NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers rookie forward Kadon McCann carries the puck into the offensive end with fellow rookie Hayden Harsanyi looking for a pass in the first period of a 4-3 overtime loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on March 23 at Co-op Place.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat Tigers were one of the youngest teams in the Western Hockey League this season and their youngest players gained a lot of experience.
The Tigers had seven rookie skaters in the lineup on a nightly basis and had two rookie goaltenders who carried the load in net for the entire second half of the season and into their first-round loss to the Red Deer Rebels.
Two of those rookies, Kadon McCann and Hayden Harsanyi, played all 68 games of the regular season and all five playoff games. An ability not lost on McCann.
“It means a lot to have that trust from the coaching staff, Hayden and I were talking about it, all of our buddies were getting scratched and stuff and we’re just playing all our games, which is super special,” McCann said. “You don’t see a lot of rookies do it, so it’s super special and I’m super happy for the opportunity to be able to play that many games.”
Gavin McKenna played in 61 games, missing one due to illness and another six while representing Canada at the U17 Hockey Challenge. Vasyl Spilka was limited to 46 games due to injuries.
On defence, Matt Paranych played 56 games to lead the younger group. Nate Corbet suited up in 51 games, mostly as a forward to fill a depleted lineup and Jack Kachkowksi, who signed in December, played 27 games.
All the Tigers rookies, especially the forward group, got more playing time than originally expected with the long-term injuries to Brayden Boehm and Cayden Lindstrom and other ailments that knocked other forwards out of the lineup throughout the second half.
The extra games for the rookies was one of the positives head coach Willie Desjardins took from the season.
“It gave us a chance to look at the young players, which is huge, they got all kinds of playing going on here,” Desjardins said. “It was great for those guys that played lots in the playoffs, McKenna got to play more, Paranych and Kachkowski, lots of guys got playing time they wouldn’t have gotten, Corbet got playing time he wouldn’t have gotten. So it was a really good thing to have guys grow.”
Getting all of that ice time and getting to play in the playoffs, even despite the sooner-than-expected exit, provides the no-longer rookies with experience they’ll look to build off next season.
“It’s good to experience it at such a young age, it only builds on to next year and the years after,” Harsanyi said. “It just builds maturity for all the young guys like me, everyone. It just gives us that experience that you need when you’re on a deep playoff run. You need guys that have experience and I think going through these playoff moments at a young age is what’s huge for that.”
All the Tigers’ rookies had difficulties to overcome in their debut seasons. McKenna wanted more from himself after the first half. McCann says he had to adjust to less ice time than he had had in a long time. Harsanyi struggled for the first half with living away from home. Corbet switched positions just to get ice time and for the good of the roster. Kachkowski stepped onto a double-decker bus already heading down the road and Spilka battled injuries.
Paranych says he had to battle through roadblocks of being an undersized defenceman and handling being scratched for games. He says they were mentally hard challenges until he realized it’s all part of the development plan.
“The coaches want the best for me and whatever they think they want to do, it’s the best for me and best for my future,” Paranych said. “I think they did a great job with it. Not scoring my first (WHL) goal as well was definitely a hard one. But there’s going to be lots to come.”
Heading into next season, the 2007-born group will no longer be rookies but just players in the lineup expected to perform to excel the team. It’s a role McCann says comes with more leadership and one he says he’s looking forward to taking.
“I’m more of the kind of guy that they can lean on in the dressing room and I have to lead by example, I don’t have to be the bass guy talking wise, but just lead by example,” McCann said. “Let the younger guys come in early, show them the ropes, that’s the best. They showed me the ropes to the Dub and to just try to keep doing what you’re doing.”
Besides McKenna, Corbet and Spilka, the remaining rookies head into the off season ahead of what will be their first season of NHL draft eligibility. McKenna’s NHL draft year is 2026 and both Corbet and Spilka are draft-eligible this summer.
It’s the next step and the season all of them have dreamed of since they picked up a stick and learned to skate, as most minor hockey players have. It’s an outside pressure that Kachkowski says he’ll try to keep out of his mind as much as possible but he says it can be used as fuel for the fire.
“You definitely think about it, but it motivates you, too,” Kachkowski said. “As much as you’re working hard in the summer, it’s in the back of your head and you just know, ‘Hey, you have to work hard if you want to get drafted.
