to training camp in the fall and another three-goaltender decision to be made, Desjardins says the choice will come through each goaltender’s commitment to offseason work.
“I’ve talked about it to everyone this summer about what everybody wants and what everybody does. I don’t think there’s any spots locked up, every guy has a chance and we’ll see just see who’s ready next fall.”
With the reality of another camp decision to be made on goaltender spots, Zahara says he’ll have more confidence this time having gone through it one year already.
McCallum says he’s not worried about it and he’s just going to do what he can for the team.
“I’m just trying to make the guys around me better, so whatever happens, happens, that’s fate,” McCallum said. “But I just want to make sure that if I do leave, I leave a good impression on the guys around me. I just want to make sure that those guys are in good hands.”
