Tigers trim roster but overage situation still looms
On a day the Medicine Hat Tigers’ roster got a bit more clear, there still wasn’t much news on the final big pieces of the puzzle.
Medicine Hat released 17year-old goalie Gavin Bjorklund back to the midget AAA Calgary Buffaloes, predictably sticking with veteran Jordan Hollett and import Mads Søgaard. The Tigers also sent forward Nick McCarry back to his midget AAA team, the Calgary Northstars.
“It wasn’t an easy decision, obviously Garin going back... he’s a No. 1 draft pick, he showed everything that entails,” said assistant coach Ryan Smith. “With Jordan coming back from Ottawa, he’s obviously the No. 1 going in and he’s shown that. Mads coming over, he’s got some experience at the world junior level, he’s got experience over here in the North American league and played well in exhibition.
“We’re in a good spot as an organization. We’ve got three or four goalies, some younger guys coming up. It’s an important position, that goes without saying, but that’s just the way it went that we went with a couple older guys. Garin, he needs to see minutes. He’s a big part of the future here.”
The larger questions surrounding the team’s overagers won’t be answered until the team knows who’s coming back from pro camps, if anyone.
For now, Ryan Jevne and Dalton Gally are the 20-yearolds in the room, and Jevne said he’s tried not to think too much about what might happen if more than one of Dylan MacPherson, Linus Nassen, David Quenneville or Mason Shaw return. The team can only keep a total of three overagers in the long run.
“You can’t really worry about it too much because for the most part it’s out of your control,” said Jevne. “You know the coaches are going to make the decision whatever makes the team best, so if you want to be in that position you’ve got to come out and perform, hopefully they choose you.
“If not, sometimes you’ll get an opportunity with another team, or if that’s the end of the road for you then you’ve got to embrace it, see where life takes you.”
Smith said both Jevne and Gally have dealt well with what’s certainly a stressful situation.
“It’s a hard situation for those guys because of the uncertainty — are some of these guys comng back, are they not? I thought the two guys have handled it quite well here,” said the assistant coach. “Dalton’s played outstanding, blocked eight shots, had eight hits in Lethbridge, logged 30 minutes. Ryan’s one of our leaders, he’s been here for a long, long time and knows how to play Medicine Hat Tiger hockey.”
Nobody with the Tigers seems to think Quenneville (New York Islanders) or Shaw (Minnesota Wild) will be back, but of course it’s never a sure thing until it’s official. Quenneville was assigned to the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, Conn. Monday, while Shaw was similarly sent to the Wild’s affiliate in Iowa Saturday. MacPherson and Nassen remain with Florida’s affiliate in Springfield, Mass., and it seems anybody’s guess whether they’ll stay there or be sent back for a final year of major-junior. Springfield begins its pre-season Saturday.
“All indications from their side is they like what they’re doing, they’re having strong camps... they’re playing it day-by-day,” said Smith. “What happens up in Florida will dictate what happens with those two.
“The longer they stay, the better and when they come back, the door will be open for sure.”
All that means is that while Jevne and Gally focus on the here and now, they’ve got to be ready for big changes at the drop of a hat. For Jevne that means already thinking ahead to his post-hockey life, which is fitting as the team bus heads to his home town in Edmonton tonight for a game against the Oil Kings.
“You’ve got to have a backup plan. For everyone, school’s the first option with our scholarship program, it’s paid for and it makes sense to go to school,” said Jevne, who had a goal and an assist in the first game of the season Friday in Lethbridge. “As far as figuring out what you want to do, that’s the hard part; there’s a lot of choices you have to make.”
Since MacPherson and Nassen both play defence, it stands to reason a blueliner like Gally would be affected more by their return. Even now, the back end is impacted as younger players get more ice time in their absence.
“It’s been awesome, obviously we’re missing some of the older guys and we could use them in our lineup, but as of right now it’s a good opportunity for us young guys, we need to take advantage of it,” said 17-year-old Daniel Baker. “Because lots of us are so young there’s lots of nerves, so just getting the nerves out will be good going forward.”
Baker’s not a raw rookie, having played 13 games last season including two in the playoffs. But he knows now’s a great time to show what he can do and facing a team he’s familiar with could help.
“I know a bunch of guys on (the Oil Kings), one of my best friends is on that team, David Kope,” said the Edmonton native. “It’s a lot of fun playing them so I’m excited.”
Edmonton started with a home-and-home sweep of Red Deer and features a maturing lineup plus new head coach Brad Lauer. Medicine Hat split with highly-touted Lethbridge and heads from Edmonton to Prince Albert for a game Friday and Saskatoon Saturday. Their next home game is against the Raiders next Wednesday.
“You can’t really worry about it too much because for the most part it’s out of your control.”
– Ryan Jevne