NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Gavin Kor looks for options with the puck in the offensive end in the first period of a 4-2 preseason win Sept. 6 at Co-op Place over the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
It’s a new-look forward group for the Medicine Hat Tigers.
After capturing the Ed Chynoweth Cup in May, the Tigers have faced plenty of turnover with graduations, pro hockey opportunities and NCAA departures. It’s left third-year forward Kadon McCann as the longest tenured forward. He’s coming off a sophomore season with 11 goals and 18 points in 64 games; McCann also won’t be with the Tigers to start the season, getting an extended look with the Calgary Flames on a camp invite.
The Tigers will also likely miss forwards Ethan Neutens, Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll and Gavin Kor on opening night, all injured. Neutens and Gordon-Carroll haven’t practised all week and Kor suffered an upper-body injury on Tuesday, not officially ruled out but hasn’t practised since.
It’s part of a new-look beginning of the season at the forward side of the ice for the Tigers, with five set to make their WHL debuts. Kade Stengrim, Noah Davidson and Yaroslav Bryzgalov are joined by un-signed forwards Dayton Reschny and Dub Eunice III as rookie forwards.
They join a returning group of Markus and Liam Ruck, Misha Volotovskii, Carter Cunningham and prospects from last season, Brayden Ryan-MacKay and true-rookie Luke Ruptash. The Tigers also brought in forward Max Sullivan on Tuesday, acquiring the 19-year-old from the Kamloops Blazers.
It’s a total of 16 forwards, all vying for 12 spots, creating some challenges for the Tigers’ coaching staff as they navigate injuries while trying to narrow down the roster.
“There’s some spots up for grabs, looking at the forward group as a whole we have some big guys, we have some guys with some skill and we have some speed up the front,” associate coach Joe Frazer said. “Now it’s just making sure we come together and start playing Tigers hockey.
“We like the group up front, now it’s just everyone getting on the same page. There’s a certain way we want to play and it’s just getting to that as quick as you can here.”
The Tigers will lean on their returning players as the new faces get acclimated to the city and the system, a process head coach Willie Desjardins says will likely take until after Christmas. He says there will be some adjustments as players get into and then get used to new roles.
“We’re just a young team right now, there’s lots of challenges though, lots of guys are going to have to step up into totally different roles,'” Desjardins said. “It’s very different from being a third-line player last year to a first-line player this year. That’s night and day difference.”
Getting up to the speed and the system is a familiar challenge for the Rucks, cracking the Tigers’ roster last season as rookies. Markus hopes to help his new teammates get used to the system and he also hopes to lead them on the way.
“Last year our team was so close, and all those leaders were great leaders and I think that’s when we had a lot of success,” Markus said. “So picking things off our leaders last year, bringing that to the team this year, that’s going be huge for us.”
Volotvskii joined the club last season at the trade deadline, brought in alongside defenceman Tanner Molendyk from the Saskatoon Blades, playing a bottom-six role en route to the Tigers’ sixth franchise championship.
He’s looking forward to his overage season, hoping to make the most of his final year in junior hockey. Volotvskii, like most overagers, says the years have flown by and he wants to ensure he enjoys every bit of the last ride.
“It’s pretty quick, at the time when you’re 16 it seems so far away, but it sneaks up on you,” Volotovskii said.
“Just make sure I’m enjoying every day, grateful to come to the rink and play hockey, just being with my teammates and everything. I’m always super thankful for that.”
Volotovskii has been paired up with Bryzgalov through the preseason and practices leading up to Saturday’s season opener against the Regina Pats. The 18-year-old Bryzgalov joins the Tigers from the USHL where he had 10 goals and 17 points in 51 games. The Minsk, Belarus product, selected in the 2025 Import Draft, had 21 goals at U18 in Belarus, a level of production he hopes to get back to with the Tigers.
“In Belarus, I scored a lot, but last year was kind of tough for me,” Bryzgalov said. “It was first year away from home and I didn’t know English yet.”
