NEWS FILE PHOTO
The Medicine Hat Tigers will be busy building for the future this week, with the WHL U.S. Priority Draft and the WHL Prospects Draft on Wednesday and Thursday.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers’ scouting staff get a few unique opportunities with the WHL Draft starting tonight.
The group will be navigating the 2025 WHL U.S. Priority Draft and the Prospects Draft, while the coaching staff and team get set for the WHL Championship series against the Spokane Chiefs.
The first round of the WHL Draft, starting at 5 p.m., follows the Penticton Vees Expansion Draft. The U.S. Priority Draft on Thursday will start the day at 9 a.m. with rounds 2-17 of the prospects draft to follow.
The Tigers have set up a separate room in Co-op Place which will be the war room for the Prospects Draft, which begins tonight and follows the U.S. draft on Thursday morning.
“It’s neat for the guys that are coming in, our scouts to be around the excitement of the team and they’re going to enjoy that element of it,” director of player personnel Bobby Fox said. “Other than that, it’s business as usual. It’s a little bit different draft for us right now, things can obviously change, but we don’t pick until the early third. So right now, we’re just sitting, waiting and hoping the guy that we want falls to us.”
Regina product Maddox Schultz, who was born and briefly grew up in Medicine Hat, is expected to be the first player selected with the Regina Pats holding pick No. 1. The 15-year-old had 43 goals and 93 points in 44 games to win the Saskatchewan U18 AAA Hockey League scoring race as an underage player. He was also named league MVP and rookie of the year.
Barring any trades, the Tigers won’t be on the clock in the Prospect Draft until the third round, where they hold the 50th and 67th overall picks. They have pairs of picks in the following two rounds, picking 78th and 91st (fourth round) and 109th and 115th (fifth round).
They have a single sixth-round pick (137th) and a pair of picks in each of the seventh, eighth and ninth rounds. It’s a different experience for Fox and his staff, they’ve picked in the first round in each of the seven years he’s served as director of player personnel. A different look but no change to the draft-day routine, he says.
“You put your list in the order you want and you go from there,” Fox said. “Because you never know what could happen. Willie could be swinging some deals in the back room, and you just have to be ready. So if you get to move up, or you get a certain pick, you’re ready to go.”
The Tigers swung four trades at the 2024 Draft, acquiring defencemen Bryce Pickford, Jonas Woo and forward Mat Ward. It added some business to the day with draft picks coming in and out, but was a pack of moves that played a large role in getting Medicine Hat to where they are.
“We do what we need to do to make our team better and compete, and it’s paid dividends this year,” Fox said. “It helps establish that culture, we want to win a championship and we want to go after it every year.”
The Tigers hold the 16th and 32nd overall picks in the U.S. Priority draft. The country-based draft is in its sixth year of existence and has started to pay dividends for the Tigers. They’ve signed three players from the draft since its inception in 2020. They signed defenceman Kolby Gapter in 2022, trading him to the Vancouver Giants at the 2024 WHL trade deadline. Later that summer, the Tigers signed forward Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll who they selected in the 2023 U.S. Draft. He’s cemented himself into an everyday role in the lineup throughout the regular season and playoffs.
Last week the Tigers signed 2024 U.S. pick Owen Hayes, a product of Littleton, Col., who put up 21 goals and 76 points in 49 games to lead the Okanagan Hockey Academy Colorado U15AAA. Fox says the signing of Hayes is one they are excited for and also one that shows they can be a destination for U.S. players to find success. He credits players like Gordon-Carroll for helping sell the program.
“Shaeffer is huge, he’s playing a big (role) on this playoff run, he’s been a wrecking ball and he can fly,” Fox said. “A lot of times, your players are your best recruiters, and he’s no different. He wants his American boys up here, too. We can tell those players whatever, we can sell the program. But the best salespeople, are the players.”
The Tigers and Chiefs did not have to submit protected lists to Penticton ahead of tonight’s expansion draft, with the winner of the WHL Finals getting to wait until after the Memorial Cup and the losing team having two days following elimination to submit their list.
Fox says they’ll see who the Vees select from the 20 other teams and use it strategically whenever they have to submit their list.
“Maybe there can be a perceived advantage, because we can see they took eight defensemen, so we’re probably going to know what they’re going to target from our 50 man list,” Fox said. “So I’m just going to let it play out and see what happens. It’s going to be interesting to see how they build their team.”
Results from the expansion draft will be announced at WHL.ca at 2 p.m.
The first round of the Prospect Draft will stream for free on Victory+. The pregame show starts at 4:30 p.m., with the draft starting at 5 p.m.
