NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Kadon McCann acknowledges the crowd at Co-op Place after scoring in the first period of a 4-1 win Sept. 27 over the Saskatoon Blades.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Relied upon for being consistent is his two-way game, Kadon McCann wants to be a further leaned on player for the Medicine Hat Tigers.
The third-year forward has played in all three games for the Tigers this season, returning day-of for the 5-2, home-opening win over the Regina Pats on Sept. 20. He missed just four games last year, snapping an ironman streak that dated back to his Cochrane minor hockey days.
He’s taken pride in being relied upon and returning from making a statement at Calgary Flames training camp with a fight, he hopes to continue that confidence.
“Making it to main camp is something I didn’t really know was possible for me,’ McCann said. “Knowing that I can have that confidence and play a big role on a team, especially with older guys, is something that I want to do. So I want to bring back the confidence, put a lot of points on the board and get a lot of wins with the boys.
“I want the coaches to be able to lean on me and hopefully have a bigger role on the team.”
He’s gotten an early nod when it comes to the leadership part of his game, named to the leadership group as one of the Tigers’ four alternate captains. McCann was happy to see defenceman Bryce Pickford named captain and he looks forward to being part of the leadership core.
“To have that guy to lean on and look up to is super special, Bryce and I have been super close buddies over the last two years,” McCann said. “But for me it’s super special to have that group of last year’s guys and we want to bring the culture of last year into this year and make it our own kind of thing. We want to follow Oasiz (Wiesblatt), he set a good example for the boys and guys before him as well. So super special for me and something I’ve always wanted to do.”
He’s worn letters before, serving as a captain for Team Alberta at the Canada Winter Games and Alberta Cup. Associate coach Joe Frazer says they’ve seen him as a leader since the 2022 WHL Draft, selected 23rd overall by the club.
“You can see that when he was young, he’s always trying to do the right things, being a pro, even from when he first came here,’ Frazer said. “He’s vocal in the room. He’s well respected because how hard he works and he’s a great leader.”
McCann had similar point totals in his first two WHL season, with nine goals and 20 points in his rookie season of 2023-24. Last year he had 11 goals and 18 points, adding two goals and six points in the 18-game championship run. He scored his first goal of this season in the 4-1 win over Saskatoon on Sept. 27.
He’s also looked faster this season, spending the short summer working on his game after going un-drafted. Frazer has liked the early showing they’ve got from McCann and he sees the 6-foot-3 centre making that desired impact.
“He’s hard on the forecheck in the face off dot, has had that big body, he’s great on the wall and is a really good leader off the ice,” Frazer said. “He’s been great since coming back and he’s gotten quicker, his shots gotten better, that goal on Saturday ripped that top of circles, you can see he’s playing more confidence.”
