NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins calls out the next line change in the dying seconds of the third period Friday, an 8-1 win at Co-op Place over the Red Deer Rebels. The victory was Desjardins' 500th career win in the WHL.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The moustache man behind the bench in Medicine Hat is the newest member of the Western Hockey League’s 500-win club.
Tigers’ head coach Willie Desjardins became the 12th head coach in WHL history to cross the 500-win plateau with an 8-1 win Friday at Co-op Place over the Red Deer Rebels.
Desjardins, left a little wet after a postgame water-jug shower at the hand of his team, gave all credit to those he’s worked with or coached over the years.
“I’ve had a lot of really good people to work with, really good people,” Desjardins said. “It’s a great franchise, the Masers have been unbelievable to me, I’m so thankful they gave me the chance to coach.
“Then the fans of Medicine Hat, they are outstanding. They’ve been there, and I want them to have a good year here. I want them to have something to cheer about, so hopefully we can deliver for them.”
The 67-year-old’s WHL career began in Saskatoon in the 1997-98 season when he took over for Donn Clark on Dec. 8. Desjardins recorded his first win in the WHL on Dec. 28, 1997, a 6-4 win at Edmonton over the Ice. He finished that season with 10 wins.
“It’s good to get the first one,” Desjardins told the Edmonton Journal in 1997.
“It’s a great opportunity, the Western Hockey League’s a great league. It’s changed a little bit. There wasn’t as many 16-year-olds when I played in the league (with the Lethbridge Broncos). But it’s sill great talent.”
After win No. 500, with his hair slicked back from the improvised water jug shower, and moustache curled into an unbreakable smile, Desjardins reflected on what his career in the WHL has meant and the impact each player he’s coached has had on him.
“The neat thing is, when you see a young player come in, we have so many guys that didn’t get drafted and went on to play in the NHL,” Desjardins said. “That’s such a good feeling when you see them come in and they turn out the way they’re turning out. So I’m excited by that. The league, when you come in, and you see the Rucks now, they’re different than they were at the start of the year, they’re just different. Guys come in, not as kids, but they go as young men when they leave; it makes you grow up.”
Desjardins is in his 14th season with the Tigers organization, through two different tenures, the first spanning 2002-2010, where he won two league championships and took two trips to the Memorial Cup before leaving to coach in the AHL and NHL. He returned behind the Tigers’ bench ahead of the 2019-20 season.
Forward Marcus Pacheco scored a hat trick in the win Friday. He could not confirm or deny whether he helped dump water on the franchise’s winningest coach, but has no doubt about where Desjardins ranks on his all-time coach list.
“He’s the best coach I’ve ever had in hockey,” Pacheco said. “He’s just easy to talk to, and he’s always there to give advice or be on my side.”
Associate coach Joe Frazer played two seasons under Desjardins before joining the coaching staff in 2010-11, eventually becoming his associate coach. Frazer was succinct about the milestone, holding back emotions about the man he says makes coming too the rink an extremely fun part of life.
“I’m very blessed to be able to play for him, get to interact with him first-hand as a player, get a front row seat to how he manages people as a coach and GM,” Frazer said. “I just can’t describe, he’s an unbelievable coach, but a better person.
“It’s quite an achievement. I just think he’s touched so many lives, like, he’s such a good person.”
Captain Oasiz Wiesblatt shared a similar sentiment, taking his time to ensure he gave his head coach the proper acknowledgement.
“There’s really no more deserving guy than him,” Wiebslatt said. “He’s the most selfless kind of coach, he does everything for his players and he commits everything to them. There’s just no one more deserving than him, and we all love being his student.”
After Friday’s win, Desjardins joined Tigers broadcaster Will Bryant on the postgame show where legendary broadcaster Bob Ridley pulled on a headset to ‘grill’ his old friend one more time.
“It’s a great legacy you’re leaving here in Medicine Hat, and I know you’re not leaving anytime soon, you still have a lot of hockey left and we have to go after those 1,000 career victories,” Ridley said on air. “You’ve done so much for hockey in this community, for the Medicine Hat Tigers and indeed the Western Hockey League.”
Only four WHL coaches have reached the 600-win mark and three of those have touched the 700 mark, with Kamloops Blazers’ associate coach Don Hay atop the list at 752.
Desjardins joked that his vision isn’t good enough to see what his next milestone could be. The only goal he has in mind is a third championship ring on his hand and a sixth banner hung in the rafters at Co-op Place.
“I’ve had lots of fun here, it’s been a great place,” Desjardins said. “I can’t say enough about the city, and I really do thank the fans and the Masers.”
The Tigers wasted no time putting their coach on course for 600 wins the next night in Edmonton, earning him 501 with a 6-1 drubbing of the Oil Kings.
Hunter St. Martin and Kadon McCann each scored a shorthanded goal, giving the Tigers four shorthanded goals on the weekend. Gavin Mckenna recorded an assist, extending his point streak to 17 games. Saturday’s win was the Tigers’ fourth in a row, their longest winning streak of the season.
The Tigers (25-15-2) come out of the weekend still tied for first in the Eastern conference with Central division foe, the Calgary Hitmen (24-11-3-1).
