NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers defenceman Daniel Baker takes his first pre game laps as the Tabbies captain. Baker was given the 'C' before the Tigers 4-1 loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings last Saturday.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
It took a quarter of the season, but the Medicine Hat Tigers have named their captain.
Before the puck dropped for Saturday’s 4-1 loss against the Brandon Wheat Kings, defenceman Daniel Baker was unveiled as the 38th captain in the team’s 51-year history.
The Edmonton product said after the game it’s an honour to be named captain, and he credits those leaders before him for paving the way.
“The guys I’ve got to watch as captains and leaders, (Ryan) Chyzowski, Jimmy (Hamblin) and (Mark) Rassell, those guys are all such good leaders and I learned a lot from them,” Baker said. “I’s also just, still be myself and contributing as much as I can.”
When asked about the timing of the announcement, associate coach Joe Frazer said they were waiting on Cole Sillinger’s status and appreciated how Baker was leading the team during their 14-game losing streak.
“We obviously had to wait and see what happened with Sillinger,” Frazer said. “(Baker) has been a Tiger since he was 15, he’s been a great leader especially through this stretch. It’s easy to be a leader when things are going good and it’s positive, but he’s really stepped up in times like this when its been tough, he’s been a great leader. I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone in the room that he’s our captain.”
Coming off an 8-2 loss to the Oil Kings Friday and Saturday’s loss to Brandon in the Teddy Bear Toss game, the Tigers have now tied their longest losing streak in 25 years.
The 20-year-old Baker has 19 goals and 56 assists in 186 career games for the Tigers, over five seasons in the Western Hockey League. He said the message from the coaching staff after was to keep playing how he does, and added his teammates were very supportive.
“They were happy, those are my brothers and we all love each other so they were really happy for me,” Baker said.
“I think (Baker) is a guy you want to follow into battle,” Tigers forward Noah Danielson said. “He’s very vocal but I think the biggest thing for him is he leads by example. He blocks shots, sells out. He does exactly what he’s supposed to do and more. He’s a great captain.”
The Tigers have a quick turnaround from the weekend’s losses, getting a rematch with the Wheat Kings tonight in Brandon before heading to Regina to face Connor Bedard and the Pats on Wednesday.
