Medicine Hat Tigers forward Kadon McCann celebrates his power play goal in the second period of a 7-1 win over the Prince Albert Raiders on Dec. 3 at Co-op Place.--NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers set quite the bench mark in 2025.
The Tigers beat the Red Deer Rebels 8-0 on Tuesday, their last game of 2025, finishing the calendar year with a staggering record of 70-12-4-3.
“The groups we had for the past two years, it’s been unbelievable,” third-year forward Kadon McCann said. “Bringing in lots of guys and also meeting new guys as well. It’s pretty special to show that family environment we have in Medicine Hat, what the guys that were here before and the guys that are coming in, like, how they contribute to the success of the team is super cool.”
The Tigers had 45 wins in the second half of the 2024-25 season, winning 16 games in the playoffs en route to capturing the franchise’s sixth Ed Chynoweth Cup, tied for the most in league history. They won all three round-robin games at the 150th Memorial Cup in Rimouski, losing in the final to the London Knights.
The success continued to start the first half this year, despite the roster turnover, winning 24 games through the first 35 games of the season. It’s a string of success head coach Willie Desjardins says has only been possible because of the people involved.
“We’ve had a lot of really good players, and not just good players, I’ve had a lot of guys with character and a lot of guys that played hard,” Desjardins said. “I’ve got an outstanding staff, like my staff is so good. It means we’ve had great support from our owners, there’s lots of things going, those things don’t just happen.
“Medicine Hat is a fun place. We used to always be the hardest rink to play in and I think we’re back in the top five or whatever. Our fans are great and it’s good to see them come out.”
The Western Hockey League polled more than 300 players from all 23 clubs at the halfway mark of the season, releasing the survey results over the holidays. Defenceman Bryce Pickford was tabbed as the favourite to win the defenceman of the year award and Co-op Place was ranked the fifth hardest rink to play in as a road team.
The old Arena had many a legacy in Medicine Hat, the loudest being how hostile an environment it was for opposing teams with 4,006 loud and proud. Over the last year, Co-op Place has started bringing that back, Desjardins says.
“It was so great, our building was such that nobody wanted to come in and play and we’re getting there again and it’s fun with that,” Desjardins said. “Our fans are great and our guys play hard, that’s a good combination.”
The Tigers skated Thursday, just their second practice since returning from the break. It’s practice where habits are built, Desjardins says, with the time off seeing them slip away a bit. Over their few games, he says their hard work has overcome any mistakes they’re making.
He’s liked how far the team has come since September when it comes to their habits, but more so, how big of a step players have taken.
“There’s so many guys who have gotten better and we knew they would, we knew they’d understand the league and improve,” Desjardins said. “Yaroslav Bryzgalov is just a different player than he was then, and I thought it might take a little longer, so it’s great. (Noah) Davidson has been a different player than he was, a lot of the U.S. guys that have come up have gotten way better just because they’ve got a chance to see it.
“You even look at the Rucks, they are better, they’ve come a long way since the start of the year as well. So it’s good to see that.”
The Tigers kick off 2026 tonight at Co-op Place with the first of a home-and-home with the Moose Jaw Warriors. They’ve won the first two meetings with the Warriors, taking both games in overtime. The Warriors enter the weekend off a New Year’s Eve, 5-4 overtime win over the Regina Pats.
“They give us trouble, both our games against them have been tough games and these games will be tough, too,” Desjardins said. “We’re successful because of how hard we work. If we don’t work, we won’t be successful. So we have to make sure we’re focused, but I like our group. I think we’re pretty good.”
