NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers prospect Kadon McCann stick handles a puck during warmups ahead of his WHL debut on Jan. 5 a 3-2 win in Edmonton against the Oil Kings.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
When looking back at the start of the month, Kadon McCann is still excited to relive his first couple Western Hockey League games. But the Medicine Hat Tigers prospect is even more excited to add those couple games to a long career.
The Cochrane product made his orange and black debut on Jan. 6 in Edmonton, a 3-2 Tigers’ win over the Oil Kings. He dressed in his second game on Jan. 10, a 3-1 loss in Swift Current against the Broncos.
“It was unbelievable experience,” said McCann about his debut. “All the guys are so good to me, I was very fortunate and they were all pretty excited for me. I had lots of family there, so it’s pretty cool to play in that bigger rink and have the opportunity to do it with that group of guys is pretty special.”
McCann says he had close to 10 family members in attendance for the big game at Rexall Place, with his mom, dad, brother, grandparents and some aunts and uncles cheering him on. He says his grandparents, who are longtime Oil Kings fans, have embraced the orange and black.
“They’re full Tigers fans now, they were a part of the founders clubs for the Oil Kings, so they’ve been there for a while,” McCann said. “They’re just super happy and super proud.”
McCann, who was selected 23rd overall in the 20223 WHL draft, is the third member of Medicine Hat’s draft class to make his debut, following first overall pick Gavin McKenna and 16th overall selection Hayden Harsanyi. Like Harsanyi, McCann says he was focused on his rookie lap and not messing it up for most of the day.
“It kind of hits you as soon as you’re in the tunnel with everybody and you’re getting ready to go and you see Mikki (Lanuk) with his camera out and it’s like, ‘Oh geez,'” McCann said. “I looked out (through the tunnel) and it was all dark and then lights flashing. I’ve never really experienced that before and you’re just kind of hoping for the best, making sure there’s no pucks in your way and to just stay on your feet.”
Head coach Willie Desjardins was impressed with the 6-foot-4 forward in his debut.
“He played a good solid game,” Desjardins said. “He’s smart, he’s big, he works hard, so lots of good things from him.”
McCann wore No. 5 in his debut, the same number he wears with the South Alberta Hockey Academy in the CSSHL. He’s always worn No. 5 in a nod to former Edmonton Oiler/Calgary Flame and Oil Kings development coach Ladislav Smid, who had an impact on him growing up.
“He is good, close friends with my family, my mom worked with his wife’s dad and he was a big influence on me and someone I look up to,” McCann said.
Once warmups were behind him, McCann says he eased into the game. When he got into his second contest, he says there was a lot more confidence than his debut, having seen the pace and strength of his opponents. Even though he felt more like he belonged, the 15-year-old knows there is still a long road ahead until he can stay in the WHL.
“You just don’t want to get too high on yourself, I’m still playing midget triple A level, so I just have to stay where I am at,” McCann said. “But when you do go up with (the Tigers), it’s a huge honour and opportunity but still have to make sure that you’re staying level when you’re with these guys, too. They’re both great teams and have great guys on each team, so it’s about making sure I know where my head is at.”
McCann has spent the majority of his season with SAHA, where he’s had 14 goals and 30 points in 24 games. He played a big role in their Circle K Classic win on Jan. 1 in Calgary.
He knows what he needs to do in order to work his way into the Tigers’ roster full time come training camp, and is excited to put the work in the rest of this season with SAHA and the summer to make it happen.
“My face-offs need improving for sure, it’s totally different when you’re going against bigger guys and just the fundamentals of face offs,” McCann said. “I need to work on my speed as well, I need to get faster. Just playing up to their pace, the passing, the skating and the hockey IQ is way higher up there. So just working on it and staying positive and hopefully we’ll see what happens.”
His first season of hockey in Medicine Hat has exceeded his expectations and he is looking forward to the rest of this year and what the future will bring him and the Tigers.
“It’s above and beyond, we have a great group of guys at SAHA and everything is just first class here and with the Tigers organization,” McCann said. “I’m very fortunate to be a part of all these clubs and I’m super, super excited.”
