NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender Jordan Switzer squares up to make a save in the first period of a 6-3 win Friday at Co-op Place over the Moose Jaw Warriors.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Jordan Switzer has been on quite a run between the pipes over the last month, putting himself among the league’s best goaltenders.
Not that the Medicine Hat Tiger would know.
The 18-year-old net minder leads the WHL in wins with 17, recording Ws in his last nine appearances. His 2.60 goals against average ranks seventh and his .899 save percentage is tied for 15th best. His season record is 17-3-1-2 and he’s nine wins away from 50 in his WHL career.
Switzer hasn’t paid attention to his individual numbers, not acknowledging he’s leading the league in wins but happy his team is running a 15-game win streak and sitting atop the Eastern conference.
“It’s really important to be winning, especially going in the second half of the year heading in the playoffs,” Switzer said. “Really establishing ourselves in the league and I think that’s huge for our group.”
Associate coach Joe Frazer has liked the calmness Switzer has brought in net over the last stretch, helping out the defence.
“He’s playing the puck well, that really helps our defenceman,” Frazer said. “He’s not getting a ton of volume right now so just mentally, you have to stay in the game and always be worried about that next shot. So he’s been great for us.”
Three of his last four games he’s faced fewer than 20 shots, a challenge he welcomes.
“It’s kind of a tough mindset when you know you can only let in one or else the stats aren’t going to be looking too good,” Switzer said. “But I try not to focus on that part of the game and just kind of help my team win games.”
Switzer made a decision to start the second half, asking the Tigers to remove his stats from the team chart they see in the locker room. It’s an ask he says has helped him stay in the moment and focused on the wins over his own results.
“You can really get caught up in the stats, everybody knows that, it’s draining mentally,” Switzer said. “If you just remove that piece, it just gives me much more confidence going in every night.”
Väisänen could
play Friday
The Tigers are hoping to have defenceman Veeti Vaisanen back in the lineup Friday when they host the Seattle Thunderbirds at Co-op Place.
Vaisanen was expected back in Medicine Hat on Tuesday after playing for Finland at the World Juniors, finishing fourth.
Frazer says they’ll give him a day or two of rest before playing. He liked what he saw from the 19-year-old at his second U20 World Juniors tournament.
“He was playing hard, playing with passion, he’s an active player and we’re lucky to have him. We’re excited to get him back,” Frazer said.
“He’s got more confidence. He’s a year older the second time around in the tournament, so he was one of their key guys and that’s exciting. It’s too bad he couldn’t win a medal, but they had a heck of team and I thought he played great the whole tournament when I got to watch.”
The Tigers have two more practices before the WHL trade deadline hits Thursday at 6 p.m. MST. Having been through the deadline as a player and throughout his coaching career, Frazer says it’s a nerve wracking week.
“There’s so much going on, it’s nice we don’t play so we can just focus on practice and getting through it. But yeah, there’s always tensions this time of year.”
This is the second straight year there have been no games scheduled on deadline day, a welcomed pause, Frazer says.
“Management and those guys are pretty busy those days, so to not have any games and players don’t have to worry about the games and the deadline at the same day, that’s a smart move,” Frazer said. “There’s lots of lots of things running through your mind this time of year.”
