NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Andrew Basha skates towards the net with a puck during practice Tuesday at Co-op Place. The practice was Basha's first time with the team since December 2024 after missing all of 2025 with a lower-body injury.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers are on the verge of potentially seeing their full lineup as the WHL Finals loom.
Forwards Andrew Basha and Cayden Lindstrom were full participants in practice Tuesday at Co-op Place ahead of Game 1 of the WHL Championship series against the Spokane Chiefs. It’s the first time the pair have practised with the team at the same time this season.
Head coach Willie Desjardins says they’ve been cleared to practise but still have to be cleared to play before they can look to any lineup changes. He also says neither will be at full game speed if/when they’re added to the lineup.
“You can’t expect them to come in and play,” Desjardins said. “Right now for them to start games, if they can be break even, that’s great. So that means the other guys have to carry the load. That’s just the way it’s got to be.”
Lindstrom has been around the Tigers since surprising the team ahead of Game 1 of their first-round matchup with the Swift Current Broncos. He’s taken morning skates and been part of practices since returning from Columbus where he’s spent the season rehabbing a back ailment and a surgery in November.
The 19-year-old Blue Jackets prospect has not played in a game since April 5, 2024, Game 5 of the Tigers’ first-round series with the Red Deer Rebels. He was selected fourth overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.
Basha started the year with the Tigers, putting up nine goals and 29 points in 23 games before he was put on the shelf after leaving in the middle of a 4-0 win at home over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Dec. 28.
He ended up receiving surgery on his ankle, fixing an injury he had played through from the 2023-24 season, still playing well enough to be selected 41st overall by the Calgary Flames in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, signing with them last fall.
The 19-year-old has been around the team during the playoffs but spent the majority of his time in Calgary, rehabbing and working his way back to this point.
