TIGERS WHL PREVIEW


Fans should continue to expect great things from the Tigers


Willie Desjardins may no longer be with the Medicine Hat Tigers, but fans of the local WHL club should still expect great things from the team. When Desjardins stepped


down as the club’s head coach and general manager on July 13 to become an associate coach with the NHL’s Dallas Stars, there seemed to be a bit of panic amongst the fans in Orange County. Even at a local dentist offi ce the day of Desjardins’ farewell


vast experience, there’s a good chance Tigers fans will be happy with the job McEwen does. From 2003 up to July 13, Clouston was basically Desjardins’ right-hand man. He has been ready to become a head coach in the WHL for a number of years, and Tigers owners Darrell and Brent Maser should be given full credit for their part in keeping Clouston a part of the team.


As the years went on, Darren Steinke Sports Reporter


press conference, there was a woman that broke down in tears upon seeing the Tigers logo and sobbed, “Willie’s leaving.” The reaction should have been expected. During his eight years guiding the team, Desjardins became the Tigers all-time leader in regular season wins posting a career 323-176-60 record. The team won league titles in 2004 and 2007 and graduated a host of players to the professional ranks. It could be argued that


Desjardins had enough security in Medicine Hat that he could have become the Gas City equivalent of legendary Ottawa 67s head coach Brian Kilrea. If he wanted to, Desjardins could have been the Tigers head coach and general manager until he retired. Tigers fans will likely learn that the world didn’t come to an end on July 13, and the team will be in good hands under general manager Brad McEwen and head coach Shaun Clouston. McEwen has done this song and dance before in the league. He is best known for his time guiding the Swift Current Broncos as head coach and general manager. He held both those titles from 2000 to 2003, while he was just the club’s GM in the 2003-04 campaign. Following the 2001-02 season, McEwen won the Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy as the league’s executive of the year. The only reason McEwen departed Swift Current was he hit a situation where the team didn’t win enough. McEwen is mature enough to know that is the nature of his business and in most cases, your lifespan with a team does run its course. He isn’t going to be phased about following Desjardins as far as the general manager’s role is concerned, and with his


,


Desjardins kept giving Clouston and assistant coach Darren Kruger increased responsibilities in the coaching department, so business should go on pretty much as normal in that area. Besides having McEwen and Clouston around, the Tigers roster will be stocked with a whole host of talented players this season, who should supply many great moments at The Arena. Tyler Bunz is a legitimate elite goaltender with great athletic ability. Emerson Etem, a fi rst round draft choice of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, is blessed with a whole host of skill and is worth the admission price for a game on most nights. Newcoming forward Tyler Pitlick has the potential to be an amazing one-year sensation before departing to the Edmonton Oilers system. Swedish defenceman Sebastian Owuya, who is a draft selection of the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers, looks like he will succeed Czech graduate Tomas Kundratek in being an import that brings a physical presence to the blue- line. Steady veterans like Linden Vey


and Matthew Konan will also be back in action. Others like Kale Kessy and Scott McKay will likely fl ourish with increased roles, and rookie Hunter Shinkaruk seems ready to prove he can overcome missing most of a hockey season with a broken leg.


The good times for the Tigers


don’t look to be ending any time soon. The fans would be well advised to sit back and enjoy the fun. Darren Steinke covers the


Medicine Hat Tigers for the News. He can be reached via email at dsteinke@medicinehatnews.com.


Saturday, September 25, 2010 — THE MEDICINE HAT NEWS


Defence Comes of Age


SEAN ROONEY srooney@medicinehatnews.com


When the Medicine Hat


Tigers last made a run at a Memorial Cup, they had a dream defensive corps. This year’s group wouldn’t mind following in their footsteps.


The 2006-07 roster had it all.


Kris Russell the MVP-calibre playmaker, big but quick guys like David Schlemko, Gord Baldwin and Jordan Bendfeld, promising youngsters Mark Isherwood and Shayne Brown. They added New York Rangers prospect Michael Sauer at Christmas, and hard-nosed local forward Jerrid Sauer platooned on the blue line by the end of the year. Russell, Schlemko and


Michael Sauer have all since played in the NHL. Bendfeld, Baldwin and Isherwood join them at pro camps this fall. All Glass managed was a Memorial Cup win with Spokane the following year, and Jerrid Sauer fared well in university hockey. While there’s no doubt the exposure of that year’s WHL championship campaign helped open doors for some players, this year’s crew is already knocking and would like nothing better than to march right on through. “It can be (as good as ‘06-


07),” said Tigers assistant coach Darren Kruger. “It’s going to be really hard to beat that corps, two guys are playing in the NHL right now off that corps and (three) more are in the AHL. That was a defensive corps you don’t see too often. “We think we can maybe do something special here, but it’s going to come at a price with hard work.” The pedigree is certainly


there. Jace Coyle already has a contract with Dallas but there’s a chance he’ll be sent back to Medicine Hat. Newcomer Sebastian Owuya went to Atlanta Thrashers camp in the preseason and Matt Konan has been to camps with Anaheim and Los Angeles over the past year. Throw in solid 20-year-


old Thomas Carr, returning starters Scott McKay and Dylan Busenius and young, offensively-minded Patrik Parkkonen of Finland and you have reason to start thinking big. “It’s the best talent we’ve had so far in my past four years here,” said Konan, a 6-foot-3, 188-pound player from California. “Seeing all the good talent we have on our team, we’re working hard and I think we’re going to have a great season.” Their preseason exploits


3


NEWS PHOTO EMMA BENNETT - Tigers defenceman Thomas Carr is in his 20-year-old season and will be counted on.


may have been a sign of what’s to come. Though rosters are vastly different from training camp to regular season for all teams, the Tigers let up one goal in each of their last fi ve games. You can’t credit that statistic entirely on the blue- liners, but there’s a feeling the unit is already starting to jel. “I think there’s a lot more


energy,” said McKay, who’s 18 and from Calgary. “The guys are a lot stronger together — not that we weren’t last year but guys have clicked. “I think there’s a lot of


character back there, we have a lot of energy guys. We obviously have a lot of defensive knowledge, we move with the puck and I think the whole defensive corps are really good skaters.” If you go by shared


experience, the pairings are obvious. McKay spent a lot of time with 17-year-old Busenius in the exhibition season, while 20-year-olds Konan and Coyle and Europeans Owuya and Parkkonen are natural choices. Carr’s a top-line guy who could either replace a pro-bound Coyle or make for some tough decisions. It would be a good problem to have. “All the guys are close, it’s a tight-knit group so it helps a lot on the ice,” said Konan. “We’re reading each other, feeding off each other. “We know each other, we’re


best friends. It helps a lot.” That’s certainly the case with McKay and Busenius, two guys who essentially came to the WHL at the same time and now have a year under their belts. McKay, 6-feet and 186 pounds from Calgary, played in 47 regular season and all 12 playoff games for the Tigers last season. Busenius, 6-foot-1, 183 from Sherwood Park, saw action in 39 regular season contests. “We went through the same thing last year, went to school and the same classes,” said McKay, who dropped seven pounds and came to camp in excellent shape. “It’s been great for both of us.” It all adds up to high expectations. “It should be like that,” said


Kruger. “We shouldn’t be giving up — with the D corps we’ve got in — one, two, at the most three goals a game. We expect nothing less from those guys.”


JAJACE COYLE CE COYLE


POSITION: D HT: 6’0” WT: 188 D.O.B MAY/24/1990 HOMETOWN: CRANBROOK, BC 09/10 SEASON: MEDICINE HAT TIGERS LEAGUE: WHL GP: 68 G: 10 A: 36 PTS: 46 PIM: 64 DRAFT: SIGN DAL 10


cole grba


cole grbavac


POSITION: rw HT: 6’2” WT: 200 D.O.B jul/20/1991 HOMETOWN: calgary, ab 09/10 SEASON: medicine hat / kamloops LEAGUE: whl GP: 41 G: 02 A: 04 PTS: 06 PIM: 56 DRAFT: Free agent


Patty Horner


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