Holy Harry: Meneghin among WHL’s best in net following injury

By JAMES TUBB on February 8, 2025.

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb

Harrison Meneghin isn’t trying to be pretty between the pipes for the Medicine Hat Tigers, he just wants to keep the puck on the other side of the crease.

And that is something he has excelled at in 2025.

The 20-year-old Tiger net minder has hit a new gear in the new year. After missing over a month’s time with a lower-body injury, Meneghin has returned and rose up the league ranks while backstopping the Tigers to seven wins in seven straight starts.

The Tampa Bay Lighting prospect says he was able to watch a lot of games while injured and was pushing himself to get back.

“That itch to come back and play when you’re hurt for so long, it’s nice to be back with your teammates during games, and you just want to battle with your teammates,” Meneghin said. “I learned a lot when I was hurt, you watch a lot of hockey, see things you can work on. It’s a nice little refresher coming back, so I’ve felt fresh, and just overall, felt good in net and just battled to get good results.”

Since his return, the South Surrey, B.C. product has appeared in eight games (seven starts), working a 1.60 goals against average and a .930 save percentage, with a 7-0-0-1 record and a shutout. A good enough stretch to earn him goalie of the week twice in January, and as a result, goaltender of the month for the year’s opening stanza.

It’s a trio of recognitions that Meneghin says only comes from the team’s effort.

“It speaks to our group in the locker room and how we’ve been,” Meneghin said. “Guys are blocking more shots, our penalty kill has been super good. It’s starting to show how our group is coming together and starting to be more of playoff team, you could say we’re starting to figure out our stuff.”

Meneghin’s run of success has his season numbers at a 2.49 GAA and a. .903 SV%, a goals against average that tops the WHL, and a save percentage that ranks eighth entering play Friday. His two shutouts are tied for second. Meneghin isn’t shy to admit he looks at his own stats, something that has provided him a lesson throughout his overage season.

“Throughout the year, I haven’t had the greatest stats, so it’s a learning experience for me that it’s not going to be pretty all the time, but you just have to find a way to get it done,” Meneghin said.

Head coach Willie Desjardins says both Meneghin and Jordan Switzer have been what they needed in net, Switzer picking up 17 wins as a rookie. He says Meneghin has more than lived up to the deal and supplemental moves needed to bring him into the fold from the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

“Since he’s come back, he has put up unbelievable numbers,” Desjardins said. “We always thought that was going to be in the cards for him, and that’s why we made a move. That was a tough trade to make. We had to give up some key guys but we felt that if we could get a goalie like him, it would help us.”

Meneghin started four of the six games on the Tigers’ U.S. trip, from the first game against the Spokane Chiefs who scored a minute in before Medicine Hat won, to the drubbing of the WHL-leading Everett Silvertips. Meneghin says the wins, all coming in different fashion, showed them they can beat anyone in front of them, and he says it raises expectations for every person in the orange and black.

“Before we weren’t sure what the competition was going to be like and now we’ve seen that, we know we have a really good group and that a championship is a real expectation for us,” Meneghin said. “Now that we have those standards, everyone holds themselves to a higher bar in the locker room, me included. We have a super excited group. So if we keep that energy and keep doing the same things right, we’ll have a lot of success.”

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