London’s Austin Elliot quite familiar with WHL foe

By JAMES TUBB on May 27, 2025.

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb

RIMOUSKI, QUE.

After facing just Western Hockey League clubs for four seasons, Austin Elliott is getting reacquainted with his former opponents.

The London Knights’ net minder will face the Medicine Hat Tigers tonight in London’s third game of the 2025 Memorial Cup in Rimouski, Que., the first time he’s played against a WHL opponent since being released by the Saskatoon Blades on Oct. 7, 2024.

The 21-year-old Strathmore product played four years and 85 games in the blue and yellow before passing through CHL waivers, claimed by the Barrie Colts who traded him to the Knights for a 2026 14th-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick that was conditional until he played one game in London.

Playing throughout the season and into the Memorial Cup, he hasn’t noticed a difference between the two leagues.

“The hockey is not too different, to be honest,” Elliott said ahead of the Memorial Cup. “The travel was a lot nicer in the OHL compared to the WHL, so that was a nice change. There’s a lot of high-end players in both leagues, they’re pretty similar.”

Elliott has found more success in the OHL, taking the league by storm in his overage season. Entering play tonight, Elliott has an overall record of 50-2 this season, recording four shutouts. Entering play Monday he leads the four-team tournament with a .948 save percentage and a 1.45 goals against average.

He says there will be some familiarity when it comes to facing the Tigers, having played them six times in the WHL.

“I’ll definitely be familiar with them, I played all those guys before, so it’ll just be like I’m back in the Dub,” Elliott said.

Elliott will have some definitive familiarity with two Tigers, former Saskatoon teammates forward Misha Volotovskii and defenceman Tanner Molendyk. All three were on the Blades’ team that lost in Game 7 of the 2024 Eastern Conference Championship series to the Moose Jaw Warriors. He says he’s followed them all season and was happy to see them win a championship, but he won’t address them for another week.

“I’ve been texting them but once it gets going, we won’t be friends until the tournament’s over,” Elliott said.

Volotovskii, speaking with the News before the Memorial Cup, was looking forward to the matchup with his friend.

“They’re a good team, so we’re excited for it,” Volotovskii said. “And playing him, he’s one of my good friends. So if we could score a couple goals, that’d be cool.”

The Knights won their first two games of the Memorial Cup, beating the Moncton Wildcats 3-2 in overtime on Saturday before topping the host Rimouski Oceanic 3-1 on Sunday. Elliott says there is some extra motivation to face a WHL club again, with the main focus remaining on getting the Knights to a third Memorial Cup championship.

“I wouldn’t say I’m focused on that, (I’m) really just trying to beat everyone here and come out as a champion,” Elliott said.

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