PHOTO COURTESY COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS, CALGARY FLAMES AND ST. LOUIS BLUES
Medicine Hat Tigers forwards Cayden Lindstrom, Andrew Basha and Tomas Mrsic were selected fourth, 41st and 113th in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft this weekend in Las Vegas.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
After two seasons without a player drafted into the National Hockey League, the Medicine Hat Tigers were on display this weekend.
The Tigers had four players selected in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft in Las Vegas, headlined by forward Cayden Lindstrom selected fourth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.
Forward Andrew Basha was one of the first names announced when the draft reopened on Saturday with the second round, selected 41st overall by the Calgary Flames.
Two rounds later, forward Tomas Mrsic was drafted in the fourth round, 113th overall by the St. Louis Blues, and rounding out the sixth round, forward Hunter St. Martin was selected 193rd overall by the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
Head coach and general manger Willie Desjardins was in attendance for the draft and describes the weekend of picks as a positive for the four players and the franchise as a whole.
“It’s exciting, the players are wired so high they always want more, even if they get drafted, they want more,” Desjardins said. “We have lots of guys that didn’t get drafted either, that it’s a disappointing day for them, and you’re really disappointed for them because you know how much work they put into it.
“It just means that we have to do more because the dream is not over. We just have to do more and we have to prove people wrong.”
The 2024 NHL Draft marked the first time the Tigers have had four players selected since 2005, when defencemen Kris Russell and Gord Baldwin, centre Darren Helm and goaltender Matt Keetley were all drafted.
Lindstrom’s pick at fourth overall was the first Tigers’ player selected in the first round since forward Hunter Shinkaruk was taken 24th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in 2013. He’s the highest drafted Tiger since defenceman Cam Barker was selected third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2004.
Desjardins spoke on all four draft picks, and he highlighted Lindstrom being the fourth Tigers player selected by the Blue Jackets, with Derek Dorsett, Russell and Cole Sillinger all in Columbus at a time.
He was happy to see Basha stay local.
“Bash really wanted to go in the first round but how could you not be super excited going to Calgary, your hometown, does it get any better than that,” Desjardins said.
The 19-year-old forward spoke over the phone with the News on Saturday and shared the same sentiment.
“It’s crazy to be drafted by my hometown team, it’s a dream come true,” Basha said. “I was very nervous. I kind of had a feeling there when I saw their pick, it’s really exciting.”
Basha will attend the Flames development camp starting today.
Desjardins says former Tigers Carter Sears with the Blues and Shane Churla with the Panthers pushed for Mrsic and St. Martin, respectively.
“The organizations are super excited to get them and it’s great for them,” Desjardins said.
Lindstrom and Mrsic were unavailable to speak with the News and are both attending their respective teams’ development camps starting today. Tigers forward Shane Smith, who went undrafted over the weekend, is attending the Vegas Golden Knights development camp starting this week.
All three of Lindstrom, Basha and Mrsic were in attendance for the Draft in Vegas.
St. Martin spoke Saturday from his home and after not being drafted last season, the 19-year-old says it was a dream come true on Saturday seeing his name on the NHL Draft tracker.
“You work hard every day and I’ve never really expected anything to happen or thought of it much but you always dream as a kid and it’s kind of surreal,” St. Martin said. “It’s a good testament to the work that guys put in and I put in up to the point, but it’s just another step on the journey.
“I have to keep working hard because there’s a lot more ahead. So it’s really surreal but it’s just another step in that journey.”
St. Martin will attend the Panthers’ development camp next week. He was just as excited throughout the weekend watching his teammates get drafted and start their NHL careers as well.
“We’re a family and we’re excited for each and every one of us and throughout our whole careers, I’m going to want to stay in touch with these guys and cheer for them,” St. Martin said. “Even if you’re playing against them, you’re competing on the ice but you know, you want them to succeed as well because they’re your family you’ve gone through a lot with them and they’ve worked their butts off too.
“Those three guys deserve everything they gotten, there’s so many more guys who deserve maybe more than what happened this weekend, but I know that everyone whether drafted or not, we’re going to keep working and push hard and everyone’s going to be successful. We’re going to keep pushing on to win a championship next year in Medicine Hat and further on in everyone’s careers.”
