NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers goaltender Jordan Switzer pushes aside a puck in the first period of a 4-2 preseason win Sept. 6 at Co-op Place over the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
With some NHL camp experience under this belt, Jordan Switzer is ready to grab the reins of the Medicine Hat Tigers’ crease.
The lone returning goaltender on the roster made his way back from Calgary Flames rookie camp on Thursday, learning from working alongside other prospect net minders.
“It was super cool, they had some of their older guys there as well so the pace in practice was really high,’ Switzer said. “It was super good there, I learned a lot and I’m super excited to be back.”
He previously attended Flames’ development camp in the summer, and over the last week shared the rookie camp experience with Tigers’ forward Kadon McCann, who has earned an invite to main camp. Leaving the NHL camp, Switzer says the Flames reminded him of what playing at a pro level looks like.
“The way you treat your body, the things you put in your body and how you prepare for ice, even if it’s a practice, you’re preparing like it’s a game,” Switzer said. “That’s something I can take away here and even show these guys in this room.”
He’s back for his second full season with the Tigers and Switzer says he’s already looking forward to seeing the fans in Co-op Place and around the city.
“The fans are awesome, even when you’re going out to eat and stuff, there’s people recognizing you, paying for your food, the fans here are the best in the league and we know that,” Switzer said.
The 18-year-old Edmonton product is slated to likely get his first season-opening start in front of those fans this weekend when the Tigers host the Regina Pats on Saturday.
He was reassigned to U18 in his age 16 season and was the third goalie, sitting in the stands after getting introduced to the crowd, last season. He says it’s a start he’s been thinking of for some time.
“That’s something I was thinking about all summer, something that I wanted to prove to this group and across the league, that I can be a starter at 18,” Switzer said. “I’m just going to hit the ground running with whatever starts I get and prove something.”
He proved himself last year, his first in the WHL, suiting up in 32 games with a 23-6-2 record, running a 2.65 goals against average and a .901 save percentage, also recording four shutouts. He ran a three-game shutout streak that totalled 2:09:43 of play, just 6:01 short of the Tigers’ record set by Kevin Nastiuk in 2004.
He can lean on that experience a little bit, getting the run of starts in December when Harrison Meneghin went down with injury. But he says with a new team in front of him it gives him a new look and a new challenge, he wants to help give his offence comfort as they get used to the league and one another.
“That’s a huge thing for me, playing my best so these guys can have their best, playing some of their first years in the league,” Switzer said. “It’s cool that you have a bigger role, being only 18 and having a bigger role is kind of a cool thing for me. So I’m just going to work and enjoy them.”
Switzer has longed for the opportunity in front of him, wanting to be the starter for as long as he’s been eligible to be. Now that he’s in line for it, there’s not complacency, he says it’s time for more work as fellow 2007-born goalies Carter Casey and Cruz Chase fight for a spot as well.
“You might have that opportunity, but if you soak in it and don’t work for it going forward, you can lose it,” Switzer said. “It’s kind of having that head down mentality, day after day and see what I can do from there.”
