Cessford sniper off to strong start in 2nd WHL season
Alberta Newspaper Group
“There’s something in the water in Cessford.”
That was Medicine Hat Tigers’ broadcaster Gino De Paoli’s call after forward Shane Smith scored his sixth goal of the season Saturday night in a 4-2 loss against the Moose Jaw Warriors at Co-op Place. The goal extended Smith’s point streak to seven games, giving him an offensive stat in each of the Tigers’ games to start the year.
It’s a start that Smith says he feels good about. “Obviously I’m pretty thankful to be on the line I am and getting time on special teams, I’m really grateful for that,” Smith said. “It’s really exciting to see all the hard work I’ve put into the offseason and to finally get rewarded for that, it’s been really good and I hope to keep it going.”
The 18-year-old Cessford, Alta. product has six goals and eight points in the first seven games of the season, two coming on the power play and another while shorthanded. At the same time last season, Smith had four goals in seven games, with three coming in a hat-trick performance on the road against the Tri-City Americans and the solo marker being his first WHL goal.
Smith’s first offensive flex in the WHL came on that U.S. road trip to start the season last year. Now, as they get set to embark on their first B.C. road trip since the 2019 season and looking back on that time to where he is now, Smith takes pride in the strides he’s made and he is enjoying the ride.
“It’s fun to look back and to see the progress I’ve made and then to realize, hard work pays off – that’s really special to me,” Smith said. “What I remember of that trip is that it was just really fun and it’s really great to get the opportunity to go on a long road trip to be with the team.
“That being said, it’s a business trip. We’re going there to get five wins. So I’m definitely looking forward to it, it’s a lot of fun out there.”
He’s expecting a full squad of family and friends from Vancouver at the game against the Giants on Oct. 18.
Smith draws into a lot of scenarios throughout a game besides even strength, he’s often the first forward over the boards for the penalty alongside Hunter St. Martin and is on the second power play unit looking for loose pucks or an open shooting lane.
Assistant coach Josh Maser works closely with Smith as he stands on the forwards side of the bench during games and is Medicine Hat’s penalty kill coach. He says Smith has been a good leader this year with a winning attitude.
“He finds a way to get to the net, he’s a hard player to play against and he finds a way to score goals, he’s got a knack for that,” Maser said. “He never cheats though, he’s always in proper defensive structures.”
Smith credits a lot of his success at even strength to his linemates, Brayden Boehm and St. Martin. Boehm has two goals and five points and St. Martin has added a goal and three points so far this season. All three are on the PK and power play, forming a trio associate coach Joe Frazer says they’ve come to rely on.
“That line is the one we show a lot on video of the structure and how we want to play,” Frazer said. “You know what you’re going to get every night, and as coaches that’s what you want. When you come into a game and know what players are going to give you, that gives you confidence. That line has been outstanding.”