NEWS FILE PHOTO
Medicine Hat Cubs captain Callen Prosofsky enters his final playoffs in his overage season in the HJHL, looking to help push the Cubs past the second round.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
No one has played more games for the Medicine Hat Cubs than Callen Prosofsky.
Entering his final HJHL playoffs, he hopes to bring the Cubs a title for the first time since 2001.
The Cubs’ captain holds the franchise record for games played in the orange and black with 145, surpassing former teammate Cooper Hilworth who reached 143 games played in 2023. Prosofsky says he gave his former teammate a bit of the business for passing him and he is honoured by the record.
“It’s super exciting and I’m super fortunate to be able to play that many games with this group,” Prosofsky said.
He’s tallied 64 goals and 147 points in his 145 games with the Cubs, playing in another 26 postseason games with eight goals and 16 points. Prosofsky has worked his way up the roster, donning the captaincy for two-straight seasons.
“It’s been awesome, the four years here, you definitely get to know the guys and the group,” Prosofsky said. “The whole Cubs organization, it’s a really special part of my life, so it’ll definitely be something tough to move on from.
“You just have to keep that in mind every single shift and give it your all, leave everything out there.”
Head coach and general manager Randy Wong says Prosofsky is a player who has showed how badly he wants to win throughout his HJHL career. With this being his last playoffs, Wong says it provides motivation for both the captain and his teammates.
“I always feel for those guys, when it’s in your last year whether it be minor hockey, that’s a big one for guys,” Wong said. “For Callen, it’s his last year of junior hockey, so he knows he’s gonna enter the workforce and play beer league and he’s good with that.
“But for him to play his last year of competitive hockey, I’d like to be able to get the guys wound up and play hard for guys like him who really deserve a chance to leave this program as a champion.”
The Cubs open their playoffs in the second round of the HJHL postseason, facing the Strathmore Wheatland Kings with Game 1 on the road Saturday. A road start that brings a little disappointment for Prosofsky, wanting to play as much in front of Cubs’ fans as he can.
“We have the best fans of league, so we’ll definitely notice it a little bit,” Prosofsky said.
He says they are a confident group having beat all of the teams in the South division this season. The Cubs enter the playoffs looking to make it past the third round of the HJHL playoffs for the first time since 2012-13. Prosofsky says they’re right there and are primed to make that run.
“A big, big contender for us is Okotoks and we’ve taken them down a couple times this year in the regular season,” Prosofsky said. “So provided that we make it through Strathmore, I think we can have their number this year.”
Game 2 of the Cubs second-round series is Sunday at the Kinplex, puck drop is slated for 3 p.m.
