NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Cam Parr makes a cross-neutral zone pass in the first period of a 4-1 win Saturday at Co-op Place over the Saskatoon Blades.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Having been on the opposite side of the Co-op Place faithful, Cam Parr is happy to be on the good team in the eyes of fans.
The newest Medicine Hat Tigers forward got into his first two games with the orange and black over the weekend. It was just the third game he played at Co-op Place, the first two coming in Games 1 and 2 of the WHL Championship series last year with the Spokane Chiefs.
“It was awesome, being on the right side of it this time,” Parr said. “Coming in here last year wasn’t too fun. So being on the other side was great.”
Associate coach Joe Frazer liked what he saw from Parr in his first weekend with the club. He’s excited to see what he adds to the forward group.
“He’s got some quickness, he hits hard, every time he throws a check you can hear it,” Frazer said. “He’s hard on the forecheck and he’s hard to play against, that’s what we need.”
Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Saskatoon Blades was also a family reunion for the 19-year-old, getting to face his older brother Tyler for just the third time in his four-year WHL career.
His parents also flew in from La Salle, Man. for the game, joined by his aunt and her friends to surprise him. The two brothers will face off three more times, a welcomed challenge Parr says compared to just the one meeting they would have had before the trade.
“It was nice to see them and it was nice to see Tyler,” Parr said. “It’s nice being closer to home a little bit, see the family little more and they can come up to more games.”
Parr was acquired from the Chiefs on Sept. 22, getting in late the next night, giving him just a week’s experience of Medicine Hat. He’s enjoyed what he’s seen so far, taking in the Whiskey District with his teammates.
“It’s been super fun, we’ve gone out a couple times to eat and hanging out with the boys, they’ve showed me some good spots,” Parr said.
His arrival came at a vital time for the Tigers, missing forwards Ethan Neutens, Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll and Gavin Kor due to injury. All three are progressing but aren’t expected to be available for this weekend. Kor and Neutens are still listed as week to week, Gordon-Carroll is day to day.
Looking at his new team, Parr liked what he saw over the split weekend. In the contrast of the 6-3 loss Friday at Swift Current to the Broncos and Saturday’s win over the Blades, Parr says they have to slow things down and mature their game. He says that looks like being OK with only winning by the bare minimum.
“You just have to be OK with winning 3-1, 2-1, those kind of games, you don’t need the next one,” Parr said. “The other team, they’re the ones who have to cheat the game when they’re losing. So that’s when opportunities will happen. We have to realize that we can capitalize off that but start with playing our game first.”
The Tigers have made consistency, and that 60-minute effort that was so routine of the championship season, an early focus as they’ve given away periods through their first three games. Frazer echoes Parr, who was a first-hand opposition witness to how effective Tigers hockey can be, that maturity has to come in their game.
“We’ve had periods where it’s been really good, the first 40 against Regina, first period at Swift, first period against Saskatoon, so there’s been stretches where it’s looked like Tigers hockey, and now it’s just making sure we do it every period,” Frazer said.
“It’s not getting away from it and that’s just maturing as a team, knowing what you have to do and doing it for 60. We went through the same thing last year, just making sure you’re playing the right way and how we want to play together for 60 minutes.”
The Tigers are also working through some kinks on the offensive side of special teams, sitting third last in the league at 11.1 per cent. Frazer, who works with the power play, says it’s a process executing the puck retrievals and setting up how they want the units to look.
There’s also been a lot of turnover on the Tigers’ power plays, no longer being able to roll out WHL all-stars and relying on second-year stars like the Rucks, or even rookies. Frazer says it’s a fun challenge, putting together the puzzle as they try to find the right mix to have success.
“You have to work through it and try guys in different spots, move them around, try different personnel and it’s trying to put the best chemistry that works the hardest together,” Frazer said. “When you watch the best power plays, they have enough talent to score. But it’s mostly those talented guys who are willing to work and they just want to score so bad they’re willing to work to get the puck back. So that has to be our mindset.”
Editors note; An earlier version of the story had an incorrect headline.
