NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Kade Stengrim celebrates scoring his first WHL hat trick, coming in a 6-5 overtime win at Co-op Place over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on March 14.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
For one of the biggest Medicine Hat Tigers, it’s been the little things leading to success in the second half.
Kade Stengrim, the seventh Tiger to hit the 20-goal mark this season, has honed in on the details of his game to the tune of success.
“All the little things lead to success and eventually team success,” Stengrim said.
The 6-foot-4 forward had six goals and 12 points through 31 games in the first half of the season, a slow start that saw him get healthy scratched in the second last game before the holiday break.
“I wasn’t playing my best hockey there and I know it myself, it was kind of a mental refresher of how hard this league is,” Stengrim said. “If you’re not playing your best, someone’s going to come and take your spot.”
Head coach Willie Desjardins says every player needs a wakeup call at some point, and he’s seen another level from the 18-year-old since that game.
“He just decided that wasn’t gonna happen anymore and he started to play hard,” Desjardins said. “He’s just a different guy when he plays hard. It’s a hard league, it does take a while to learn it and he’s certainly added to us here.”
The Brainerd, Minn. product has more than earned his spot in the second half, tallying 17 goals and 29 points in 35 games, capped off by a five-goal weekend against Lethbridge where he notched his first WHL hat trick in a 6-5 overtime win over the Hurricanes on Mar. 14.
“You want to be playing your best hockey come playoffs, so it’s been good, just the details,” Stengrim said.
Stengrim has enjoyed working with the Tigers’ bench boss, crediting Desjardins with the team’s ability to bounce back in games, as well as with keeping him playing his best.
“Willie has instilled belief in us from day one,” Stengrim said. “He’s the first one to tell me when I’m not playing my best and that’s what I want as a player.”
When Stengrim’s at his best, he’s able to unleash a laser that could rival captain Bryce Pickford’s. It’s part of his game he’s long worked on and tried to perfect, whether he’s just stick handling a ball or getting some shots off, it’s a craft he takes day by day.
“I just love shooting pucks,” Stengrim said. “It’s something I’ve worked on for years now, and obviously it’s great to see when they find the back of the net.
“It’s not always shooting pucks to just shoot pucks. Even when you’re on the ice, or off the ice shooting, it’s finding that routine where you might not have it always settled right away, and then just let it fly when you see the opportunity.”
It wasn’t that long ago Stengrim was playing on the other side of the puck, suiting up on defence until he was 14. Instead of using his size to push forwards out of the front of the crease, he switched to forward when his team needed more scoring, and since then he’s been able to use his frame to win those battles against his former defensive brethren.
“I was always bigger, I was always a big kid and then kind of as I got older, I thinned out a little bit, too, and those inches helped, too,” Stengrim said. “So I’ve always kind of been a big guy.”
With two more games left on the regular season slate for the Tigers, starting tonight in Red Deer against the Rebels, the playoffs are closer than they appear. He got a taste of post-season play last year in the USHL with the Youngstown Phantoms, tallying an assist in three postseason games.
With his first look at the WHL playoffs a week away, Stengrim’s ready for the challenge and continuing to win on the little things.
“We’ve been talking about playoffs since August so it’s been good and I’m just super pumped to get going here,” Stengrim said. “We still have this weekend, so that’s what we’re focused on right now.”
