NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers captain Oasiz Wiesblatt skates ahead of puck drop of the Tigers 5-2, Game 1 win on April 25 in the Eastern Conference Championship series at Co-op Place against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Oasiz Wiesblatt hopes to leave his No. 7 in a better place than where he found it, by bringing a championship to Medicine Hat.
The Tigers’ captain enters the Western Hockey League Championship with a lot of years in the league behind him and mere days left in his junior hockey career. Ahead of Game 1 of the finals against the Spokane Chiefs, the 21-year-old says he’s been dreaming about playing in the WHL finals his whole life.
“Even from watching (my brother) Ozzy play in the finals and then a really close buddy of mine, Jake Neighbours playing in the finals and winning, I’ve got some shoes to fill, so I’m really excited,” Wiesblatt said. “I’ve always been looking forward to doing this with this team and with this city and doing it for them. I’m really excited.”
The Calgary product has led the way in more ways than one these playoffs, contributing offensively with 14 goals and 26 points in 13 games entering play Friday, leading the WHL Playoffs with four game winners. He’s scored the third-most goals in a single playoff run by a Tiger, trailing Mark Pederson (19 goals, 1987) and Lanny McDonald (18 goals, 1973), both winning championships in those runs.
It’s production that sits second in the Tigers in scoring but a strong enough showing to earn him a three-year, AHL deal with the Milwaukee Admirals next season, the same team his brother Ozzy plays for after winning a 2019 WHL Championship with the Prince Albert Raiders. He’s talked with his older brother and Neighbours, who won a title with the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2022, picking their brains about the finals experience.
Their biggest piece of advice, his team knows one another the best, just stick with that season-long bond.
“Just keep sticking with things, sometimes things aren’t going to go your way and you just have to keep the group together and focus on the mission,” Wiesblatt said. “Sometimes you don’t get your goals and you just have to pull something out.”
He’s pulling the same rope as the 24 other players on the Tigers roster, sharing the same experience as Mat Ward and Harrison Meneghin as overagers looking to end their junior careers on the highest of notes. Wiesblatt says it brings extra motivation knowing they have control over that dream.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling for us to get the last kick of the can and really show what we got,” Wiesblatt said. “We have to be big leaders for guys to kind of lean on, and Wardo has stepped up, Harry stepped up, and it’s been really good. So for those guys it’s just lead the pack, be guys they can lean on and enjoy it.”
He’s spent a long time in Medicine Hat, playing through the 2020 bubble season as a rookie. His sophomore season came in 2021-22, the infamous 11-win season for the Tigers. He led the way the next two years, playing top-line minutes as they bowed out in the first round of the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
He’s already left an impact on the franchise and the city as an adopted son of Medicine Hat. Wiesblatt sits ninth all-time in assists (187), 13th in career points (288) and 14th in games played (284).
With his last chance in the playoffs, he hopes to help hang a banner that will fly forever.
“One of the first things we learned when I got here was you want to leave your jersey in a better place,” Wiesblatt said. “So that would be a tremendous, great feeling. It’s something I really want to do and this team really wants to do it, and there’s a lot of belief and guys are hungry in here.”
