NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers defenceman Koray Bozkaya looks to make a pass during a scrimmage at Tigers' training camp on Aug. 28 at Co-op Place.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Koray Bozkaya has no other plans for where he wants to play this season but with the Medicine Hat Tigers.
The 17-year-old defenceman made an early impression this preseason, notching four assists in the Tigers’ 7-4 win Tuesday at Lethbridge over the Hurricanes. He’s happy to contribute and help the group in a win.
“Four points is huge and I think it really helped the team,” Bozkaya said. “My contribution really helped the team win and that’s a big thing. I don’t really care about the points, as long as we got the win is all I care about.”
The Maple Ridge, B.C. product is back for his third training camp with the WHL club, and for a second straight year is in a fight for a roster spot.
Last year, Bozkaya was competing with fellow rookie Riley Steen, sophomores Matt Paranych and Nate Corbet as they looked to join the eventual core of Bryce Pickford, Jonas Woo, Josh Van Mulligen and import blue liners Veeti Vaisanen and Niilopekka Muhonen.
A year later, that same group of five returnees and Bozkaya are competing with Steen, sophomore Tyson Moss and fellow rookies Kyle Heger and Luke Warrener.
He welcomes the competition once again.
“It definitely improves you a lot more, you come in fighting for a spot and it’s not going to be easy knowing that,” Bozkaya said. “That’s going to make me such a better player, I love it.”
Bozkaya started last season with the Tigers, playing in the season opener with a plethora of regulars away at NHL camps. He suited up in two other WHL games early last season but spent the first two months at the U18 level with the South Alberta Hockey Academy.
In 15 games with SAHA, Bozkaya had four goals and 19 points. Towards the end of November he made the decision to play in the BCHL, opting to face older opponents and put himself in a position to gain that experience.
He suited up in 24 games for the Coquitlam Express, recording a goal and three points, also playing six playoff games. It’s a move he says only furthered his confidence coming into this training camp.
“It just brings a different mindset coming in already experiencing playing with older guys,” Bozkaya said. “The level there just improves me quite a bit and I thought it was better than playing U18 for myself.”
He hasn’t even thought about where or what level he would play at if he doesn’t stick with the Tigers for a second year.
“I have one thing on my mind and that’s all I want to get.”
The Tigers host the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Saturday for their lone home game of the preseason. That game gets underway at 7 p.m. at Co-op Place.
Tigers to NHL camps
The Tigers will send six skaters to NHL rookie camps next week.
The three drafted defencemen, Bryce Pickford (Montreal), Veeti Vaisanen (Utah) and Niilopekka Muhonen (Dallas) will all attend their respective club’s camps.
Three others have earned invites, goaltender Jordan Switzer and forward Kadon McCann will attend the Calgary Flames rookie camp, while defenceman Jonas Woo will attend the Carolina Hurricanes’ rookie camp.
