Regina native excels with Medicine Hat Tigers
Forward’s two goals lift visiting Tigers to 6-2 triumph
There’s no place like home for Cole Sillinger.
The 16-year-old Reginan made a triumphant return on Friday night, notching two goals and one assist for the Medicine Hat Tigers in a 6-2 win over the Regina Pats before 4,111 fans at the Brandt Centre.
Sillinger has enjoyed an impressive start to his rookie campaign, leading Medicine Hat with four goals and seven points in seven games.
However, Friday’s first-star effort was an obvious highlight.
“You have to treat every game the same but, when you’re playing in Regina, it’s home to me ... so you have to give a little extra,” said Sillinger, who had a large group of family and friends cheering him on.
“Regina is always a big game for me. I had a couple games under my belt here last year (as an underage call-up) and in the pre-season but it’s always good to come home.”
Sillinger, a former star with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians, was expected to be a high-end talent after being selected in the first round (11th overall) in the 2018 bantam draft.
That said, he’s already taking it to another level.
The young forward shoots the puck like a man and looked like the best player on the ice in Friday’s game despite being one of the youngest.
“I think the biggest compliment — and I’ve said it before — is that I don’t think he’s a 16-year-old,” offered Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins. “He looks like he’s 18. He’s strong, he plays hard, he’s not scared. He works hard. (There’s) lots of really good qualities in his game.
“He just doesn’t play like he’s 16.”
In fact, you might say he’s a chip off the old block.
“His dad was a heck of a hockey player,” Desjardins said of Mike Sillinger, a former NHLER and one of the Pats’ all-time greats. “They play the game right. One thing about Cole that I’ll say is, his parents did a great job raising him. He’ll do all the little stuff. Some guys are scorers and they think they shouldn’t do that. He’s not like that. He’s a real humble kid and they did a great job.”
Even the Pats were impressed. “He’s a very hungry player,” said Pats coach Dave Struch. “He wants the puck, he wants to play hard. He plays with lots of courage, he plays fast and he can shoot the puck.
“There’s lots of things to his game that are high-end and he adds to the depth of that team as a young kid. He plays a lot of big minutes for them and it’s a credit to him.”