Soakin’ in the Tubb: Tigers’ injury bug is stinking things up

By JAMES TUBB on November 23, 2024.

Who knew maple bugs would not be the only orange and black insect causing a nuisance this fall.

The injury bug that has burrowed its way into Co-op Place and the Medicine Hat Tigers’ lineup has been, in layman’s terms, a real pest.

From an early injury to defenceman Josh Van Mulligen during a fight, forward Ryder Ritchie taking a skate to the face, to forward Hayden Harsanyi getting wrestled to the ice in what can only be described as a takedown even Shawn Michaels would disapprove of.

The Tigers’ injury bug could also be described as a Heartbreak Kid, knocking forward Andrew Basha out of commission on a week-to-week basis, and now goaltender Harrison Meneghin’s status in question following a minor collision in the 3-2 overtime win Wednesday at Prince Albert.

None of these injuries include the second-biggest looming question around the Tigers right now, (Memorial Cup chatter is at an all-time high). The status of fourth overall pick Cayden Lindstrom has long been on the mind of Tigers’ fans, with little answers as he’s worked his way back from the back injury that limited him to four playoff games where he wasn’t near full health.

Some answers were provided Wednesday, with the Columbus Blue Jackets’ announcing the minor procedure he underwent on Tuesday. He underwent the procedure due to an inability to progress past 90 per cent health. The expectation remains, he will be a Tiger this season. When that will be is anyone’s guess.

Before Christmas feels like a wish even Santa Claus could not bring, with Lindstrom held off the ice for 30 days before he begins working back to 100 per cent from the procedure.

While it may seem gloomy, this is positive news around Lindstrom. If he can get to that 100 per cent mark a few weeks after the 30-day mark, which would line up post trade deadline, he can be the cheapest and most elite deadline acquisition any WHL team can make.

There’s another positive, Harsanyi was in Medicine Hat on Nov. 15, taking in the Tigers’ 5-1 win over the Victoria Royals. His status, once month to month, has been upgraded to week to week.

A stretch of shorthanded games plagued the Tigers like an ugly caterpillar. But that long-legged, short lineup eventually bloomed into a fuller forward group supplemented with the full-time signing of Carter Cunningham and acquisition of Ethan Neutens. It’s no monarch butterfly, aren’t they pretty, but it’s allowed the coaching staff to roll four lines and give the ever-dangerous top line fresher legs.

Boy has that paid off in spades.

Gavin McKenna has, somehow, found a whole new level than expected as he rides a seven-game point streak entering play Friday. In that stretch, six goals and 17 points. Hockey Canada can start printing a No. 9 McKenna jersey for the World Juniors in Ottawa this Christmas.

Tub(b) Thoughts

â€¢ Some shared disappointment from this scribe and Tigers’ fans when the Royals visited Co-op Place last week. The lack of an acknowledgement of Brayden Boehm’s return to Medicine Hat, a place he called home for four seasons and 154 games, was a little puzzling. He wasn’t part of a championship in the orange and black but played a big role in the club working itself out of the depths of the league, leading younger players that make up the core of today.

â€¢ Not to say every traded player should get an acknowledgement but playing over two full seasons isn’t a low bar. Paying homage to a former player and a member of an organization that preaches family is not a high bar, or so it should seem.

â€¢ The disappointment from the same game carries into the lack of an acknowledgement of Liam and Markus Ruck and their gold-medal win at the U17s. They had it as part of ‘Tigers in 2’, a video played pre-game, but didn’t allow fans the opportunity to offer their own praise in their first home game back.

â€¢ Teddy Bear Toss season is around the corner in the WHL. Teddy bears will fly at Co-op Place on Dec. 7 with the Tigers hosting the Edmonton Oil Kings. Last season, Cayden Lindstrom triggered the shower of bears and winter clothing just 1:14 into the game. Thoughts go out to photographers around the WHL, may shooters wait until late in the first period so the ice may not be as slick as… well, ice.

James Tubb is sports reporter with the Medicine Hat News. He can be reached at jtubb@medicinehatnews.com