Five minutes left.


“I remember the play exactly,” said Quenneville. “I kind of got the puck off the half-wall and (Tristen) Nielsen, on the Calgary Hitmen at the time, kind of tried to jam me at the top so I slid it to the middle and Jimmy (Hamblin) chipped it across to (Ryan) Chyzowski, and Chyz obviously put it home. As soon as it hit the back of the net, I knew that was the point to secure the record. With everyone looking around in the rink and with my reaction, I think everybody knew how excited I was. That was one of the most special days of my whole life and something I’ll never forget.”


The road to that moment started the very first day Quenneville stepped into The Arena — where he’d spend his rookie season before the team transitioned into its new home at the Canalta Centre. Walking down the hall to the team’s dressing room for the first time, Quenneville looked over the seemingly endless list of names on the team’s wall of honour. Names like Tom Lysiak and Lanny McDonald. Names like Kris Russell.


“Walking into the old Arena was electric, seeing all the all-time leaders and all-time greatest players to ever wear the Tigers jersey. It was something you always wanted to strive for — you’d kind of joke around about trying to be on that wall. I hope that’s something they can continue at the Canalta with those white walls leading down to the dressing room,” he said. “It was a goal right from when you’re 16. Sometimes it seems so far away, but if you just stick with the process and continue to work and continue to get better — like Shaun (Clouston) and Joe (Frazer, coaches) preached every day to us — it was something I knew I could achieve. Then crazy enough, four years later in February when I achieved that goal, it was pretty special knowing I’ll be in Tigers history forever.”


The 5-foot-8, 187-pound blueliner ended up pushing the record to where it stands now at 214 points with 69 goals and 145 assists over a 251-game career with the Tigers.


Quenneville signed an entry- level contract with the New York Islanders following that season and immediately transitioned into a professional career. Now 21, Quenneville spent the first part of the 2019-20 campaign bouncing between New York's American Hockey League affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers and the ECHL’s Worcester Railers — but he always finds himself reminiscing about those days in orange and black.


“It’s something I’ve never stopped doing. I think the best four years of my life were in Medicine Hat,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had as much fun playing hockey. Medicine Hat holds a really special place in my heart. We didn’t always have winning seasons, (in 2015-16) we had kind of a down year with a lot of guys moving on, but my time in Medicine Hat is so special to me … Growing up as a young kid in Canada, the dream is to make it to the NHL, but for me that dream started out playing junior hockey and playing in the Western Hockey League.”


Quenneville added he credits a great deal of his development — both on the ice and in the community — to the Tigers organization and all those involved in day-to-day operations, from his teammates and the coaches to his billets and the fans.


“Being a Tiger kind of shaped the way I was able to become a pro. Without Medicine Hat and without the success I had, we’re not having this conversation about how pro has been and how pro is going. It really prepared me, just the hardships and the growing pains you go


through as young guys, and understanding what it takes, and the preparation and what you have to do without really missing a beat,” said Quenneville, adding Frazer and Clouston always preached the importance of being a good person as much as being a hard-working player.


“I think that goes such a long way, especially at pro where sometimes you may not agree with the coach or what’s going on, but at the same time it’s all about the team winning … I think that was always what was preached in Medicine Hat — if the team’s winning, that’s when guys are going to have their individual success and it’s true.”


While the Tigers


provided him with a path to a professional career, Quenneville says his road to the WHL was shaped by his two older brothers, Peter and John — both of whom played their junior careers with the Brandon Wheat Kings.


John has spent time with the New Jersey Devils and is currently playing with the


AHL’s Rockford IceHogs, while Peter was recently named captain of the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush. Their careers don’t allow them to see each other too often, but Quenneville can often be found praising his brothers on Twitter and says they always manage to keep tabs on each other — even if just to exchange a few light-hearted jabs.


“Me, John and Pete have always stayed really close and always stayed in touch during the season. We’re very dialed in with watching each other’s games and


Celebrating 50 Yeas | 13


kind of tracking how each brother is doing,” he said. “I would never be anywhere close to where I am without Peter and John. They laid the groundwork with the mistakes they made and their learning experiences that kind of helped me grow. John’s got the WHL championship on me, but neither of those two are all-time leading scorers for the Wheat Kings, so I’ve got that on those two.”


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