Soakin’ in the Tubb: Tigers show new look on and off ice at deadline

By JAMES TUBB on January 11, 2025.

f there was any doubt, the Medicine Hat Tigers showed at the WHL trade deadline they’re all in.

The Tigers’ acquisition of Tanner Molendyk and Misha Volotovskii from the Saskatoon Blades completed the signal for a new era of the team, one that still relies on draft and developing but isn’t afraid to make the right trade.

Since the WHL draft in May 2024 and Thursday’s deadline, the Tigers executed 14 trades. The same number they completed from the 2022 deadline to the 2024 deadline.

They put in the work in the offseason, acquiring defencemen Bryce Pickford and Jonas Woo, as well as overage forward Mat Ward and Minnesota Wild prospect Ryder Ritchie.

That was apparently only the beginning, with Harrison Meneghin and Ethan Neutens getting added to the mix. That also includes a plethora of subtractions – Tyler MacKenzie, Brayden Boehm, Shane Smith, Zach Zahara (twice), Ethan McCallum, Matt Paranych and the two skaters included in the Saskatoon deal, Hayden Harsanyi and Jack Kachkowski.

They’ve had to move out a lot of young talent, a big part of why Harsanyi and Kachkowski moved according to Willie Desjardins.

“Kachkowski is a good young defenceman, he’s a player we wanted but he was playing in the No. 6 position for us,” Desjardins said. “You bring in Molendyk and he goes to No. 7, he doesn’t get to play and he wouldn’t have been happy with that. Harsanyi wanted more, and with our group up front, it was tough for him to get power play time. He wanted more and it was going to be hard to satisfy him as well.

Was there more they could have done? Maybe. Andrew Cristall, the top forward available on the market, who ended up with the Spokane Chiefs, was still available after the Tigers’ move Monday. Another top-six forward could have deepened the lineup even more, but that’s a spot you leave for Cayden Lindstrom and one that would take ice time away from one of the Rucks, or Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll. Can’t have that for future success.

To become a top team requires the addition of high-end talent, more than can be developed, and that costs assets. The Tigers moved what they had, trading out a first-round pick for the first time since 2019. They still have rounds in the chamber for next season, another year they should be at the peak of the WHL.

All that’s left this season, beyond getting Andrew Basha and Cayden Lindstrom to a healthy-enough spot to play, is win the damn thing.

Tubb Thought

â€¢ Just a singular thought this week. The Central division will be a buzz saw for the rest of the season with the additions the Calgary Hitmen and Lethbridge Hurricanes made as well as the gritty Edmonton Oil Kings.

After this weekend, 10 of the Tigers’ remaining 26 games are in division.

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