PHOTO COURTESY ANDY DEVLIN EDMONTON OIL KINGS
The Medicine Hat Tigers surround and celebrate goaltender Evan May for his first Western Hockey League win in the Tigers 3-2 victory Friday in Edmonton against the Oil Kings.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Evan May convinced himself ahead of his start Friday in Edmonton that he was going to get the win. A little over three hours later it came to fruition.
The 18-year-old Medicine Hat Tiger goaltender picked up his first Western Hockey League win in a 3-2 victory over the Oil Kings. He reflected on the win with a smile and thanked his teammates for helping him get the monkey off his back.
“It was an unreal experience, I couldn’t thank the boys enough, they played their hearts out,” May said. “In the first period they took it to us a bit but then we had a really good bounce-back and I couldn’t be more happy.
“Now I can just play my game and I don’t have to worry about it, it’s a relief for sure.”
May joined the Tigers on Oct. 18 via trade from the Everett Silvertips, entering play Friday he had appeared in nine games in the orange and black with a lot of highlights but still chasing that first victory. Now he’s just looking to build off of that win and roll it into others while remaining positive.
“Just staying confident within myself, take that energy I got from the win and bring it to my next start,” May said. “Being a positive person, keeping a positive mindset it helps you and makes your life easier and it takes you further in life.”
Head coach Willie Desjardins says it was good to see May get his success after his touring play.
“He’s played a lot of good hockey for us, he’s been good since coming over but he just hadn’t gotten rewarded yet,” Desjardins said. “For him, it was nice to see him get a win, he’s been good.”
May was not in net for the Tigers’ 6-4 loss Saturday at home against the Swift Current Broncos. They led 4-1 halfway through the second period before the Broncos scored five unanswered for the win.
Desjardins says they had a good start in the loss and didn’t use having a shortened bench as an excuse. They started the game with 11 forwards and finished with nine after Cru Hanas and Brendan Lee, who returned halfway through before leaving again, were out of the lineup.
Lee will be out for “a bit,” according to Desjardins, and neither Hanas or Tyler Mackenzie practised Monday. Hunter St. Martin was back in full action and should be in the lineup tonight in Swift Current. Bogdans Hodass also practised for the first time since returning from World Juniors action with Team Latvia.
Desjardins says the injuries don’t change his approach to the WHL’s trade deadline at 3 p.m. today and they are still looking at being competitive this year while also looking down the road to the next couple of seasons.
“It’s easier if it’s just one thing we’re looking at, but we are looking at both,” Desjardins said. “When we look at our fans, and we’ve said it before, we want to be a team that can win for our fans and we have to do what we can to make that happen.
“We’re not going to force anything, if there’s a move that helps us we will make it but we’ll certainly be evaluating. We’ve talked to lots of teams and we’ll just evaluate where we’re at.”
Former Tigers head coach and GM Shaun Clouston, now with the Kamloops Blazers, made the biggest splash leading up to the deadline, sending four players, nine draft picks and a conditional draft pick to the Everett Silvertips for defenceman Olen Zellweger and forward Ryan Hofer.
The WHL Prospects draft picks the Blazers sent to Everett are: 2023 1st round , 2023 2nd round, 2023 4th round, 2024 1st round, 2024 5th round, 2025 1st round, 2025 3rd round, 2026 1st round, 2026 6th round and a conditional 2026 second round.
Desjardins, when asked about the trade, says the amount involved in the deal is a result of how trades are regulated in the league.
“It’s just the way we’re set up, we can’t trade 16-year-olds, and it means a lot more picks being moved instead of just players,” Desjardins said.
