Tigers cut IR in half

The Medicine Hat Tigers cut their injured reserve in half this week, bringing a trio of players back into their roster with just eight games left before playoffs.

Forward Hayden Ostir and defenceman Kristians Rubins returned to the lineup for Tuesday’s 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings, and Linus Nassen will join them for Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. game against the Red Deer Rebels at the Canalta Centre — giving the trio just enough time to get their feet back under them before playoffs after missing a combined 66 games.

“It’s exciting to see key players, older players, veteran players that we’re going to need to count on to have success, it’s great to see those guys back,” said Tigers head coach Shaun Clouston. “It was just great to see the depth, I suppose especially on the back end because we lost like a third of the lineup.”

Ostir was absent from the lineup for nearly half the season after suffering a hand injury in December and missing the next 32 games, but Clouston says the 18-year-old winger looked good in his return, as did Rubins — who missed eight games with a wrist injury on the back end.

“I thought they both played real well,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a bit of a challenge for both of them to get right back to feeling 100 per cent on top of their game but it was a great start.”

The Tigers are still without star centre Mason Shaw, goaltender Jordan Hollett and defenceman Joel Craven, but Clouston says there is a chance Hollett and Craven, if not all three, could get in a few games before the post-season.

Shaw has been practising with the team and is hoping to be cleared for contact when the Wild draft pick makes another trip to Minnesota this month.

“He looks like he could play, for sure, we just want to make sure he’s done everything he possibly can and the doctors and people in Minnesota are confident and comfortable with him returning to play,” said Clouston.

Hollett, a Senators draft pick, is also expected to visit Ottawa before returning to the ice. Kaeden Lane will remain as backup until next week, when Garin Bjorklund will step in to fill the role until Hollett returns.