Tiger Turf

Tigers Defeat Raiders 3-1

2012-02-11T14:20:00.003-07:00

Curtis Valk was a scratch. Tigers mentioned it was just a day to day thing and might be back for Sunday's game against Brandon.

I thought the Tigers came out really hard on Friday. They didnt take P.A lightly and played an excellent first period of hockey.

You could tell that Rhyse Dieno looked pumped for tonights game. On his twitter feed he said his family was in town for the weekend and he was playing with some extra jump in his step.

Both Dieno and Alex Theriau have stepped up their game lately. Both players are on 2 game goal scoring streaks and each have 3 points in their last 2 games.

Emerson Etem looked pretty charged at the beggining of the game in search of his 50th. The Raiders were shadowing him closely all night. Etem still had a few chances to pot that 50th.

The Raiders coach looked determined to prevent Etem's 50th as He choose not to pull his goaltender late in the game When Etem was on the Ice.

I thought the Raiders Netminder Cole Holowenko played a very strong game in net as did Tyler Bunz, it was a goaltenders battle out their.

Next game at Home against Brandon

Tigers Defeat Hitmen 5-3

2012-02-07T21:40:00.003-07:00

Short Recap.

I thought the Tigers were lucky tonight. The Hitmen played a very good road game, and took it to the Tigers for long periods of play. Hitmen outshot them 43-24.

I thought the Tigers played with some really good discipline in the third period staying out of the penalty box, and after Cole Grbavac scored the game winning goal, the Tigers found new life and played their best hockey of the game.

Alex Theriau scored his first goal of the season. Rhyse Dieno scored his second goal of the season. Trevor Cox got his 8th of the season.....Cole Grbavac got his 9th of the season, Etem got his 49th of the season.

I thought the Hitmen improved over the last time the Tigers played them. Bunz played real well and the Tigers got scoring from everyone.

Etem came oh so close twice at the empty net for his attempt at getting 50 but just missed. Tyler Bunz also took a shot at the empty net and Boston Leier cut short his shot that looked destined to fall a little short.

This is a huge win in the standings, as it vaults the Tigers 3 points ahead of the hitmen with a game in hand, and 4 points ahead of kootenay with 2 games in hand.

The Tigers are tied with Moose Jaw with 70 points however due to the conference lineup they'll remain in 3rd untill a team passes them or they can pass Edmonton who has 2 games in hand and 6 points.

The Hitmen play Edmonton Tomorrow night. The Tigers are off untill Friday when they face the Prince Albert Raiders again at home.

Hurley Suspended For 6 Games

2012-02-07T12:18:00.003-07:00

2/07/12 Brendan Hurley Medicne Hat Six games for cfb major and g.m. at Saskatoon on February 4
• The player checked the opponent, who was in a vulnerable position, from behind.
• The opponent was injured on the play
• The player has received several checking from behind penalties this season

-From the whl website

http://www.whl.ca/page/WHL-discipline

EDIT February 8th, 2012http://www.thestarphoenix.com/sports/Blades+captain+indefinitely/6117715/story.html

The saskatoon article says Duncan Siemens has a concussion and the blades will keep him out of the lineuup untill he is symptom free for 2 weeks.

Tigers Skill Competition

2012-02-05T19:32:00.003-07:00

The Tigers for the first time ever are putting on a Medicine Hat Tigers Skill Competition. The Event will be held February 23rd from 7:00 to 8:30

- The following information was taken from twitter feeds involving the Tigers.

Reports are saying that Tyler Bunz was largely involved in helping set this event up. Long-time Billet Sue Larock has been battling multiple sclerosis.

"We know Sue (Larock) pretty well," said Bunz. "She is a great Lady She has had a lot of players come through. "If we can help her out one step at a time, it is one step in the right direction."

Tickets are only 5$ and all the money will be going to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.

Tigers Beat Up Blades 7-2

2012-02-04T19:43:00.005-07:00

Tigers got off to a great start in this game. They played a very strong defensive game for the first ten minutes, and scored 2 goals in the early going from SHinkaruk and Valk.

The blades got back into the game after the Tigers got into some penalty troubles. Brenden Hurley got booted from the game after throwing a hit from behind on Saskatoon's Duncan Siemens. Siemens didn't return to the game.

Hurkey and Siemens were racing to the puck in the blades end and Hurley dumped the puck in. As Siemens gained possesion Hurley turned his left shoulder and followed through with his momentum, hitting siemens high on the back.

It was a very similar hit to the one Busenius took later in the third period where no call was made. I just checked the discipline page and it does not look like Hurley has been suspended before. 5 Minute majors are subject to be reviewed. It was a hit from behind so Hurley might potentially be looking at a game suspension or two.

In the Second Period Jayden Hart and Hunter Shinkaruk scored goals.

In the third period Shinkaruk completed his hat-trick, Valk scored his second, and Boston Leier scored his 10th of the season.

Thoughts

The Tigers powerplay continues to play well as the Tigers went 2/2 on the PP. Their powerplay has now creeped to 5th overall in the league. Their PK unfortunately has went the other way and has slid down to 15th

I thought defensively the Tigers took some baby steps in the right direction. The blades did however fire 43 shots on net, but I thought the Tigers did a little better job in their positioning. Their were still instances where they can improve upon like when Grbavac, Bettauer, and Konan got caught in a corner on the penalty kill leaving the slot wide open for Lukas Sutter. But overall they took some baby steps forward in their own end.

Curtis Valk undressed 15 year old defenseman Nelson Nogier scoring another highlight reel goal.

I've liked the play of Mckay,Hurley,Hart line they have managed to create some offense and points in the last two games.. Deino took over Hurley's spot tonight after he was booted out.

Jayden Hart scored his 2nd goal in as many nights with a sweet perfectly placed wrist shot....Would like to keep seeing that from him.

I thought Busenius had a tough night taking 2 penalties and a high hit, and James Bettauer made a couple booboos with the puck in his zone.

The Tigers are now 8-2 in their last ten games. The win keeps the Tigers 3 points over saskatoon in the standings.

The Tigers next game in on Tuesday at home against the Hitmen. This will be a good test to see if the Tigers have improved upon their last meeting where Calgary defeated the Tigers 5-2

Tigers Defeat Raiders 3-2

2012-02-03T20:25:00.016-07:00

Bunz Gets Record
Forgot to mention this yesterday but with the Win over P.A Tyler Bunz becomes the Tiger's all-time regular season wins leader. Bunz was wearing some new pads for the game.

I thought the game was a real battle for both teams. The Tigers played hard for 60 minutes, and the raiders also came to play. I thought The reffing favored the Tigers as they got away with a couple borderline calls and called the Raiders on a few borderline calls.

Bunz looked pretty sharp tonight stopping 26 of 28 shots for the win.

First Period
NO goals. Both teams came out with a high tempo game. I thought the Tigers weathered the P.A game and got a bunch of scoring chances early.

Second Period
The Raiders get on the board first. Off the Faceoff the puck came out to Raiders Defenceman Harrison Ruopp...Ruopp had some time and space to get a good shot off. It might have been deflected, there was traffic in front and it beat Bunz (looked like blocker side) 1-0 Raiders

Off the cycle Scott mckay dropped a puck along the boards for Jayden Heart. Hart had a tiny bit of room and walked off the halfwall and fired a shot over the shoulder of Raiders Goaltender Cole Holowenko. 1-1 TIE

The raiders would take a tripping penalty late in the 2nd period

3rd Period
On the Powerplay some very quick movement from the Tigers. THey passed the puck down low to hunter shinaruk at the side of the net who did a 180 (in front of the net wrap around and scored past the outstretched pads of the raiders goaltender) 2-1 Tigers

The Tigers would strike again on the Powerplay. Hunter Shinkaruk helped create a turnover checking Tyler Yaworksi down low. Yaworksi accidentally backhanded the puck right out in front where Emerson Etem said thank you very much and shot the puck over Cole Holowenko's shoulder blocker side. 3-1 Tigers

The Raiders would respond on a powerplay of thier own. Boston Leier slewfooted a raider player along the halfwall and lost control of his stick as it struck a raider player in the face.

Mark Mcneil made a great Individual effort, as James Bettauer was a little too deep in his own end and made a mistake of skating forwards to meet Mcneil. Mcneil recognized this and cut to the middle. Bredo tried to put a stick on him and almost succeeded but Mcneil lmade a great play to cut in front of the net to take a shot and get his own rebound past Tyler Bunz outstretched pad. 3-2 Tigers

The game got a little chippy after that. Josh Morrisey took a run at hunter Shinkaruk and Alex Theriau said no you arn't allowed to do that. He dropped his gloves and the two almost immediately fell to the ice...the refs called it roughing.

A couple minutes later the Tigers were going to get a penalty and I dont think Patrik Parkkonen recognized this as he took a shot on net just as the ref blew the whistle. This created a scrum along the boards and Cole Grbavac and Harrison Ruopp ended up squaring off to fight.

THe fight was mostly grbavac as he threw a bunch of punches and dodged the couple that ruopp threw. Gravac landed a couple so I give the decision to Grbavac.

Thoughts
The Tigers played real well in the neutral zone and in the offensive zone. I think their neutral zone play limited the Raiders chances, however their defensive zone coverage still needs work(not neccessarily just the Dman, moreso the forwards). The Tigers played with a strong 60 minute effort that prevented a lot of chances, but against a top team they may have some work still to do.

I am happy with the Tigers effort tonight as the Raiders played pretty hard. The Tigers responded equally as hard, and Bunz looked really sharp.

One of my notes I took said Mckay, Hurley and Hart created some good offense...and ten minutes later hart scored a goal.

Matt Konan played inspired hockey. He was on his game defensively. Bettauer needs to step his defensive game up a notch. Also Spencer Jensen is impressing me a lot lately. He does a lot of the small things right...Its way to early but at this point I'd say he might be draft material next season...he shows some smarts and skill.

Alex Theriau had an up and down game he was undressed by P.A raider Anthony Bardaro but made up for it sticking up For Hunter Shnkaruk when he was crunched and challenged Antoine Corbin to a fight.

Reffing Controversy?
After the game Raiders GM Bruno Campese had some words for the officiating they have received recently. I thought in tonights game the Raiders seemed to get the short end of the stick on some calls. No doubt he will receive a call from the league, but after watching the game on the webcast at least for this game I can see why he was frustrated.

Rebels Defeat Tigers 6-3

2012-01-31T21:35:00.004-07:00

Not a good game to watch from a Tigers point of View.
Too many turnovers and Bad Decisions. You can't blame your goaltender when your team is giving up 40+ shots.

Bright Spots
I thought Spenser Jensen and Patrik Parkkonen played pretty well, and Emerson Etem of course scoring a hat-trick. 3 Goals away from 50 and 5 points back from the whl scoring leader Ty Rattie.

Also Boston Leier had a pretty good game scoring a decisive win in a fight vs Rebel Cory Millette.

I 100% agreed with Emerson Etem's Comments on the Radio after the game saying each player needs to be accountable, whether it be thier pre-game routine, preparation, or sleep patterns and work on doing all the small things right.

The Rebels dressed a young 15 year old Haydn Fleury. He saw some ice time in the first period alongside Alex Petrovic, but didn't see much ice after that. The Rebels were missing Mathew Dumba who is away at the top prospects game, and 3 other players including Adam Kambeitz and Justin Weller

Edit
Kale Kessy is listed as out week to week on the Injury Report that Just came out today.

Hitmen Defeat the Tigers 5-2

2012-01-28T22:05:00.003-07:00

First Period
The First two Hitmen goals came off a 4 minute powerply after Matt Konan sticked a guy in the face......It was a little unfortunate because about 7 seconds prior Curtis Valk had been sneakily tripped up behind the net by Hitmen Victor Rask.

The First Hitmen goal Tyler Bunz would have liked to have back. A bad angle shot from the lower circle somehow found its way past Tyler Bunz. 2 minutes later on the same powerplay A point shot from Collin Bowman was deflected in by Danny Gayle.
2-0 Hitmen

By the end of the period the Hitmen had put on a ton of pressure and were starting to control the game.

2nd Period
The Tigers came out with a better effort. On the Powerplay James Bettauer did a nice job at getting open down low and Emerson Etem fed him a perfect cross Ice pass. Bettauer buried the one-times wrist shot scoring his 18th of the season.
2-1 Hitmen

Curtis Valk would walk out from the half wall and fed it to Emerson Etem down in the corner. Etem passed it out front and Hunter Shinkaruk managed to get a stick on it potting it into the half open cage despite being partially tied up.
2-2 TIE

Every single goal scored at ths point were powerplay goals. Tyler Lewington took a tripping penalty late in the 2nd period....dun dun dunnnnnnn......

Third Period
The Hitmen would cash in on their powerplay again, as Alex Gogolev rifled a perfect shot top corner over bunz on the short side.

WTF Just Happened
Now a very confusing scnenario happened, and I wasn't sure what happened till I re-watched the webcast....Calgary Forward Trevor Cheeck fired a shot on net from the top of the circle that handcuffed Tyler Bunz. Cheek saw the puck go in and put up his hands to celebrate however the puck would end up going completely through the net and play continued quickly up Ice.

Hunter Shinkaruk would whack a puck out of the air which was saved by the Hitmen goalie Brandon Glover......after the whistle the refs went upstairs to review the play.....everyone was a little confused as to why the Shinkaruk shot was being reviewed as it looked like a clear save (Turns out they were actually reviewing the Trevor Cheek goal).....

After the refs reviewed the play the ref signalled a goal and the arena erupted in cheers after the scoreclock operator added a goal to the Tigers side making it 3-3.

They dropped the puck and we all thought the game was tied.....half a minute later the Arena announcer says "Hitmen Goal scored by #29 Trevor Cheek....we looked up at the scoreclock and it then read 4-2 for the Hitmen......really weird play.....fans had erupted in cheers thinking it was a tie game...only moments later to see that it was the Hitmen who were credited with the goal....First time I've seen an opposition goal being cheered on by the fans ROFL.

The Tigers would pull thier goaltender but Hitmen Forward Joe Kornelson fired a rolling puck down the Ice. It looked to be going wide but curved its way right into the middle of the net. Final Score 5-2 Hitmen

Thoughts
Tyler bunz didn't have a sharp night tonight. But anytime the opposition fires more than 30 shots on net..let alone 39.....you didn't play well defensively. The Hitmen didn't play any different than what they have been playing like recently. Last week the Tigers caught them on an off game when they won 5-1... tonight the Hitmen played their systems well and played smart hockey. They dont have any stars but they are very good away from the puck at getting open and creating passing lanes.
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Miles Koules
Looks like the NCAA North Dakota Fighting Sioux is making a real strong push for Tigers Prospect Miles Koules. The Tigers recently aquired his rights at the whl trade deadline in exchanage for Reid Petryk.

According to his twitter feed he Visited North Dakota's Campus last week.....
His Twitter Profile Reads..."LA native. Hockey player for Team USA u18. North Dakota Fighting Sioux for the fall of 2012."

One of his recent Tweets...
"Great win for the Sioux last night vs Wisco. Such a fun visit. Can't wait to start playing here."

...

Tigers Destroy Canes 8-2

2012-01-27T21:21:00.005-07:00

Emerson Etem and Curtis Valk both had hat tricks tonight. Emerson Etem flew into calgary and met the team in Lethbridge for the game tonight.

Their were so many goals tonight that I'm just gonna point out some thoughts.

Curtis Valk
Curtis Valk had a really rough first period taking a hit from behind and a stick to the face early in the game. He made the Canes pay for it popping in 3 goals. (2 on the powerplay). Again this kid has really stepped his game up another notch. He takes a lot of punishment and its good to see him being rewarded for his efforts.

Kale Kessy
After Hurricanes Player Spencer Galbraith got rid of the puck at the point Kale Kessy came charging in to deliver a hit to the canes defender. Spencer Galbraith had anticipated the hit and both players had thier mitts and sticks up high. Galbraith knocked Kessy off his feet. Kessy would get up and fall over woozily before making his way to the bench. He left the game and did not return. I expect he will be out with a concussion. Tough loss for the Tigers as IMO Kessy had been turning a corner and improving quite a bit recently.

Canes bring their B game?
I thought the canes stuck with the Tigers for the first 20 minutes but for the first time we've seen them this year they didnt bring their A+ game for the full 60 minutes. Every game this year the Canes have played the Tigers extremely tough and I thought tonight the Tigers finally were able to capitalize on their scoring chances and bury their many chances they have had on Canes Goaltender Damien Ketlo.

Etem, Bettauer and Valk all had 4 point nights. The Tigers are on a 6 game winning streak.

Up Next
Tigers Next game is at Home Saturday Night vs the Surging Calgary Hitmen. With Kootenays 7-6 OT Loss to Prince Albert The TIgers take sole possesion of 3rd place...2 points back of Moose Jaw who defeated the blades 2-1..the Hitmen and Ice are 3 points back with a game in hand.

Tigers Defeat Raiders 6-5

2012-01-23T16:48:00.009-07:00

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Edit: No Recap for the P.A Game.

Kootenay Lost, and Edmonton Lost In Overtime Wednesday So the Tigers gain some ground on those two.

Etem missed the game because he went back home to California, since he missed the christmas break at world junoirs.

MH News Article
http://www.medicinehatnews.com/local-sports/nines-go-wild-for-tigers-raiders.html
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Kellan Tochkin
Prince Albert SK – The Prince Albert Raiders have announced that 20-year-old right-winger Kellan Tochkin will be out for 4-5 months with a broken wrist.

Tochkin will be seeing a specialist in Vancouver in the coming days, and is set to undergo surgery next week.

The Raiders acquired the Abbotsford, British Columbia native in late October from the Medicine Hat Tigers. In 29 games with the green and gold this season, Tochkin scored 14 goals and 15 assists for 29 points while recording a plus 7 rating. In his WHL career, the Vancouver Canucks prospect has recorded 243 points, including 91 goals and 152 assists, in 256 games.

http://www.raiderhockey.com/article/raiders-tochkin-out-4-5-months/114640

http://twitter.com/toch16

Tigers Beat up on the Hitmen 5 - 1

2012-01-18T20:37:00.007-07:00

No Recap for the Tigers Vs Bronco Game

MH News Article Link: http://www.medicinehatnews.com/local-sports
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The Calgary Hitmen came into the game with an 8 game winning streak.

First Period

Kale Kessy would get called for a phantom elbow penalty, after trying to squeeze along the boards to pick up the puck. The Tigers would kill it off.

James Bettauer fired a shot on net and Brendan Hurley was Johnny on the spot scoring on a rebound with a wide open net. 1-0 Tigers.

Second Period

The Tigers would get off to an incredible start. 11 Seconds in Shorthanded Emerson Raced down the Ice as the Hitmen won the Draw and his hard pressure forced the Hitmen defenceman back behind his net and a bad pass up the wall. Dylan Bredo scooped it up fired it back over to Etem who beat Hitmen Tender Brandon Glover blocker side. 2-0 Tigers

43 Seconds later ( 1 second after calgary;s PP expired) James Bettauer made a heads up play and fired a slap shot on calgary's net from his own Zone. GLover kicked out a huge rebound, and Curtis Valk would pick up the puck and fire a shot on net. Valk's first shot was stopped as Glover slid out of his net on the stop. Valk would pick up the uncovered puck and shoot it into the empty net. 3-0 Tigers

3 Minutes later the Hitmen would get on board. On a 4 on 4 Hunter Shinkaruk being the high forward chased his man deep into his end and it left the point slot open. Jimmy Bubnick would receive a pass and fired a one-time howitzer from the top of the circle..Bunz didnt have much chance. 3-1 Tigers

Emerson Etem would pot his 2nd of the game and 39th of the season after Picking off a pass from Hitmen Defender Peter Kostermann. Etem walked in alone and fired a shot top corner. 4-1 Tigers

From here the Tempers started to flair.

FIGHT ETEM VS RISSLING
Etem would get a chance to score driving to the net. Jaynen Rissling would finish the check after the whistle. Etem turned around and challeneged him and they dropped their gloves. Etem threw a flurry of rights and landed 1 through the face shield. Risling would adjust his position and threw a right that missed. They would fall to the Ice after Rissling threw a punch that either missed or hit the back of Etems Helmet. They would get up briefly as Etem threw a nother punch.
Largely a draw, small edge to Etem.

Hitmen Spencer Humphries would get called for cross checking after taking out Brendan Hurley. Grbavac tried to step in and challenge him but nothing happened.

Right off the Faceoff the puck went behind the Hitmen net. Kale Kessy came chargin in and caught the side of the Hitmen Goalie who came out to play the puck....and it started a big kufuffle.

Kessy threw down his gloves right away and Peter Kostermann Obliged. Kessy threw a big haymaker and that was all for that fight. WIN Kessy.

Jayden Hart was right in the middle of the Action as he had two hitmen players clawing at him. Hart would drop his gloves pretty much fighting off 2 hitmen. 1 was bear huggin him from behind the other thew down his mits and landed a shot. Grbavac came in and picked off the 2nd hitmen player who then suddenly had no more will to fight....Meanwhile Hart wrestled his man to the Ice.
...phew

3rd Period
Cole Grbavac would end his ten game goal drought. Tigers had a 2 on 2 up the Ice. Curtis Valk skated hard to the net while Grbavac slowed down just passed the blueline. Grbavac cut across the Ice and fired a top shelf shot past Brandon Glover. 5-1 Tigers

Fight
Rob Trzonski would give a little cross check to Busenius bending him over Tyler Bunz. Busenius took issue with it.

Dylan Busenius Vs Rob Trzonkowski

Busenius did a very good job at Tieing Trzonkowski up. Managed to land a couple rabbit punches to the face. Trzonski would then land a couple off the top of Busenius's helmet. Busenius would land another short punch at the end.
Decision: Busenius.

Thoughts
Tigers kept up their high energy work ethic, and took it to Calgary. Emerson Etem had about 7-8 really good scoring chances and was in the zone. Its great to see his high energy attack back. The Tigers cut down on the turnovers near the blueline, and generated 45 shots on goal.

I thought the Tigers did a really good job from the forwards scooping up loose pucks in their end and getting it out on the first chance. Defence was a little sloppy in the first period but Tyler Bunz' strong play kept the Tigers in the lead.

Curtis Valk looks like he has taken his game to another level. He has looked real dangerous on the Ice for the past few games. James Bettauer also had a really good game offensively despite only getting 1 assist.

I thought the Tigers generated quite a bit of their early offence from their defenceman who were getting pucks on net. In the first period the Defence was a little sloppy but they got much better in the 2nd and 3rd as the forwards did a great job at picking up loose pucks and creating offense out of it.

The Tigers remain in 4th with the win. Their next game is Friday on the road against Regina, and Back in the Hat Saturday against Swift Current.

Tigers Defeat Warriors 6-3

2012-01-14T22:06:00.006-07:00

Very entertaining hockey game at the Arena tonight. Tyler Bunz recorded his 100th career win.

I thought Kale Kessy had his best game of the season. Very physical and also created some offense. He played very smart, kept his energy up the whole game, and showed why he is an nhl draft pick. Oh yeah he had 2 fights and kept battling and playing tough even though he took some licks in that first fight. Earned hardest working player for sure. Good Work Kale!

Curtis Valk scored a highlight reel goal undressing warriors defenceman Dallas Ehrhardt....probably going to be on the whl plays of the week.

Jayden Hart picked up his offensive game, He drove to the net twice, and created two really good scoring chances. He managed to score on one of them as Brendan Hurley was also drving to the net creating havoc in front. I'd lke to see more of that type of stuff from Hart.

I thought Mathew Konan, and Patrik Parkkonen had very good games on the back-end.

The whole team played pretty well. It was nice to see a full 60 minute effort. Moose Jaw has some real good depth on their roster and some very big physical defenseman. The Tigers offense picked their pockets quite a few times, and created quite a few good scoring chances. They had extremely quick transition from D to O in the first period

Brendan Hurley looked much better. Finished every hit, I still see that Kootenay system ingrained in him.

The Tigers made a few too many turnovers near their blueline..they cut that down and they cut down on a lot of shots.

Tyler Bunz looked tired...but then again he faced 38 shots.

Just looked at the standings and wow. 2 points seperates 2nd from 6th.

Oil Kings Defeat Tigers 6-2

2012-01-12T21:19:00.005-07:00

The Oil Kings looked really good. They reminded me quite a bit of Tri-City. Very very quick and smart offensively. Not only using a north south game, but also combining a east west game, then hesitating when needed to find trailers and create space.

The Oil Kings were very good at using their speed, slowing down, then finding passing options. I thought they also did a very good job at blocking shots from the Tigers defenceman making it really hard for the Tigers to generate tips and rebounds.

Dylan Wruck impressed me with his cannon of a wrist shot. Mark Pysyk had a very good shift where he had an end to end rush blowing past Etem and Konan, then finding Dylan Rachinski streaking past the new Tiger Brendan Hurley covering on Defense. 3 blown coverages...can't expect to win when you play like that.

It was mentioned on the radio that the Oil Kings didn't buy this year at the trade deadline because they felt that next year will be their year.

I thought Edmonton's quickness ripped open a lot of holes and the Tigers looked uncomfortable in their own zone.

A couple bright spots I thought Etem finally looked like his old self again. Trevor Cox scored a real nice goal with some good work from Cole Grbavac. The game really didn't blow open untill the late second period. The video of this game will be a very good tutorial on being smarter defensively.

Brendan Hurley
It was obvious that he looked a little unsure of where to go at times. The systems he was used to in Kootenay are probably a complete 180 of what the Tigers use. It may take him a couple weeks to adjust.

I thought this was really the first game this season where the Tigers looked outmatched.

Moose Jaw on Saturday. Moose Jaw is just as good if not better than Edmonton

Thoughts on the Trade

2012-01-10T21:27:00.011-07:00

Essentially they traded for Hurley to replace Petryk, and traded a 3rd rounder for everett List player Miles Kouls.

Tigers are basically saying either the prices were ridiculous and we didnt want to pay them, or we are content with our history of icing good teams every year and are patient enough waiting for a couple years when the young core develops into whl stars.

This is kind of a strange year where all 3 scenarios of: standing pat, selling, or buying have validity. The only cons to staying pat is that an early playoff exit would leave the tigers saying damn we should have been sellers.

Edit: To clarify a little I think they did the right thing in not selling, despite that fans will say we shoulda been sellers, moreso if their is an early exit in the playoffs. So yeah we can be a little disapointed that their were no flashy moves, but the Tigers have a history and a certain way of doing things and they didnt deviate from the plan.

From this point out the Tigers need to concentrate on a couple things.

1. Stop bunching up in front of thier net and get better at swatting away all the rebounds. This includes the penalty kill

2. They need to be aggressive and finish their hits. No need for highlight reel hits, just make the other team know they are going to get hit.

3. Use the defenceman to create space in the offensive zone and get them shooting at the net more for rebounds and tips.

I think a 2nd round in the playoffs would be deemed a successful season. It will be interesting to see if a team like Regina or Brandon can make their was back up the standings with thier significant adds at the deadline. Tigers still have potential to do more damage if they can get consistency in scoring, I think if they hit more and use thier defenseman more they might be able to get that.

Tigers GM Brad Mcewen's thoughts on the trades
http://www.tigershockey.com/video/index/id/baf218c6dc5dcd18ed31909487c24afc

Also swamped with work and fun today, will try to give scouting reports on these players tomorow.
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EDIT TWO
Added Brendan Hurley's Twitter Link ----------------->

Also the CSS Mid-Term ranking came out today. Prior to yesterday none of the Tigers made the list.(The Tigers '94 born players have late birthdays this year, and they have no first time eligible players on the roster)

However Recently Acquired Miles Koules is on the list ranked as the 151st North American Skater

Tigers Make Second Trade

2012-01-10T15:31:00.003-07:00

Reid Petryk To Everett For Miles Koules. Koules is playing for the American Development team in the USHL. I'll digg up more info after work.

http://tigershockey.com/article/hurley-acquired-from-ice-petryk-dealt-to-everett

Tigers Make Trade

2012-01-10T14:55:00.004-07:00

Brendan Hurley from Kootenay for a 3rd round pick in 2012. hurley is an 18 year old

http://www.whl.ca/roster/show/id/656.

Rumour Tracking

2012-01-09T21:44:00.008-07:00

Two Rumours involving the Tigers have appeared on the white board.

The first one Involves Emerson Etem going to portland.
The second one has Brett Bulmer coming over from Kelowna.

Edit
Both rumours seem pretty improbable. The second rumour was proven false on the whiteboard.

Kootenay Defeat Tigers 3-1

2012-01-08T20:19:00.004-07:00

Tigers 3rd game in three nights and I thought the Tigers deserved a better fate than the score indicated. Nathan Lieuwen (Kootenay's goaltender) put up a phenominal effort. Tigers could easily of had 4 or 5 goals, Lieuwen stopped a penalty shot against Hunter Shinkaruk, and 4-5 desperation type saves, that I'm not sure on how he stopped the puck. The Kootenay players owed him for this game, he stole that victory.

I thought the Tigers were doing a much better job at finishing thier checks. I liked the Tigers penalty kill for the most part. They were more aggressive when Kootenay didn't have control of the puck, they had one lttle brain cramp where everyone collapsed to the front of the net and wasn't keeping an eye on passing lanes, but besides that 2 of the 3 PK's were well killed off.

Goal Summary

The Kootenay Ice would strike First. Tiger winger Dylan Bredo couldn't handle a good pass from James Bettauer at Center Ice. Kootenay Defender John Neibrandt would quickly feed it back up the Ice to James Martin who fed it to a streaking Brendan Hurley. The Tigers Dmen were just getting into the ice from a change and it allowed Hurley a little more room than usual. Hurley would fire a hard wrist shot low glove side past Tyler Bunz from the top of the circle.. 1-0 ICE

The Ice would strike again. I'm not sure how this goal went in but Sam Reinhart would get his own rebound and somehow lifted another backhand over Bunz....was hard to see how it went in from the video. 2-0 ICE

Tigers would get one back on the PP. James Bettauer made a nice move to avoid an oncoming player and passed the puck under a stick right on Emersons tape. Etem would cut through the middle of two defenders and shot the puck over Lieuwens shoulder to put the Tigers on the board. 2-1 ICE

Fight
Boston Leier vs Jagger Dirk

Not sure how this developed but Leier tagged Dirk with a good shot as they came together, which popped off his helmet and knocked him to his knees. Dirk managed to get up and put himself in an advantageous wrestling position, however Dirk couldnt make use of it. After some short shots missed Leier would land another good punch and they toppled over. I give this one to Boston Leier.

The TIgers took 2 unessecary penalties in the middle of the third. Grbavac would chop at a Kootenay Players feet along the boards. This penalty was killed off and a very nice job done by the Tigers penalty killers. A few minutes later Emerson Etem would bowl over Joey Leach into the Kootenay Goaltender. Emerson would go to the box for 2, and Matt Konan also got a 10 minute misconduct.

Kootenay would scored on the PP as the pass came down low to Jesse Ismond. Ismond would do a little waiting and the TIgers bunched up in front of thier net.
Ismond gave a short pass over to Elgin Pearce in the outside slot area who made no mistake putting it past Bunz. 3-1 ICE

Tigers would pull thier goaltender for a 6 on 4, but couldn't score.
---------------

Thoughts
Like I mentioned above the Tigers played a pretty good game. A couple brain cramps penalty wise in the third period, but they deserved a better fate. I was suprised to see Bunz play all 3 games this weekend. Its so hard mentally for a goalie to do that, yet he still put up a .915 save percentage.

Also here is the Gavin Broadhead vs Craig Leverton fight from Lethbridge...was a wierd start having leverton undo Broadheads chinstraps.

Tigers Defeat Rebels 3-2 OT

2012-01-07T22:08:00.008-07:00

Alex Theriau was back in the lineup tonight.

First Period

Rebels would open the scoring Shorthanded

Tyler Bunz went behind the net to play the puck and took to long to get rid of it as rebel forward Turner Elson poked it into the slot and Adam Kambeitz one-timed a howitzer into the partially open net. 1-0 Rebels

The Tigers would answer immediately.

Some good Work by Rhyse Deino finishing his check in the corner led to the Rebel player not getting good wood on a clearing attempt. Dylan Bredo picked up the puck at the top of the circle and fired it top corner blocker side on Rebel Goalie Devan Dubyk. 1-1 Tie

Second Period

It looked like the Tigers were about to get a powerplay Scott Mckay had the puck in the corner, and a rebel Defender held him up along the boards. The refs hand went up and Mckay continued with the puck along the boards for a couple seconds.

Meawhile Rhyse Deino came over to support Mckay and gave a light brush to a rebel player also involved in the battle along the boards. The rebel player Joel Hamilton turned around and asked Deino to fight which he obliged.

Both players took some damage but the Rebel player was leaking after the fight. They both connected with a haymaker at the same time. It ended with Deino uppercutting rebel Joel Hamilton with the rebels Jersey over his head.

Here is a real head scratcher. The refs gave the rebels a 2 minute powerplay. They gave Deino a phantom holding penalty, and the original penalty going to the rebel defender for holding up Mckay never got called.

A few minutes later Mathew Dumba from the Rebels got a 2 minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The replay showed dumba coming in and stopping to the right of Bunz with a Tiger player standing by. So I'm guessing that was a makeup call.

However that penalty hurt the TIgers in a big way as THe rebels scored another short-handed goal. A bit of an unlucky play as Matt Konan couldn't keep a bouncing pass in at the point. Adam Kambeitz patiently waited for another rebel Justin Weller to join him and he shot it top shelf over a desperate Bunz. It appeared to originally be just a one on one but the Tigers were too laid back getting back to their zone.

Third Period

WIth time winding down and 4:45 left in the game, Emerson Etem ripped a wrist shot low glove passed Dubyk from the top of the circle. The Tigers would put quite a bit of pressure on afterwards.

With seconds left Cole Grbavac took a tripping penalty. A rebel forward was protecing the puck along the boards. Grbavac tried to dig it out with his stick between the Rebel players feet. The rebel players smartly took off to the left which resulted in him tripping over grbavacs stick.

Overtime
The Tigers managed to do a real good job at killing off the penalty. Lots of time was spent firing the puck outta the zone. MAthew Dumba had a good chance to win with a partial open net on a one-timer but it missed the net completely.

Emerson Etem would jump on a loose puck at his own blueline. The rebel defender failed to respect Etem's speed as Etem bounced the puck off the boards and burned by him.

As Etem made his way down the Ice the other Rebel defenseman was a half step behind and Etem made good use of his body to protect the puck from the oncoming slash and instead of going five-hole shot it under Dubyks arm to win the game.

Thoughts
I thought the Tigers looked not quite right tonight, the Rebels probably deserved a better fate in the game.

I thought the reffing had an off night. I could be wrong but it kinda looked like Mathew Dumba received a 2 minute misconduct penalty for being curteous and not spreaying Tyler Bunz with Ice-chips...as well as that hold/fight incident mentioned above. Their was also another instance where scott Mckay got levelled in the head with a cross check at the same time Dylan Bredo knocked over a rebel defender in a scrum and only Bredo was called.

Emerson Etem needs to start hustling back to the bench after a play. Their has been too many times where he just stops skating and sulks back to the bench. If I was coaching that would drive me insane. He used to score a lot of goals off turnovers from very good second efforts, I'd like to see him get back to that style of play.

I liked Grbavac's increased physicality. If they all finished their checks they would get more chances like Rhyse Deino developed tonight.

Also I have kept it in for a while but I have disliked the Tigers penalty Kill. The opposition forwards have all kinds of time to set things up or clear paths to shoot. The opponents basically have a free 10 foot zone on the outside to set anything they want up, and the Tigers dont get many chances to shoot the puck down the ice. Edit: Yes I know that the Tigers PK went 4/4 tonight, more of a statement of their overall play, not just tonights game.

Trade Deadline
I think this year will be a pretty tough trade deadline for the Tigers GM. He has a team that is pretty close but needs maybe an upgrade or three to be a strong legit contender.

But the Tigers look like they have an above average 94/95 age group that has lots of potential.( 2 years down the road they could be very good)

They are the types of players who are going to be definite key players down the road, compared with the 4th line/scratch depth players/prospects who have potential but are uncertain of turning out. The developed players the Tigers have are nearly untouchable.

If your looking for some whl trade rumours check out this thread(most of its BS but interesting nonetheless.)
http://www.whlfans.ca/showthread.php?p=176402#post176402

Hurricanes Defeat Tigers 3-1

2012-01-06T21:33:00.006-07:00

Notes
Hurricanes gave the Tigers another lesson on what hard work can do. The Tigers played a really good first period but Lethbridge played some really good hockey in the last two periods.

I thought the canes played some really good defense and kept most of the Tigers chances to the outside.

The Tiger forwards weren't supporting each other in the second and third periods.

I think the biggest differences in the game is that the Tigers weren't finishing their checks, and the Canes were. It wore the Tigers down and the Canes fed off the confidence gained from it. They outhit the Tigers by a wide margin.

Emerson Etem in his first game back scored the only goal. He was also stopped on a breakaway in the game and It was interesting hearing the Canes goalie say that Etem frequently likes to go five hole and that he was watching for it. On the play Etem tried to go five-hole.

The Tigers dressed some fresh faces in Gavin Broadhead and Kyle Becker. I thought Becker looked pretty good for only his 2nd game in the whl.

Gavin Broadhead got into an interesting fight. Broadhead is wearing a full face mask so if he got into a fight he would receive an extra penalty if he took his own helmet off. Hurricane player Craig Leverton obliged him. Levington had to undo Broadheads mask straps and took off his helmt while broadhead swiped at Levingtons's helmet to partially knock his helmet off. They seperated then engaged in a fighhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gift.

Riley Sheen, Spenser Jensen, Rhyse Deino and Alex Theriau were not dressed tonight. I wasn't listening to Ridley so I'm not sure what Theriau was out for.

Tyler Bunz
It was also reported today that Tyler Bunz is being faced with 2 possible impaired driving charges in his hometown (St. Albert) from an incident in may.

He has plead not guilty to the charges.

http://www.medicinehatnews.com/front-page-news/bunz-faces-impaired-charge-from-may-01062012.html

Swift Kicks Tigers 4-2

2012-01-01T17:28:00.007-07:00

Broncos had a few key players out of the lineup tonight with injuries.

Bronco Scratches taken from: http://shawnmullin.wordpress.com
Hoban (sick), Lowry (inj), Evans (inj), Howorko (inj), Adam Smith (inj)

I thought the Tigers probably deserved a better fate tonight, but some early bounces didn't go their way. The Tigers controlled a lot of the game but ran into a hot goaltender in Jon Groenhyde.

1st Period
Tyler Bunz misplayed a long shot from Bronco Daniel Dale just inside the blueline giving the Broncos a 1-0 lead with 40 seconds left in the period. Bunz appeared to try and direct the puck into the corner but only got a peice of the puck as it slipped by him.
1-0 Broncos

2nd Period
Tigers ran into a bit of penalty trouble early in the second period. The broncos would score 2 pretty quick goals generated by the Bronco Powerplay.

The broncos maintained some strong pressure on their powerplay and just after the powerplay expired the Tigers had bunched up in front of their net and left the slot open. Graham Black fed a pass from behind the net out front and Ryon Moser made no mistake with his prime chance in front. 2-0 Broncos.
(It wasn't credited as a PP goal.)

2 minutes later the Broncos would pounce again on another powerplay. Graham Craig slapped a shot from the point with lots of traffic in front. It looked like Bunz caught a small piece of it as it trickled past him on the low glove side. 3-0 Broncos

The Tigers would pull Bunz at this point.
Seconds later Tyler Lewington and Bronco Colby Cave engaged in a fight. It was a very spirited bout both players landed some wild punches, I would call it a draw, maybe a very slight edge to the bronco player.

This seemed to wake the Tigers up a bit. Dylan Busenius threaded a nice pass over to Curtis Valk in the slot who one-timed a shot top shelf. 3-1 broncos

A few minutes later after killing off another penalty and getting a powerplay of their own. Hunter Shinakruk would walk out front and try to stuff the puck in. The rebound came out right in the slot to James Bettauer who beat a sprawling Jon Groenhyde. 3-2 Tigers.

The remainder of the period would see very strong pressure from the Tigers but Jon Groenhyde shut the door.

3rd Period
Lots of pressure from the Tigers throughout the period. I think Jon Groenhyde robbed Shinaruk twice from sure goals. The Tigers were all over the Broncos in the third. They had a handful of very good scoring chance, but could not convert anything.

The broncos Christian Magnus would score an empty netter after some hard work getting the puck out of his zone.
-------------

The bounces didn't go their way tonight. Kale Kessy looked a lot more involved in the offense tonight and had a chance or two himself. The Broncos Jon Groenhyde looked a little shaky in the third period with his rebounds but was stopping the first shots, and the Tigers couldn't take advantage of it.

Edmonton Also lost tonight so the Tigers stayed 4 points back of the Oil Kings for first in the conference.

One of the posters on the last thread mentioned the Tigers have recently listed Jared Wilson from the Calgary royals AMHL. Wilson attended the Tigers training Camp earlier this year. Wilson is a 17 year old defenceman putting up some good point totals in Midget AAA. He was also listed as the AMHL Player of the Month for November.

Tigers Defeat Canes 3-2

2011-12-30T22:00:00.004-07:00

Small Recap.

Tigers called up Gavin Broadhead for the game tonight.

I thought the Canes kinda shot themselves in the foot. The game winning goal was scored after the Hurricanes Coach Rich Preston went beaking off to the ref and got tossed. Their lack of discipline cost them the game. The Tigers scored right away on that Powerplay, and at that point it gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead.

It was nice to see some "other" goal scorers tonight with Kale Kessy, Jayden Hart, and Curtis Valk scoring goals. Jayden Hart was given a penalty shot and will probably get some ribbing from his teammates after falling over on the attempt.

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Brad McEwen
I was able to listen to the radio broadcast during one of the intermissions. One of the Questions Ridley asked Tigers GM Brad McEwen was: Are the Tigers going to be "buyers or sellers" and how did the prospects look at the macs tournament?

Paraphrasing his words...

Tiger Prospects
McEwen mentioned that he got a good viewing of quite a few Tigers prospects at the macs tournament. A couple names he mentioned that impressed were alex mobray, chad labelle, ty stanton and there was one from shattucks I didnt quite catch his name.

He also mentioned that the Tigers brought a couple players up to have some time with Tigers developmental coach Jeff Ovens.

Trading Front
Regarding the trading front McEwen mentioned along the lines that quite a few teams were still uncertain a bit into the direction they wanted to take and were kinda waiting a bit to see how things played out.

Brad McEwen didnt mention specifically that they were going to be buyers but hinted that they would look at thier prospects and depth charts see where they could strengthen an age group, but also warned that making one move doesn't guarentee a championship team.
----------

With the precedent set last year with the high prices for Cody Eakin and Brayden Schenn a couple teams who would be sellers may be trying and waiting for likewise returns on this years players.

The trading Deadline is January 10th.

Tigers Defeat Royals 4-2

2011-12-18T00:00:00.005-07:00

Last game before the Christmas break.

First Time the Royals have visited the Arena. The Tigers faced them earlier in the year where they split back to back games in Victoria.

Tonights game was also the first game without Emerson Etem in the lineup. With Etem gone a couple other players would have to step up.

I thought Hunter Shinkaruk stepped up big-time for the Tigers. He was given a ton of ice-time and played an inspired hockey game. In just his second season in the whl he is tearing up the scoresheet. Their are some players you can just tell are destined for the NHL.

I saw good things from Kale Kessy. I thought he got a couple extra scoring chances from which he positioned himself in good spots. I thought Boston Leier came out with a very strong work ethic. Rhys Deino looked like a veteran on the Ice. I liked the poise of Reid Petryk at forward.

Patrik Parkkonen looked good tonight. I liked the goal that Scott Mckay scored. It looked like Victoria's netminder Jared Rathjen had the puck covered in his pads, but Mckay gave a little poke and pushed the puck into the net.

Trevor Cox also received a lot of icetime. I remember early in the pre-season when after watching the intrasquad game he looked a little out of place. He has come a looong ways from that. This kid is gonna be a gonna be a star for the Tigers one day, his future looks really bright.

Their were two major parts where the Tigers had a little trouble in their own zone, and in one occasion it cost them a goal. With thier new style it will take some time to get the kinks out.
---------------

From Victoria's side of things. They have a couple players who can really fly and are capable of scoring against any team. However what Killed them tonight was their inability to get the puck out of thier zone. They made a number of self made errors that kept the play in their own end. The reffing didn't really go their way early on either.
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Happy Holidays Everyone!

Edit: Away on holidays...probably wont be back untill the december 30th home game.

Bunz Cut From Team Canada

2011-12-14T07:16:00.004-07:00

The Final Cuts are still being made but TSN has announced that one of the Cuts is Tyler Bunz.

Medicine Hat Tigers netminder Tyler Bunz and Louis Domingue of the Quebec Remparts were sent back to junior, leaving 2011 returnee Mark Visentin as the starting goaltender and Plymouth's Scott Wedgewood in the backup role.

On the blue line, Alex Petrovic of the Red Deer Rebels, Kitchener Rangers defenceman Ryan Murphy, Portland's Joe Morrow and Ottawa's Cody Ceci didn't make the final cut.

Ottawa 67s winger Tyler Toffoli, Portland Winterhawks Brad Ross and Ty Rattie, Michigan winger Phil Di Giuseppe, Christian Thomas of the Oshawa Generals, Victoriaville's Phillip Danault and Brett Bulmer of the Kelowna Rockets were among the forwards sent home on Wednesday morning.

http://www.tsn.ca/chl/story/?id=382708

Bunz will probably be back in Time For Tonights game. But he has played 4 games in 4 nights so it is unknown on whether or not he will play tonight.

Bunz vs CIS

2011-12-13T20:07:00.002-07:00

In the third game Bunz let in 2 goals and stopped all 4 shootout attempts. Both goals were scored on the powerplay. He played the first half of the game.

The CIS team didnt get a shot on goal untill about 8 minutes in. Moments later they had a 5 on 3 where the first goal was scored off of a deflection and the second goal was off a quick rebound in front by Former Tiger Taylor Gal.

His counterpart on the other Side Scott Wedgewood let in 3 goals and stopped all the shootout goals as well.

We will find out who makes the Team Wednesday Morning! It will be interesting, as Goalie Scott Wedgewood has played a pretty strong game as well. It appears to be a 3 horse Race

Bunz Survives First Cuts

2011-12-13T08:49:00.003-07:00

Canada's world junior team cut seven players from its selection camp in Calgary on Tuesday morning to bring its roster down to 35.

The cuts included 17-year old Red Deer defenceman Mathew Dumba, Rimouski blueliner Jerome Gauthier-Leduc, Brenden Kichton of the Spokane Chiefs, Mark McNeill of the Prince Albert Raiders, Brandon forward Michael Ferland, Saint John Sea Dogs forward Zack Phillips, and Kootenay forward Max Reinhart.

http://www.tsn.ca/chl/story/?id=382625---------------------------

No Goalies Have been cut. Final Cuts Come Wednesday Morning. Team Canada has a game tonight vs the CIS All-Stars in Calgary.

Former Tiger Devan Dubyk Goes To Red Deer

2011-12-12T21:57:00.003-07:00

The Rebels keep getting more bad news as thier #1 goaltender Patrik Bartosak is rumoured to be done for the season. He suffered an "upper body injury" in Swift Current.

The Rebels have picked up 20 year old Former Tiger Devan Dubyk who was playing for the Humboldt Broncos.
-----------------------

World Junoir Camp Update
Bunz stopped 3 of 4 shootout attempts. TSN says Bunz let in 1 goal on 28 shots, but I wondering if that was a typo for 18 shots?

"All four goaltenders played really well and I thought there was more jump than last night," Canada's head coach Don Hay said. "Obviously we'd like to see more goal scoring, but the goalies played really well.

First Cuts Tuesday Morning.

Team Canada...Bunz Update

2011-12-12T00:27:00.002-07:00

Team Canada held thier first scrimmage tonight.

Bunz played the first half of the game for Team White, who went on to win 3-2.
Bunz let in 1 goal off 15 shots. The goal came in from a bit of a tough angle, from near the outerline of the faceoff circle down low.

Bunz stopped 2 of 4 in the mini-shootout.
Ryan Stone outdeked Bunz
Zack Phillips deked Stopped by Bunz.
Ty Rattie deked Beats Bunz glove side.
Brandon Gormley deked and Bunz flashed a nice glove save.

Don Hay has mentioned that the #1 spot is Visentin's to lose.

One more Game Monday Night. First Cuts will be announced Tuesday Morning.

Kootenay Defeat Tigers 3-2

2011-12-10T22:12:00.003-07:00

Short Recap

I thought the Tigers put in a pretty good effort tonight. They have changed up thier systems a little and it is working well for them. I thought It was a very close game and the Tigers deserved a better fate.

Kenny Cameron's first game in net at home and I thought he looked a little nervous at times. Their were 2 long goals he would have liked to take back, but he also came up with some very good saves including a nice stacking of the pads save early in the game.

Rhyse Dieno had a very good game and Spencer Jenson has really improved quite a bit over the last month. Thought Reid Petryk also played a good physical game. I thought Matt Konan played a nice physical game in the first half of the game.

I really like that the Tigers have bumped Trevor Cox's ice time up. He always seems to create good plays in the offensive zone. Trevor scored a very key goal to tie the game up at 2-2 after a bit of a momentum breaker when Kootenay scored off a long range slapper.

Thier were some real hard hits in the first period. I thought for sure thier were going to be some fights in this one but none developed.

Emerson Etem scored the Teddy Bear Toss goal halfway in the second period. He has one more game left before leaving for the World Juniors.

Tigers Defeat Ice 6-4

2011-12-09T20:40:00.005-07:00

Tigers handed the Kootenay Ice thier 4 straight loss, as the Ice just returned from a 9 game road trip.

Scoring Summaries

1st Period
On the penalty kill Hunter Shinkaruk would poke a puck into the nuetral zone. Shinkaruk under extreme pressure from a Kootenay Defender on his back would drive across the net and flick a shot passed Nathan Leiwen to give the Tigers a 1- 0 Lead.

Kootenay Would respond seconds later on that same powerplay as Jesse Ismond would crawl into the slot area. The puck eventually squirted out right to Elgin Pearce who one timed it short side shot past Tyler Bunz. 1-1 Tie and the Teddy Bears would rain from the rafters, as both teams would get a quick break.

Tigers would respond a couple minutes later as Cole Grbavac had a mini breakaway in close but his weak shot on net was stopped. Reid Petryk had lots of time to scoop up the puck turn around and fire a shot low stick side against Nathan Lieuwen 2-1 Tigers.

2nd Period
The first ten minutes of the period was ALL Tigers. They probably spent 8 out of the first ten minutes deep in Kootenays Zone.

Cole Grbavac stole a puck at Kootenays Blueline. Trevor Cox would take control do a little toe drag and fired a shot top shelf glove side. 3-1 Tigers.

On the Powerplay James Bettauer would walk the line on the point, hesitate for a split second and fired a low wrister passed a partially screened Liewuen. Shinkaruk was on the doorstop and may have tipped it. 4-1 Tigers

THe Tigers 5th goal came off of some good work on thier powerplay powerplay. THe Tigers spent a good 3-4 minutes straight in Kootenays Zone, putting on all kinds of pressure. After the PP expired The puck would come out of the zone real briefly and 3 Ice headed off for a change as they were dead tired. The Tigers would quickly pounce on the opportunity and developed a 3 on 2.

Busenius would make a nice short pass to Riley Sheen who made a nice short Pass to Scott Mckay and buried it to to give the Tigers a 5-1 Lead. This goal would chase Kootenay's Starter Nathan Lieuweuen in favor of Mackenzie Slapski.

Kootenay would get a very quick one back as they started to push back late in the period. Dylen McKinley fired a shot on net and the rebound came right out Brendan Hurley on the tape who fired it in on a partial open net. 5-2 Tigers
----

3rd Period

Jesse Ismond on the Powerplay would win the faceoff in the Tigers end, pass it back to Max Reinhart who fed a quick pass over to Joey Leach who fired a wrist shot on net. Bunz wouldnt see it with traffic in front. 5-3 Tigers

The Ice would make the game very interesting as thier was a Massive scrum in front. 7 players whacking and slashing at a loose puck. Dylen Mckinley would pot his second of the game as he managed to get a back-hand shot off that bounced in off of Tyler Bunz shoulder.
5-4 Tigers.

With the goalie pulled the Ice called a timout with a faceoff in the Tigers end. Kootenay would fire a one-timer that missed. The puck would come back to the point as Scott Mckay managed to battle Joey Leach for the loose puck and come away with it. He had a 2-0 breakaway but kept it simple and scored his second of the game to salt the Victory 6-4 Tigers.

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Thoughts

It looked like the Tigers changed up thier style a bit, and fed Kootenay Some of their own medicine. In the first period they completely sat back in the neutral zone, and pounced on Kootenay's Mistakes. In the second period when Kootenay ran into penalty troubles they were all over the Ice and played pretty aggressive. In the third period, the Ice really pressured the Tigers, and scored on a few rebounds/shots with traffic in front.

A very good road win. Arguably one of their better games in the last 10-15 game stretch. The Tigers second period had been thier downfall but they came out with fire and really opened the game up. I think only the 2nd victory when Emerson was held off the scoresheet.

I thought the Ice obviously didn't come out with thier best effort in the second period and it cost them.

Tyler Bunz played his last game before Heading off to the World Junoir Camp Saturday. The camp runs from the 10th-14th. THe Ice will also loose Max Reinhart for tomorows Re-match in Medicine Hat.

It is also Teddy Bear Toss night. Fans are encouraged to bring stuffed animals, gloves, mittens, toques and scarves to the game. Fans are also encouraged to bring a food donation to the game as well which will go to help feed those less fortunate at this time of year.

Tigers Defeat Hitmen 2-1

2011-12-04T19:01:00.002-07:00

Tigers came out with fire again, and were all over the Hitmen in the opening Minutes. Curtis Valk would give the Tigers a 1-0 lead after Emerson Etem coralled a puck down low, and fed it to Valk in the slot who buried his shot top shelf glove side.

After that the Hitmen slowly started spending more time in the Tigers zone. The Hitmen started hammering shots on net and Tyler Bunz played an outstanding hockey game.

In the secod period Hitmen forward Calder Brooks would drive to the net and somehow squeak the puck past bunz as a big pile developed in front of him.

The third period was largely a repeat of the second, However Emerson Etem fed Curtis Valk on a 2 on 1 and made a nice backhand move to beat Hitmen goalie Chris Driedger.

The hitmen would press after that but Bunz played a phenominal hockey game. Bunz would stop 38 hitmen shots. THe Hitmen outshot the Tigers 38-17.

Thoughts
Tigers played an ok road game. Tyler Bunz was amazing in net, and was a huge reason why the Tigers won. I think the Tigers were a little lucky to come away with the 2 points, but it was a much needed win. Boston Leier was scratched after suffering an inury last night. Patrik Parkkonen is still out with a knee injury. Kale Kessy served the final game of his 4 game suspension

The Tigers have 2 huge games next weekend with a home and home against the Kootenay Ice.

Spokane Defeats Tigers 6-3

2011-12-03T22:10:00.002-07:00

Well the Tigers played a strong first period building a 2-0 lead, but after that it was back to old habbits as Spokane brought much more intensity in the second period. The Tigers failed to give any pushback untill it was much to late in the third period, as Spokane scored 1 goal in the second and then piled on 5 goals in the third. Tyler Bunz played well but he couldn't hold spokane off the scoresheet forevor.

This team baffles me, they are a Dr. Jykyl, and Mr Hyde where each period is a different story. One period thier passes are crisp they are outworking the opponent down low, thier defenseman are breaking up cycles, and the forwards are hitting. The next period thier is no physicality from the forwards, the defense are a step behind, and no one can make a pass or hold onto one. Despite the Tigers literally falling from the sky I still think they have the tools to go far but....

I think a shakeup is needed. Perhaps even assigning a new Captain. Grbavac seems overwhelmed as his high energy aggressive forecheck has been non-existant. I liked his fight in the first period, but the second was out of pure frustration.

Thats All I'm saying for now....going out, perhaps later I'll add more but Just thinking about how the Tigers are playing is getting me quite angry.

Blades Defeat Tigers 2-1 OT

2011-12-02T22:13:00.005-07:00

Blades looked like the better team through 2 periods of play, but the Tigers finally snapped back into focus and played a very good third period of hockey. The Tigers defense were making good pinches and the forwards were skating with some oomf in thier game. They had a chance to win the game but couldnt capitalize.

Quite the chess match where Saskatoon was trying to Get Defenseman Dalton Thrower and Duncan Siemens out against the Etem/Shinkaruk line.

The refs for the most part let them play, but with 3 seconds left in the third period Matt Konan took a High-Sticking penalty which meant a 4 on 3 disadvantage to start overtime. One minute into overtime Josh Nicholls potted a wrister past Bunz from the slot area for the Game Winner.

Total shots were 45-24 for the blades. Despite the disparity on shots I thought Prime scoring chances were both teams were relatively equal. The Tigers Emerson Etem was stopped on a breakaway and Trevor Cox had an open net but missed again. Boston Leier had a prime chance in the slot but tripped himself up. THe team seems to be holding thier sticks a little too tight.

I liked what I saw in the third period. Its something to build on for tomorows game against Spokane. Jayden Hart, Riley Sheen, and Rhys Deino saw more ice-time than usual and they flourished with it.

Fight
After Tigers Defenseman James Bettauer knocked over blades goaltender Andrey Makarov, Dalton Thrower engaged Bettauer in a fight.

From what we've seen at the arena this year, it hasn't mattered who throws off the gloves first or if their is small talk before the fight. The instigator has still been called.

Anyway they dropped the gloves, circled each other and Thrower threw quite a few rabbit punches in which knocked Bettauer down to one knee. Bettauer would get back up and the refs jumped in lickity split as soon as bettauer went down to one knee.

What was unusual is the refs gave both players a double minor for roughing which negated the potential instigator, and gave the blades the powerplay. The blades didnt score however that double roughing was clearly a fight.

Around the WHL
Calgary has been exploding lately. They have been getting some really good goaltending. THe Tigers have played 2 more games than the Hitmen however The hitmen could actually catch the TIgers in the standings if they were to win those games. They have already overtaken Red Deer who has fallen off the map since Rebel Adam Kambeitz has been out with injury. Regina has also slowed down considerably from thier very hot start.

5 points seperates 1st to 6th. It was tight last year, but this year there is no room to move. 1 loss and you fall 2 places in the standings.

Whos Next?
Saturday Night the Tigers take on Spokane a team that has also hasn't been at thier best lately. Spokane Got off to a white fire hot start, but has cooled off. Tomorow should be an intense battle of two teams trying to get back on a winning streak. The cheifs lost a 3-2 OT decision TO Calgary on Friday

Canes Outwork Tigers 4-3

2011-11-30T20:56:00.010-07:00

Lethbridge was playing thier 4th game in 6 nights, and were coming off a 3 -1 win in red deer the night before. Hurricanes had numerous players out with injuries/suspensions. Their team has also been recently ravaged by the flu/cold bugs.

EDIT: Changed

Re-watched the first two periods and realized my original opinion on parts of the game was a little off-base. Tigers controlled the majority of the 1st and second period minus that 4 minute 3 goal offensive spurt by lethbridge in the 2nd. I counted prime scoring chances at 14-6 for the Tigers. Tigers still made a few too many giveaway in thier end for my liking.

Hurricane players were on Etem and Shinkaruk all night, hitting them every chance they got and some small stick work after the whistles to get them off thier game. Their was little reponse from the Tigers bench, physically.

It was inspiring to watch a team like Lethbridge that had been down in the dumps not to mention injury and flu ridden rise up as a team and physically beat someone that had more than double the points in the standings. I give kudos to lethbridge they showed an amazing display of teamwork and heart. Hopefully this is something the Tigers can learn from.

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On a postive note the Tigers did have spurts of offensive activity and James Bettauer keeps impressing. I thought the Tigers individually were trying hard, but as a team they looked a little selfish in thier play, thier transitional play from D to O looked a lot slower than what I saw 3 weeks ago before thier road trip. They gotta start burrying those open nets and easy tip ins. Their offense lost them the game with thier failure to capitalize.

Hopefully this weekend the TIgers come out with an improved and inspired effort.

Kale Kessy Suspended 4 Games

2011-11-29T18:07:00.004-07:00

The suspension was just updated on the whl discipline page.

He was given 4 games for his hit on Rebel Joel Hamilton. You can view the hit a couple posts below. Earlier in the year he was suspended 5 games for a checking from behind double minor.

2010-2011
1 game for cfb double minor
2 games for checking from behind

2009-2010
1 game for boarding

Thoughts
I didn't think the hit was that bad, mind you the camera angle really sucks. The last suspension He got I fully agreed with his penalty of 5 games.

To me this hit looks more like a case where a tall guy hits a small guy, although the onus is on kessy to avoid contact with the head.

Bunz Invited To Team Canada Selection Camp

2011-11-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

You can find the full list here.

http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.php/ci_id/75137/la_id/1/season_id/177039/profile_id/178507/team_id/82853/ss_id/56000/

TIgers Defeat Rebels 4-1

2011-11-26T21:54:00.008-07:00

The Rebels had two key players out in Turner Elson and Adam Kambeitz, as well as Daulton Siwak. Tigers had Defenceman Patrik Parkkonen out with a knee injury (1 week)

I thought right from the start the Tigers really layed a licking in terms of positional play. The Tigers probably played their best road game of the season. The rebels were frequently in the box due to the Tigers speed, and the majority of the game was played in the rebels zone.

I thought the Tigers powerplay looked really good as the Tigers defenceman laid out quite a few quality shots from the point. Guys like Reid Petryk and Cole Grbavac stepped up thier play. Kale Kessy had a strong first period untill he got kicked due to a 5 minute major (more on that later)

Scoring
Rebels killed off a 5 on 3, but during the 5 on 4 their was a scrum along the boards. Jayden Hart tried to poke a puck back to the point as James Bettauer was pinching, the result was a 2 on 1 back the other way where Rebel Chad Robinson hung onto the puck and snapped a shot blocker side passed Bunz. 1-0 Rebels

Tigers would even the game 2 minutes later on the powerplay as James Bettauer received a pass from Mat Konan who faked shot, passed over to Bettauer who slap/wristed a shot top corner.

In the second period Matt Konan fired a shot on net on the PP it hit Cole Grbavac in the back but the rebound bounced off the boards right to Curtis Valk who backhanded the shot, and Boston Leier poked the puck over the line. 2-1 Tigers

Then on the powerplay a minute later Emerson Etem fed a pass cross crease to Jayden Hart who tapped the puck in. 3-1 TIgers

Emerson Etem would salt the game away with an empty netter.

Notes
Riley sheen was hauled down on a breakaway and was awarded a penalty shot. Sheen came in with speed, slowed down, made a number of moves and fakes, and had the goalie sliding the other way but partially lost his balance and missed the net with the shot. He looked like he may have potential in the shootout down the road, he gets that shot off and he would have had a good chance to score.

The powerplay looked really good. The Tigers spent most of it in the rebels zone, and were including the defenceman who shot a ton of pucks with quality chances.

I thought guys like Cole Grbavac and Reid Petryk played really well. Most the whole team played pretty welland the rebels didn't have many quality scoring chances. I thought with all the powerplays the Tigers had, they could have done more damage, but the rebels goaltender looks pretty mobile and played a good hockey game.

Kessy Hit
Kessy received a 5 minute major for checking to the head. The angle is really tough to judge upon but this is largely a case where a bigger guy hits a smaller guy. Joel Hamilton is 5'9 Kessy is 6'3. I dont beleive Kessy deserves a suspension. But may get one for being a repeat offender.

Also for reference I'll included the hit where Alex Petrovic's shoulder Hits Boston Leier in the chin, and a fight develops. Fortunately both Hamilton and Leier continued the game.

Here are the videos judge for yourself.
Kessy Hit and Fight

Alex Petrovic Vs Cole Grbavac
-No Audio

Oil Kings Drop Tigers 3-0

2011-11-25T22:36:00.007-07:00

Tigers are falling pretty hard right now. 4 points in thier last 7 games. They've faced some tough competition keeping the games close, but have been outchanced lately. Tomorow a tough game in Red Deer before they end thier tough road trip.

I understand that Tyler Bunz was recently sick and the announcers mentioned that Matt Konan was a game-time decisions against the Oil Kings as he was also sick. Parkkonen scratched for 2nd night in a row.

I was pretty frustrated watching the Tigers on TV, they aren't playing to thier capabilities.

Notes
Etem looks a little Off. Team are keying on him yes but it looks like he is trying to gain incredible speed off his first stride and he loses balance. He is sticking to a north south game with some small fakes and needs to perhaps put a little more east/west movement in his game. He is having a tough time trying to find any open space. Opponents are on him like flies on poop.

I know Cole Grbavac can play better. His best trait is playing aggressive along the boards with the puck, sometimes looks like he is hearing footsteps.

4th line is playing really well. Might be time to give cox a promotion.

Boston Leier has been the hardest worker along with Bunz.

Kessy is playing a little better, he needs to be a physical presence every game. Doesn't need to fight ( although he should every 3-4-5 games to keep people honest) just make clean contact every chance possible.

Reid Petryk - When he is carrying the puck into the zone I feel like he gives the puck away to often. I'd like to see him hit the blueline with with speed, slow down or loop, then try to hand it off to a trailer.

Bettauer - HAND THIS MAN THE PUCK ON THE PP. His one timer is pretty darn accurate and hard, reminds me of Vey last year.

Scott Mckay - Still think he is a better Dman than forward but too many Dman not enough Omen means he will play forward.

Tigers Vs Oil Kings On Sportsnet One Tonight

2011-11-25T10:50:00.003-07:00

Reminder that Tonights Tigers Game will be broadcast live on Sportsnet One at 7:00 PM mountain Time.

http://www.whl.ca/article/friday-night-hockey-live-on-sportsnet/107570

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/juniors/2011/11/25/oilkings_tigers/

Tigers Snap Winless Streak

2011-11-23T19:22:00.004-07:00

Tigers Defeat P.A 6-1. A win they needed badly after a 5 game winless skid.

Interestingly enough Emerson Etem was held without a goal for each game that the Tigers lost during thier winless streak. One positive to come out of this was that 4 of the 5 loses were 1 goal games(minus the empty netters)., 2 of them were in Shootouts.

During the last two games the Tigers were really experimenting with thier line comboz on both Offense and Defense. They split up the Bettauer/Busenius combo and Lewington and Jensen received lots of ice time, and Scott Mckay saw the odd shift on the point. Patrik Parkkonen was scratched Wednesday Night. Not sure if he is injured or a healthy scratch.

The forwards were juggled throughout the P.A game and saw some juggling during the saskatoon game.

Curtis Valk has been on fire lately scoring 7 goals in his last 7 games. Shinkaruk also has 4 goals in his last 4 games. Rhyse Dieno scored his first ever whl goal against Saskatoon.

CHL Top Ten
Tigers were dropped from the honorable mention spot, but thats not suprising.
http://www.whl.ca/article/3-whl-clubs-in-bmo-chl-mastercard-top-10

The Tigers still have 2 tough Road Battles against Edmonton and Red Deer this weekend before they take on a struggling Lethbridge Hurricane Team at home on November 30th.

Honorable Mention in CHL Top Ten

2011-11-16T15:19:00.005-07:00

Top Ten
1 London Knights (16-3-0-1)
2 Saint John Sea Dogs (19-6-0-0)
3 Tri-City Americans (15-5-0-0)
4 Quebec Remparts (16-4-2-1)
5 Sarnia Sting (13-3-1-3)
6 Saskatoon Blades (15-6-0-1)
7 Red Deer Rebels (14-4-0-2)
8 Plymouth Whalers (13-6-2-1)
9 Shawinigan Cataractes (16-7-1-2)
10 Victoriaville Tigres (16-8-0-1)

Honourable Mention:
Medicine Hat Tigers (14-6-1-1)
Ottawa 67's (12-6-2-1)
Brandon Wheat Kings (14-6-1-1)

This time last year the Tigers had 1 more point 22 games in. The Tigers dropped games to both Tri City(SO loss) and Saskatoon last week.

The Tigers are now on a 6 game Road Trip playing 3 sets of back-to-back games against some tough competition within the Conference.

------------------------
Tyler Bunz
Tyler Bunz tweeted today that He wont be starting tonight against the Russians. He took a puck to the cheek while sitting on the Bench during the first WHl game against Russia.
http://twitter.com/#!/tylerbunz

Americans Bounce Tigers In the Shootout 4-3 SO

2011-11-11T22:17:00.005-07:00

Short Recap... Long Weekend....

Thoughts
Very entertaining hockey game. I thought both teams have very similar styles and both teams looked fairly even. Tri-City has better overall depth from thier forwards(not often we see that,) Tigers have a better goaltender, and top line. Tri-City also made use of their special teams going 2 for 3 on the PP.

The Americans have a very strong forecheck and their Defenseman step up and pinch quite frequently.

I thought the Tigers 4th line played amazing tonight. They saw hardly any ice in the 3rd but played a very strong hockey game. I like how the Tigers are rotating Patrik Parkkonen into the 2nd or 1st line Dman shifts every once in a while. I think this keeps fresher legs and Parkkonen is a good enough player to do this.

Curtis Valk stepped up tonight with 2 goals.

Tri-City Goals
Gotta be lucky to be good...

I thought all 3 Tri-City's goal were results of favorable bounces. A puck bouncing off the boards behind the Tiger net, right through everyone in the crease and right onto an American Stick, with a half open empty net.

Also after Bunz made a couple nice saves an American Shot was deflected 100 miles an hour top corner from the high slot.

Tri-City also had a shot from the point that floated along the ice that Bunz just didn't see.

I think Tri-City's Team is a hair better than the Tigers at this point in the season.
----------------

Tigers still have guys like Grbavac,Valk,..who haven't shown us thier true potential.

Tigers could have been a little more physical but the way the refs were calling penalties that might have been dangerous. I still believe the Tigers are 1 scoring forward away from solidifying thier forward depth.....I think a game like this showed why...even though the game was very close and ended in a shootout.

Saskatoon Tomorow..Should be another gooder.

Tigers Crack CHL Top Ten

2011-11-09T14:34:00.002-07:00

3 WHL CLUBS IN BMO CHL MASTERCARD TOP 10Wednesday November 09, 2011 Toronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey League today announced the BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings for week 8 of the 2011-12 season. The weekly rankings of the Canadian Hockey League’s Top 10 teams are selected by a panel of National Hockey League scouts.

BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings – Week 8

1. London Knights (15-2-0-1)
2. Saint John Sea Dogs (16-6-0-0)
3. Tri-City Americans (12-5-0-0)
4. Victoriaville Tigres (16-6-0-1)
5. Sarnia Sting (12-2-1-3)
6. Kootenay Ice (12-3-1-2)
7. Quebec Remparts (14-4-2-1)
8. Miss St. Michael's Majors (10-5-1-2)
9. Medicine Hat Tigers (14-5-1-0)
10 Shawinigan Cataractes (14-6-1-2)

Honourable Mention:
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (12-7-0-0)
Kamloops Blazers (12-5-0-0)
Halifax Mooseheads (13-5-1-0)

http://whl.ca/article/3-whl-clubs-in-bmo-chl-mastercard-top-10

Hunter Shinkaruk was also named CHL Player of the week.
http://www.whl.ca/article/tigers-shinkaruk-chl-player-of-the-week

Tigers Defeat Thunderbirds 6-3

2011-11-08T21:27:00.005-07:00

Very short recap.

The first period was entertaining, some wierd goals scored. What was being hyped as a goaltenders battle turned out nothing like it. I thought Boston Leier showed a lot of hustle tonight, picked off numerous Seattle breakout passes.

Emerson Etem made up for his lack of goal scoring against Regina with 2 goals tonight. He increased his point lead to 6 points, as Brandon's Mark Stone was held pointless. Hunter Shinkaruk has vaulted to 7th with 3 points. Shinkaruk has 14 points in the last 4 games. Teams have been keying soo much on Emerson Etem and Hunter Shinaruk has no qualms about that with some extra room.

That line has scored 57% of the Tigers goals and together have scored more goals than 3 whl teams. Impressive, but also a little worrysome, regarding production from other lines.

With the win tonight the TIgers lead the whl in points with 29 but have games in hand on other teams.

The TIgers play 2 very good teams this weekend in Tri-City and Saskatoon. Both games will be Big tests.

Tigers Pick up 3 of 4 points on the Road

2011-11-07T08:34:00.003-07:00

Saturday Night In Brandon
The Tigers came out and had a very strong first period getting out to a 2 goal lead in the first period. However after the first Brandon started to control the game.

Cole Grbavac took a 5 minte major interference penalty and game misconduct as he crashed into the goaltender in the first period. Grbavac had attempted a move to get around a defender and partially fell over on one foot. He crashed full speed into the Brandon Anderson. Grbavac didn't make much of an effort to get out of the way or stop. To me it wasn't intentional at all and he was drving to the net, however the onus was still on him to move out of the way. I think the One-Game he has already served is more than enough punishment.

For the second and first half of the third period the Tigers were on thier heels, as Brandon started controlling the play. Consequently Brandon came back and scored 3 straight goals to take a 3-2 lead.

Late in the game Brandon took a checking from Behind penalty and the Tigers made them pay tieing the game up with 3:51 left in the game. Hunter Shinakruk scored all 3 regulation goals and scored his 2nd hat-trick in 2 games at this point.

In Overtime Emerson Etem was fed a cross ice pass from Dylan Bredo. Brandon's Mark stone was actually in between the two but missed batting the puck away and Etem had a partially open net to score the Winner.

Thoughts
Tigers were fortunate to win this one. They played well for good portions of the game, but Brandon really controlled the play in the second period. I thought Brandon deserved a better fate.

Sunday Night in Regina
Similar game to the previous night in Brandon. Strong start in the first, sat back in the second, but played a much better third period. Regina scored two powerplay goals late in the first and second periods to take a 2-0 lead.

The Tigers scored 3 goals less than 5 minutes apart in the third period, and had another goal called off after a Tiger players skate clipped the pad of Regina's Goaltender Matt Hewitt at the edge of the crease, and Kale Kessy's rebound goal was called off.

Regina's Morgan Klimchuck would pot the winner in OT off a goal mouth scramble.

Overall
The Tigers had pretty good first and third periods. But the second periods in both game were not thier best. The Tiger powerplay came alive on the Road and were extremely key. 2 for 3 in Brandon and 3 for 4 in Regina. Thier PP has moved from 18th to 7th.

Both games Emerson Etem wasn't given much room at all, and Shinkaruk was more than willing to skate with the puck. The Tigers first line was very heavily shadowed against. Brandon's Mark Stone line and Regina's Jordan Weal line was on the ice evertime Shinkaruk and Etem were on the ice.

I think it might be time to experiment with seperating the Shinkaruk/Etem combo on two different lines. They are the two leading scorers in the whl with Etems 23 and Shinkaruk with 18 goals respectively. I think with them seperated they could keep Bredo's production on the first line but also open up more points for a guy like Scott Mckay or Cole Grbavac on a second line.

Hunter Shinkaruk Player of the Week
http://www.whl.ca/article/tigers-shinkaruk-whl-player-of-the-week

Everett vs Tigers Fight Night Videos

2011-11-04T12:48:00.002-06:00

Their are 5 videos. The Medicine Hat Tigers are leading the league in fighting Majors with 24. Everett is 2nd with 23.

Tigers Defeat Silvertips 10-2

2011-11-01T21:46:00.004-06:00

Short Recap, Weeknight.

Silvertips had a flu ravaged dressing room, they had 4 regulars scratched.

Tigers had very strong jump right from the get-go, and never let up. Everett was keeping a very close eye on Etem, but he still managed to get 5 points. Shinkaruk was hanging on the puck a little too long in the first period, but managed to score 3 in the third period + 3 assists.

New Tiger James Bettauer scored a howitzer from the point on the powerplay, hes got a cannon back there.

It was nice to see Rhyse Deino step up for Patrik Parkkonen when Parkkonen was hit from behind into the boards.

The young guys got a little more ice-time and even some powerplay time with the score well in hand. The silvertips were getting frustrated and things started getting rough later in the game. If the fights pop up on hockeyfights I'll post them here tomorow.

THe Tigers will play two games this weekend in Brandon and Regina. Regina beat the TIgers in an earlier matchup at home, and the Game between Brandon 2 weeks ago was a very high spirited/emotional game. SO this weekend will be a good gauge on how they have improved entering the second month of the season.

Bad News
Adam Rehak has left the team to take care of family/personal issues back home. It is unknown how long he will be gone for.

Tyler Bunz
Earned CHL Goalie of the week

Emerson Etem
Earned WHL Player of the Month

Tigers Defeat Broncos 5-0

2011-10-30T01:32:00.002-06:00

Posting this after a few drinks.....probably shouldnt' but here goes...

Tyler Bunz with another shutout. Emerson Etem with a natural hat-trick including 2 short-handed goals.

What a treat to watch this kid play and do his thing. The opposition coaches have been line matching against him and he has 21 goals in 15 games. Its absolutely absurd that Etem has failed to get a goal in just one of the regular season games.....and in that game he managed 4 assists. Thank you Anaheim for sending him back to juniors, thier mistake.

I thought the Tigers controlled the play for the first two periods. Lots of good scoring chances, and Tyler Bunz stood his ground. After two periods the Tigers held a 3-0 lead but that was a bit generous as to how the broncos were playing.

The Broncos picked up thier play in the third period, they started hitting everything that moved. They looked like a completely different team, but fortunately for the TIgers the Broncos were a little too aggresive, and ended up taking some penalties, which the Tigers made them pay for, with 2 late powerplay goals.

After the first period I think the Tigers were told to keep thier gloves on. Different Broncos players were trying to instigate fights through much of the second and third periods but the Tigers kept thier gloves on, despite quite a few hostile scrums.
-------------------

I am increasingly liking the play of Tiger Defenceman Dylan Busenius. I think he has finally gotten his shit together, and had been the most consistent defenceman in the last 10 games. Keep playing consistent and winning the small battles and you will get a contract, perhaps even a late round draft choice in next years nhl draft.

Dylan Bredo has also been a bit of an unsung hero. I think he has improved a lot already. Before the season started I thought playing alongside emerson etem didn't really fit him. But I give credit to the coaches because Bredo is a very smart player and has fit in well with SHinkaruk and Emerson.

I thought Tonight Shinaruk held onto the puck a little too long. However I saw an opportunity where I think the TIgers could pounce on. Developing set plays where they go behind the net and pass to an incoming player in the slot. Their were tons of opportunities tonight against the Broncos where a quick pass out front and a player coming in late (Bredo decoy: Etem) could have resulted in more scoring opportunities.

Boston Leier had limited Ice time tonight but when he was on the Ice he played like a little spark plug.

I thought Adam Rehak had a tough first period. But after that he had a good game. It is very rare to see a euro that is talented in the fisticuffs department. Rehak had a fight with Bronco Daniel Dale and Rehak won the fight.

IMO this defensive group for the TIgers has been the best group since the Russel, Sauer schlemko days....

Something To Improve Upon
Finishing hits/team physicality. Thier were occasions tonight where players did not finish thier checks. I'm not sure if this played into the strategy of not dropping the gloves and trying to frustrate the broncos, but when you dont finish your hits it gives the other team more space to make plays, and more confidence. Dont need to cream the guy, just put him into the boards, and slow his momentum.
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Eastern Conference
So far this season the Eastern Conference looks incredibly tough. The 8th place team is holding a .679 winning percentage. I dont think I've ever seen it that high before. IF this trend continues we might see a 3 or 4 way tie for playoff home ice come march.

Tigers re-assign Kyle Becker

2011-10-27T09:55:00.003-06:00

Medicine Hat, AB - The Medicine Hat Tigers announced today the reassignment of 17-year-old defenseman Kyle Becker to Cowichan Valley of the BCHL.

"Kyle had surgery on his wrist in August and he is now fully rehabbed and ready to play," said Tigers' general manager Brad McEwen.

"We feel it's best for him to play some games and there is an opportunity for him in Cowichan Valley to do that. He will go there and get the ice time he needs and we look forward to Kyle being a big part of our program as we move forward."

http://tigershockey.com/article/tigers-reassign-becker-to-bchl

If Becker had been healty from the start thier probably would have been more of a chance to see what he could do. I think he will have a very good chance next year at getting a roster spot.

This gets the Tigers down to 7ish defenceman with Mckay playing forward, and solidifies the roster for now.
---------------

Team whl was announced this morning. It is largely used for Team Canada scouts to get a look at players possibly competing for spots for the World junoirs. Tyler Bunz was the only Tigers to make the list. Bunz will be in both game on November 16,17.

Tigers Defeat Portland 4-2

2011-10-26T21:41:00.003-06:00

Short Reviews on weeknights :)

I thought the Tigers were the better team in the first period, Portland was the better team in the second period.

In the third period the TIgers were awarded two poweplays late in the game. Portland really spreads thier guys out on the kill and plays pretty aggressive. THe first powerplay the Tigers had a real tough time gaining entry to the zone, and offensive opporunities were non-existant. The 2nd poweprlay was almost over when the Tigers were finally were able to take advantage of portlands wide PK as Cole grabvac fired a quick one timer from the slot on a pass from curtis valk.

Portland really likes to step up at the blueline or anywhere else on the ice and they have a bunch of guys who are capable of throwing open ice hits. EMerson Etem scored a goal, had a breakaway in teh first period, and portland was really gunning for him standing him up on the blueline. Etem was oooh so close numerous times in getting prime opportunities, but portland managed to just nudge him enough off the puck. I thought Dylan Bredo played real well tonight, and Scott Mckay played very well up front at forward, winning a lot of puck battles.

I thought Adam Rehak struggled a bit tonight. Rehak since his hot start has really cooled off, and took a couple offensive penalties.

James Bettauer
He looks like a very smart player on the backend. Good first pass, and does all the little things right. Puts the puck in good positions on the ice. He has a nice shot from the point and is capable of stepping up on the rush.

I thought his overall speed was a little below average and it looked like he wasn't used to the ice time/conditioning could be better. It was only his first game but I mostly liked what I saw.

His overall forward skating speed is a little slower and it also looked like he wasn't used to how much playing time he received.

Tochkin Traded to P.A (re-edited bottom section)

2011-10-24T13:55:00.012-06:00

Medicine Hat, AB – The Medicine Hat Tigers announced this afternoon the acquisition of 20-year-old defenseman James Bettauer and a 6th round bantam draft pick in 2013 from the Prince Albert Raiders. In exchange, 20-year-old forward Kellan Tochkin will be going to the Raiders.

A native of Coquitlam, BC, Bettauer is in his third WHL season and second with the Raiders.

“We are excited to be getting a veteran defenseman who is off to a real good start this year,” said Tigers’ general manager Brad McEwen.

“James will fit in well with our team as we were looking for an older defenseman to add to the group. He brings some offense with him, which will help on the power play and is able to play in all situations. James is going to add some more depth to our team.”

“We thank Kellan for his time in Medicine Hat and wish all the best in his future endeavours.”

http://www.tigershockey.com/article/tigers-acquire-james-bettauer

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Tochkin got off to a really slow start this year, but hopefully this move helps solidy a Defense that has made big progress lately. I think with the strong play of of the 3rd and 4th lne depth players it made Tochkin Expendable.

However this move puts the Tigers at nine Defenceman, and only 1 spare forward so something more is probably on the horizon. Kyle Becker has yet to play this season due to injury, but he is apparently very close to being healthy. Scott McKay could move up to forward if need be. They have a few options to run with.

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Edit: 9:45 AM Tuesday
With this trade the Defensive depth looks like this. Changed from line depth to a an overveiw depth

Theriau Konan
Bettauer(still to be evaluated), Busenius, mckay
Parkkonen
Lewington
Jensen
Becker(still to be evaluated, may move up)

With Scott Mckay either playing forward or pushing the rookies off the top 6 charts and being interchanged somewhere on the 2nd or 3rd defensive lines. Either way there is an abundance of Dman. It is likely that 1 or 2 of Lewington/Becker/Jensen gets sent back down. It is likely the Tigers will go with 2 extra defensive spares because of thier depth and the ability of scott mckay to be rotated to forward.

If mckay plays forward it leaves two healthy spares on forward. Mckay is a better defenseman than forward, although he would probably fit in very well as a penalty killer or a player to throw in defending late leads, and the next couple games he will probably be playing forward to further evaluate the younger Tigers Rookie Dmen.

I should add that if Lewington/Becker/Jensen step up and show they are consistent and capable of being on the third line then we will see mckay moved up on a more permanent basis, but at this point in time mckay holds the edge over the rookies.

I think that the Tigers may be in the market for a forward down the road an extra punch to go with Emerson Etem up front but this is something they dont need to rush on, and they have time to evalute how the current group of forwards produces. If the current group can continually provide secondary scoring, the need for another scorer would be diminished although another scorer never hurts :)

James Bettauer
The interwebs is fairly quiet on scouting reports. He played his 17 year old season in chilliwack, then was sent down to Burnaby Express in his 18 year old year. He played last year with P.A.

So far this season he has had a very hot start with 9 points in 15 games. From everything I've read he seems to be a solid 2 way player that can pick up some points as well as a guy who likes to stick up for teammates. Bit of a late bloomer

Tigers Go 1-1 on the weekend.

2011-10-22T22:08:00.008-06:00

Looks like their is a flu bug agoing around in the Tigers dressing room. Despite this I give the Tigers a B+ for their pair of weekend games at the Arena.

Friday night against Brandon was a very high electric and intense hockey game, playoff type atmosphere. Saturday night against Kamloops in comparison was a bit of a snoozer.

I thought during Saturdays game against Kamloops the Tigers had no legs and looked pretty tired mentally as they were fumbling the puck in the offensive zone and were sometimes putting pucks in disadvantagous positions on the ice. They didnt play bad but thier was limited "oomf" in thier play. I thought the Tigers forwards took a night off, but they did manage to keep the game close and had chances to win it.

Despite the tigers "off" game I thought they had a chance to win as Cam Lanigan made some real big stops in the third period to keep thier team in the lead. The Difference in the game was kamloops JC Lipon scoring a short-handed goal and Cam Lanigan coming up big in the third period.

Thoughts

The Tigers overall defensive play has improved leaps and bounds from early in the season. Dylan Busenius has stepped up and is playing a very strong game. Patrik Parkkonen has also stepped up his game and had been winning a good chunk of his battles on the ice.

The play of Matt Konan has also stepped up, he has been playing well on the poweplay, and his pokehecks have been more efficient. The combination of those 3 defensman playing smart and consistent as well as the forwards doing a better job at committing in the d-zone is a large reason as to why the Tigers went on that winning streak. Of course you cant leave out the goaltending of Tyler Bunz either.

We saw signs of Cole Grbavac shaking his slump during the Brandon game, he was getting chances and scored a goal, wasn't as noticable in the kamloops game.

10 Games into the season Kellan Tochkin still has not scored a goal. IMO He has largely been invisible so far at home and I could see the Tigers exploring the option of an upgrade if his work ethic doesn't pick up.

Jayden Hart continues to impress. He has been given more icetime lately.

I liked that Kale Kessy since his return from suspension is being much smarter in his physical play. We saw him hold up when a player had his back turned but when the opportunity presented itself he threw that big hit.

Fights From the Kamloops Game
Tim Bozon vs Dylan Busenius

Josh Caron vs Kale Kessy

Tigers Crack CHL Top Ten

2011-10-19T16:55:00.005-06:00

CHL Top Ten

1. London Knights
2. Miss St. Michael's Majors
3. Baie-Comeau Drakkar
4. Saskatoon Blades
5. Saint John Sea Dogs
6. Quebec Remparts
7. Regina Pats
8. Sarnia Sting
9. Medicine Hat Tigers
10. Victoriaville TIgres

Honorable Mentions
Ottawa 67's
Kamloops Blazers
Shawinigan Cataractes

http://www.whl.ca/article/3-whl-clubs-in-bmo-chl-mastercard-top-10

The Tigers have been playing well recently and are 8-2 in thier last ten games. They face a couple more tough tests this weekend playing Brandon and Kamloops.

-------------------
Also Jayden Hart's First Career WHL Fight

Tigers Defeat Kootenay 2-1

2011-10-18T21:31:00.006-06:00

The Tigers played a very high tempo first period, probably their best game at home so far.

The Tigers took it to Kootenay for the first period, they fired a lot of high quality shots on net and penned Kootenay in thier zone for the first couple minutes. Patrik Parkonen made a good decision to jump into the rush and fired a quick snapshot that startled Kootenay's goaltender Nathan Lieuwen on a 4 on 2.

The Tigers added to thier lead when Emerson Etem scored on the powerplay.

I thought after that the game slowly turned momentum into Kootenay's favor. Once the Ice settled down they started getting thier 1-2-2 forecheck going and made it a lot tougher for the tigers to create chances. The Tigers still got a chance here and their but it was more spread out and isolated.

Jaydyen Hart came to the Defense of a teammate and fought 17 year old Kootenay defenseman Jeff Hubic, both of them were going all out offense on the fight. I'll post the fight link when the video comes available. I'd give the decision to Hubic but I liked Jaydens courage and willingness to stand up.

I thought the instigator that the Refs added to Jayden minutes was a little iffy call. Yes Hart fought after a big hit(which in the rule book is a penalty, but the two players talked for a bit and I'm pretty sure the Kootenay Ice player dropped his gloves first. Last year we saw quite a few occurances where situations such as this warranted no instigator.

Anyway despite Kootenay Defenceman Joey Leach scoring a dribbler that barely made it over the line I thought the fight was a good decision as Kootenay was starting to throw thier weight around at the time, and the Tigers had a 2 goal lead at that point.
--------------------

Game Thoughts

Tonight I liked Matt Konans game. His smart deicions to pinch in or rush up on the powerplay are perfect examples on how to create more offense from the backend, without sacrificing defense. He makes a quick pinch then gets back to the point. Good Work keep doing that! I like seeing a player add another dimension to his game.

I still see potential in Konan for the pro's but he is too passive on 1 on 1 defensive plays. Example their was a play tonight in the third period where he could have rode a player into the boards, but instead he partially missed a pokecheck and the Ice player got a low quality shot on net and thier was a faceoff in the Tigers zone...Little things like that

I thought Kale Kessy played a very strong first period. He was skating faster and it allowed him better angles into throwing hits.

Etem was good as always. He threw a couple big hits knocked 3 Ice palyers off thier feet.

I thought the Rookie Spenser Jensen made a couple little booboos during the game that just showed inexperience, and eagerness.

Cole Grbavac I feel like he has to start upping his physical game. When a player hits a slump a good way to get out of it is to up your physical game. Doesnt have to fight, just make solid hits and it usually revs a player up and increases thier confidence.

I liked Valk's work ethic.

Adam Rehak has slowed up a bit. Needs to get that aggressive game going again.

One thing that I noticed that Kootenay does very well is after the whistle blows during a play in thier own zone. Thier whole team, jumps right in front of thier goalie and boxes everyone out. Not only does it send a message to the opposition that you arne't touching the goalie. But it also creates a 5 on 3 situation where if rough stuff breaks out your teammates are going to have your back.

Plus if the other teams defenceman jumps in, it means a faceoff outside your zone.

On another note thier were quite a few scouts in the stands tonight. I saw a couple whl scouts thier as well.

Overall a tough win. The TIgers could be fighting with Kootenay for playoff position, so tonights win goes a long way.

Next Game
The TIgers have two tough tests on the weekend as they face Brandon on Friday and Kamloops on Saturday, both games at the arena.

Notes
Emerson etem is still tied for the lead in points. The Tigers are tied for first in the Eastern Conference!

Kellan Tochkin was out with a mild concussion. I hear he should be back this weekend.

Tigers Defeat Hitmen 5-0

2011-10-15T21:59:00.004-06:00

Player Notes
Kellan Tochkin was out with a suspected concussion.

Kale Kessy was sitting the last game of his 5 game suspension he should be back on Tuesday against Kootenay.

Scott Mackay was playing up at forward.
Trevor Cox played his first regular season game at the Arena.

Summary
Tigers started off the game a little bit on thier heels as they didnt get a shot on net untill at least 12 minutes went by. Despite this the Tigers defenceman did a real good job at clearing away any rebounds and most of the hitmen shots were coming from the outside.

The momentum changed on a delayed penalty when Hunter Shinkaruk did his patented quick wrap-around to score his 8th of the season.

In the second period the Tigers came out with a bang scoring 3 straight goals in the first 4 minutes of the second period to take a commanding 4-0 lead, chasing Calgary's starter Brandon Glover. Tough game for him as he had a very calm first period then a flurry of activity in the second.

Dylan Bredo fired a sneaky bad angle shot with 9 seconds left in the game to cap the Tigers scoring at 5 goals.

The Tigers took a couple penalties late in the game but Tyler Bunz stood tall to get his first shutout of the season.

-------
Emerson Etem with his 4 assists tonight is now tied for the scoring lead with 21 points with Brandon's Mark Stone.

Hunter Shinaruk'sis now tied for 2nd in the league in goals with 9.
Etem is first with 13.

Thoughts
I liked the play of the rookie Line of Rhyse Dieno, Jayden Hart, and Trevor Cox. Dieno had one hiccup during the game but all 3 of them are smart players with skill. The TIgers have pretty good offensive depth with those guys as thier 4th line.

Earlier during a pre-season game I mentioned that Trevor Cox looked out of place during that game, well Today I know why the Tigers have kept him. Despite his size he plays a dirty shirt style of hockey always fighting for the puck, is very quick, good offensive and defensive instincts, and shows a good deal of skill.

I liked Matt Konan stepping up and looking for offensive opportunities on the powerplay. I thought Dylan Busenius is starting to show the smarts and consistency of a 2nd line defenceman. Hope he keeps playing smart in his own end.

The Tigers still have trouble clearing the zone on thier first attempt. It seems to be a common theme the last 3-4 years where they need 2-3 attempts to clear.

Cole Grbavac looks like he is slumping a little bit. He needs to keep his feet moving, keep throwing those body-checks, and simplify his game.

I liked Scott Mckay's physical presence at forward. He was consistent with his checks, and was very repsposnible in his own end of the ice. He had a couple hiccups offensively with a pass or two but no major mistakes.

Etem's 2nd Career WHL Fight Video

2011-10-11T02:15:00.006-06:00

Emerson Etem vs Jordan DePape

Somewhere in the ruckus Jordan DePape reinjures his bum shoulder, as he never returned to the game.

Kessy Handed a 5 game suspension

2011-10-09T21:51:00.003-06:00

Kale Kessy was handed a 5 game suspension for his hit on Victoria Royals Defenseman Zach Habscheid. You can see the hit on the post below with the video entitled Kale Kessy vs Steve Hodges.

Kale has already sat out 2 games for the hit.

http://www.whl.ca/page/WHL-discipline

---------------------

Also missed posting Round Two between Adam Rehak and Tim Traber during the 2nd of back to back matchups against the royals. Rehak comes out with the win again.

Tigers vs Royals Fight Videos

2011-10-07T12:46:00.004-06:00

Game One

Adam Rehak vs Tim Traber

Decision: Rehak One Punch KO

Kale Kessy vs Steve Hodges

Decision: Draw
Cole Grbavac vs Keegan Kanzig

Decision: Kanzig KO (For Kanzig's first whl fight as a 16yr old I'd say he did pretty good taking on a Grbavac who is well versed in fighting, although Kanzig has 30 pounds and 3 inches on grbavac)

Grbavac sat on Friday's game. He may have a concussion from this fight.

Backup Goaltender Battle Decided | Aasman sent to Spruce Grove

2011-10-05T15:50:00.005-06:00

Dawson MacAuley will be going to Yorkton to play in the sjhl. Kenny Cameron will be the backup goaltender for the Tigers this year.

Kenny Cameron(18) showed a real strong ability to never give up and make the 2nd and third saves as well as a very good ability of controlling the puck down low and in tight spaces.

He tweeted this earlier today:" 15 hours later and have finally arrived in victoria. Also relieved that the process is over and am officially a Tiger. Gunna be a great season"

--------------

Also defensman Ryan Aasman was sent down to spruce grove of the ajhl.

The Tigers roster stands at 14 forwards, 8 defenseman and 2 goalies. 24 players total.
It will be interesting to see if the tigers keep 8 defenseman or let Lewington, Jensen and Becker fight it out for the last spot.

Kyle Becker(injured) and Trevor Cox are the only players who have not yet dressed for a regular season game.

Link

Moose Jaw Puts Dubyk On Waivers

2011-10-03T22:28:00.002-06:00

http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/Sports/Hockey/2011-10-03/article-2765834/Warriors-acquire-Siemens/1

Dubyk played 3 games recording 2 wins and a loss with a 4.00 GAA and .900 save percentage.
I believe he has gone back to the Humboldt Broncos.

Tigers Defeat Oil Kings 4-3 SO

2011-10-01T22:20:00.004-06:00

Tonight was a funny game. The Tigers almost scored the first goal of the game on a delayed penalty. The puck was slapped down the ice and it hit the side of the net.

I thought the Tigers defenceman as a whole played better than the first two games at home, yet they gave up a lot more shots on the score-clock.

Edmonton Looks like they have gotten a bit bigger and a bit faster this year, however we saw them slip back into old habbits as they took some bad penalties(9 straight) and sat on their heels with a 3-0 lead. The Tigers scored 2 goals 42 seconds apart late in the second period by goals from Emerson Etem(goal mouth scramble) and Dylan Busenius (seeing eye shot from the point). Kale Kessy then sniped a shot over the shoulder of Edmonton Tender Jon Groenhyde on a 2 on 1 early in the third to tie the game 3-3.

Shootout
For the First Oil King shot Bunz was lucky as Kristians Pelss didn't get good wood on his shot as he missed trying to put the puck over a stretched pad.

Second Oil King shooter Curtis lazar lost the puck stickhandling at the blueline and didnt get a shot.

First Tigers shooter Hunter Shinkaruk scored. Second Shooter Emerson Etem had the puck flip over his stick and only managed a bad angle shot. Third Shooter Curtis Valk put a backhand deke past Jon Groenhyde for the two points.

Game Thoughts
I thought the Tigers Defenceman played a much better hockey game, despite their troubles handling the puck on the powerplay, and the shot disparity.

When they get more help from the forwards to clear their zone on the first attempt their shots against will go down.

Tyler Lewington played in back to back games and I liked his smarts and play on the ice, despite him being on the ice for the oil Kings first two goals. Watching one game between Aasman, Jensen and Lewington I liked Lewington's game the most, as he looks smart on the ice and fairly composed. Still has some learning to do but I think he is the type to catch on quickly.

I liked Curtis Valk and Reid Petryks game. I think its just a matter of time before Reid Petryk starts producing more points, he's patient and is smart offensively. The more I watch Jayden Hart the more I like his game. Very high Hockey IQ and supports his line-mates real well. We saw him take a few shifts on the 2nd line.

Powerplay Troubles
Edmonton Took 9 straight penalties and the Tigers played the last 10 minutes of the game virtually on a powerplay.

I noticed two things:
1. When the Defenceman didn't pass the puck until after their blueline they almost always lost control from sticks in passing lanes and the puck ended back in their zone.

2. When the Tigers did get puck possession they would make a pass then hold onto it for a few seconds letting the oil kings get re-set, then make another pass, hold the puck, let the Oil Kings get set, and on and on..... They only made noise when the Oil Kings allowed a forward to walk into the slot from down low.

I think they need quick movement to open up holes in the box for those short diagonal or cross ice passes. Or rapid fire from the point and generate rebounds and tips. Perhaps Bring back that swinging defenceman power-play that creates open space.

Oil Kings I noticed
I kept my eye a lot on the Tigers rookie D man Tyler Lewington so I wasn't particularly keeping a close eye on the Kings but...

Keegan Lowe took 3 penalties all which were unnecessary.

Klarc Wilson hit Dylan Busenius from behind. I think a contributing factor to as why Wilson received a 5 minute major and not a minor penalty is because aftewards he sat on Busenius' back for 10 seconds then gave him a shot when he got up.

Michael St. Croix is very quick and shifty on the ice.

The line of Josh Lazowski, Rhett Rachinski, Tristan Sieben had very good first period. They managed to create some offense in tight with short accurate passes, and scored their teams first two goals.

Their penalty kill was working hard and pretty effective. Out of the 20 minutes in the third period the Oil Kings were shorthanded for 13 of them. They gave the tigers fits entering the zone and about 10 of those 13 minutes were spent firing the puck down the ice.

Gavin Broadhead Sent to Midget AAA Tigers

2011-09-30T04:08:00.002-06:00

With the return of Emerson Etem, Gavin Broadhead was sent down to the AAA Midget Tigers this weekend. That means the Tigers forward group is pretty much set with 2 spares up front unless trades are made.

Keeping Broadhead with the "AAA" team also gives the Tigers quick access to possible call-ups if and when injuries occur.

This leaves the Tigers with 26 players on their roster. I believe they have until October 13th to cut down to a 25 player limit.

The Tigers are still carrying 2 spare defenseman and an extra goalie. With the 3 games in 4 nights its possible we might see MacAuley or Cameron get a start in net. both of them have rotated back-up spots for the opening two games.

Pats Drop Tigers 5-3

2011-09-28T21:42:00.009-06:00

The Tigers did their best impressions of Dr Jykel and Mr Hyde with the Regina Pats in attendance.

First Period

The tabbies played very well in the opening ten minutes of hockey creating lots of offense and upping the tempo of the hockey game. An unfortunate hooking penalty to Emerson Etem midway through the first period erased that strong momentum, as Regina changed gears and started to test the Tigers defensive firewall. I thought the Tigers played ok defensively in the first they just had troubles breaking up Regina's cycle and making passes out of their zone.

2nd Period
In the second period it didn't take long for Regina to get on the scoreboard as the talented third round NHL draft pick Jordan Weal sniped a laser top shelf past Tiger Goaltender Tyler Bunz. From their it was ALL Regina in the second period as they piled on 14 shots and built a 2-0 lead as Dyson Stevenson would pot his 2nd of the season.

The Tigers really struggled from the top of the circles and down. It looked like the Tigers were playing perimeter hockey letting Regina swallow in to the inside and also having a real tough time communicating between transition from down low to up high in their own zone. Regina had plugged up the holes and did an outstanding job at penning the Tigers in their own zone. Regina's strong second period is what won them the hockey game.

Fight
Matt Konan decided to drop the gloves after a short pushing match behind the Tiger net with Campbell Elynuik. Konan must not have wanted to fight after a couple missed punches from both players, Konan grabbed Elynuik's leg and tackled him to the ice. Konan was given an extra 2 minutes and a game misconduct. dumb decision, if Konan didn't want to fight keep the gloves on.

Third Period
third period started off the exact same way as the second period as Jordan Weal potted his second goal of the game. The momentum would take its second rapid change of the game as Regina Pat forward Campbell Elynuik would get called for slashing.

After some strong pressure Cole Grbavac rocketed a one timer top shelf past goaltender Matt Hewitt on the power-play. The Tigers didn't stop their as they hemmed the pats on their own zone for a couple very lengthy shifts. Scott McKay's shot from the point bounced off somebody in front and beat a screened Matt Hewett for the Tigers 2nd goal in 2 minutes. 3-2 Pats

The Arena was rockin and Regina called a Timeout to settle their troops. Two minutes later Emerson Etem was sprung on a partial break and managed to tuck the puck between Hewitt's pad for the tieing 3-3 goal. Wow what a game. Unfortunately the Momentum would shift one more time.....

14 seconds later Dylan Busenius misplayed the puck attempting to pass it behind the net to Scott Mckay, however Mckay was no-where near the attempted pass. Dyson Stevenson would eventually send a pass into the slot area as Morgan Klimchuck teed it up and blasted a howitzer passed Tyler Bunz ans stunned the crowd.

Minutes ago everyone was celebrating a rapid 3-0 comeback, and now the Tigers were in the hole again. Curtis Valk came oh so close to tieing up the game as he wristed a shot off the crossbar.

A Kellan Tochkin penalty would put a temporary hold on the Tigers charge. The Tigers did manage to control the puck in the Regina end with the goalie pulled however some nervous passing gave Regina a chance to clear and score the empty netter to cement their Victory 5-3

Positives
First ten minutes, Last ten minutes.
Boston Leier, Alex Theriau and Emerson Etem were the best Tigers of the night.

Spenser Jenson played well on the back-end. He made one little mistake as he lost his balance with a Regina forward one on one and slashed the guy near the neck, other than that I liked his game.

Curtis Valk had a couple real good shifts at the beginning and end of the game.

The rapid Comeback scoring 3 goals in 4 minutes.

The play of Emerson Etem. Regina was aware and keeping a close eye on him.

Reduced their penalties to 5 disadvantages

Negatives
Besides Alex Theriau the defensman had troubles.

Matt Konan was too liberal with his stick he is getting caught reaching and poke-checking where he should be rubbing guys out on the boards. Pokechecking is fine and should be a defenceman's first weapon however once you start reaching it gives the forwards an opening.

Tigers need to find a way to get out of trouble and clear their zone to put an end to momentum changes. I'm not sure if its communication with the forwards, or players not getting in position for passes something needs to be tweaked in their own end.

Busenius and Mckay were -2 on the night. (they were 2nd line defensive partners for a chunk of the game)

The Tigers only have one defensive pair playing consistent.
Too many shots against.

Regina Players I Noticed
Jordan weal who scored 2 goals was very noticeable.
I thought Dyson Stevenson played a dynamite of a game for the pats. 2 points and a +3
Brandon Davidson their captain is very smart defensively. I wish the TIgers had a guy like him.

-----------
Side Note*

Ryan Aasman was a scratch for tonight's game, with Jensen getting inserted.
Haven't seen Trevor Cox, or Gavin Broadhead dress yet. Riley Sheen was scratched for emerson etem.

Kyle Becker is listed as injured for 3 weeks on the whl injury report.

Links
http://www.whl.ca/schedule/show/game/60201
Leader Post blog

Next Tigers Game
They play a home and home with Edmonton this weekend (Friday in Edmonton, Saturday back here)

Emerson Etem sent back to the Tigers

2011-09-25T22:17:00.005-06:00

Didn't expect him to be sent back so soon. I guess Anaheim felt that he wasn't quite ready for the NHL. Nevertheless he will be a much welcome addition to the Tigers team as goal scoring looked to be a bit of an issue in game 1.

---------------------
The Ducks made the following roster moves today:

Assigned to Syracuse (American Hockey League):
Mark Bell – Center
Mathieu Carle – Defenseman
Matt Kennedy – Right Wing
Jake Newton – Defenseman
Richard Schofield – Center

Assigned to Medicine Hat (Western Hockey League)
Emerson Etem – Right Wing

Anaheim now has 37 players remaining on its 2011 Training Camp Roster – 21 forwards, 12 defensemen and four goaltenders.

http://ducks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=589832&navid=DL|ANA|home
-------------------------------------------------

A re-run of the fights from last nights game.

Blomqvist vs Grbavac

Yakubowski vs Leier

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I fudged up the score on my post from last nights hockey game. My post said 3-1, but the score was 4-2.....fixed.

Tigers Drop Home Opener 4-2 to the Canes

2011-09-24T22:32:00.007-06:00

The Tigers also dropped last years home opener by the same score.

Positives

Konan, and Theriau were absolute walls playing defence. They looked good together. Boston Leier showed great hustle and got into a very spirited fight in the first period. Theriau has great lateral movement on the powerplay.

Hunter Shinkaruk generated the most offense and was using his speed, very dangerous throughout the night. (only 17 and the best forward on the ice!!!!)

Tyler Bunz let in 1 weak goal through the legs but stopped a bunch of quality scoring chances.

Adam Rehak (the new euro) showed an aggressive spirit. He is not your typical euro, has that dirty shirt style of play and continued his scoring ways from the pre-season.

Negatives
I thought Cole Grbavac, Kellan Tochkin, Curtis Valk could have played better. Despite being a local kid and I hate to say this but I don't think Ryan Aasman is the right guy the tigers need on the back-end. I'd like to get a look at how Lewington, Becker and Jensen play during a regular season game.

I liked the TIgers top defensive pairing but they need someone else to step up and join Scott McKay to complete a solid top 4. I felt like they didn't quite get that. If the Tigers can solidify their top 4, with Bunz on the back-end defense can be a strength this season.

Start
The Tigers started off the game in control, however the Hurricanes pushed back quickly and I felt like it caught the Tigers by surprise, as the Canes pounced on Sloppy defensive coverage from the Tigers to take an early 2-1 Lead. From their on in it was a see-saw parade to the penalty box.

The game was marred by penalties galore from both teams. Mark it up as a learning experience for the refs and the players as the refs were extremely loose with their call selection.

The Tigers had their chances, but they went 0 for 9 on the PP. While giving the Canes 10 PP chances.
---

Grbavac Fight
Their was one play with 5:39 left in the game that I didn't particularly like, but it was entertaining at least.

Kale Kessy was hit from behind into the boards and Cole Grbavac charged in and gave Albin Blomqvist a whoopin'. Now Kessy is a big boy and the hit wasn't overly raunchy, and anytime other than the last few minutes of a game where your behind by a goal I would 100% support Grbavac's decision to fight.

However that fight took a potential powerplay situation away late in the game (with the instigator). Even Moreso that Lethbridge took back to back penalties soon after and the tigers could have had a few more minutes of quality power-play time.

Etem Watch
Etem was a scratch for Anaheim's preaseason game against Vancouver. The Ducks play their 3rd game in a row sunday against L.A

Links
WHL Gamesheet
Hurricane watch

Next Tiger Home game is Wednesday against Regina

Tochkin Assigned Back To the Tigers

2011-09-23T18:23:00.009-06:00

http://canucks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=589575&navid=DL|VAN|home

Tochkin's pre-season rookie camp play earned him a second look at Canucks camp, but the Canucks decided he would be best served playing another year of junior.

No word on if he will make it in time to play in Saturday's Home Opener.

So the only Tiger Left At Camp is Emerson Etem.
-------------------

Etem Watch
Anaheim lost to the Sharks 5-1. Etem had no points, 3 shots on goal, and 13:43 of icetime

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Captain
Cole Grbavac has been named the Captain for the Tigers 2011-2012 Season.
http://twitter.com/#!/tylerbunz

Owuya Odd Man Out

2011-09-22T21:20:00.007-06:00

The MH News just broke the story

http://www.medicinehatnews.com/local-sports/tigers-decide-on-imports-rehak-and-parkkonen-are-in.html#.Tnvf3pv5LrM.twitter

Well no surprises here. A 2 spotter being a euro and a 20 yr old was writing on the wall. Sebastien Owuya has cleared waivers so he could be picked up by anyone.

Leaves the door open for Tochkin to come back. If he doesn't return the Tigers would be in the market for a 20yr old.

It looks like the canucks are giving Tochkin a long look to see whether he would be better fit in junior or the AHL/ECHL. From what I've read he had a very good pre-season rookie tournament and the Chicago Wolve's head coach Craig Mactavish really liked his play. However the Canucks fans says he wasn't that noticeable during the nhl exhibition games and practice. Tochkin was scratched for tonight's pre-season game, which leads me to believe the Canucks have already decided what they want to do with him.

Tochkin also gave off this tweet: "has a feeling fate will be found out tomorrow"

The Canucks also have 2 pre-season agme on saturday and sunday so they may wait to make some more cuts.

Kale Kessy Returns from Phoenix

2011-09-22T19:38:00.002-06:00

http://coyotes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=589446&navid=DL|PHX|home

Phoenix Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney announced today that the Coyotes have returned three players to the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) while also reassigning 18 players to the Portland Pirates (AHL) training camp. There are now 35 players remaining in Coyotes training camp.

The following players have been returned to their respective junior clubs:

Player: Position-Team-League:

Louis Domingue: Goaltender-Quebec-QMJHL
Kale Kessy: Forward-Medicine Hat-WHL
Mark Visentin: Goaltender-Niagara-OHL
------------

So that Leaves just Emerson Etem, and Kellan Tochkin who have yet to come back.

Emerson Will have a shot to make Anaheim so he wont be back for a while, IF he comes back at all. The Canucks just signed an echl affiliate deal with the Kalamazoo Wings so they have more pro spots open up.

Tochkin did not dress for tonight's exhibition game against Edmonton

Sebastian Owuya sent back to the Tigers

2011-09-22T12:14:00.004-06:00

http://jets.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=589369

That leaves the Tigers with 3 Overagers and 3 euros right now + Kellan Tochkin who may get sent back as well, as his future is uncertain.

Left at Camp
Emerson Etem
Kale Kessy
Kellan Tochkin

My Thoughts
I like Owuya and how he can create a little bit of space whena player is right on his butt. has a long reach and occasionally when the mood hits can bring a real physical demeanor. He has two switches and when he is playng with no fear he is one of the best Dman on the ice. This is an extremely tough decision as owuya has the potential to log a lot of minutes if he can play like he did last year in the playoffs.

But to keep him you would likely have to trade Parkonnen and (konan/tochkin) IF tochkin comes back. If tochkin doesnt come back I think parkkonen could be an odd man out, but the Tigers would want to bring him back next year.

I could see tochkin as a point per game player this season, and Parkonnen is poised for a breakout year. So I could forsee the Tigers applying for an extension past the october 13th date if Tochkin does indeed return. Overall as a junoir player I like Owuya's game but him coming back puts question marks on everyone as the Tigers have some options to run with.

Bunz sent back to the Hat

2011-09-21T12:42:00.006-06:00

Bunz had a very good camp with the Oilers, so hopefully he can continue that play into the beggining of the season with the Tigers.

http://oilers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=589230

Left At Camps
Kellan Tochkin
Sebastien Owuya *didnt play duing the Jets split squad yesterday
Emerson etem
Kale Kessy - Phoenix has a split squad game tonight and Kessy might get another chance to play a preseason game, against Linden Vey. He will probably be sent back very shortly.
-----------------
Last Edit 10:00 Pm Sept 21

I don't see any of the above mentioned on the nhl game-sheets this evening. I expect Kale Kessy to be sent back Thursday or Friday

Players at NHL Camps

2011-09-20T13:37:00.007-06:00

last Edit: 10:30 PM PM Sept 20th

An New update on players at nhl camps. Kale Kessy and Tyler Bunz survived the first rounds of cuts at thier respective nhl camps.

Alex Theriau has been sent back to the Tigers

http://www.defendingbigd.com/2011/9/20/2437979/gameday-preview-dallas-stars-montreal-canadiens-6-30pm-cdt

Cole Grbavac has been sent back to the Tigers.

http://www.medicinehatnews.com/local-sports/busenius-grbavac-back-in-camp-09202011.html

Todays Tiger Edition Pre-season Games
Anaheim(Etem) vs Phoenix(Kessy)-- Etem is playing tonight, Kale Kessy is with Phoenix roster travelling and could play tonight and/or tomorow. Also Former Tiger Ryan Hollwegg is trying out for Phoenix.

Calgary vs Vancouver(split squad)(Tochkin) --Tochkin playing in the game televised by sportsnet pacific

Edmonton(Bunz) vs Chicago and Minnesota split squad) Bunz will be backing up Khabibulin against the wild.

Winnepeg(Owuya) vs Columbus (Split Squad)

Left at NHL Camp
Tochkin
Owuya
Kessy
Etem
Bunz

Kessy and Bunz should be returning fairly soon as nhl exhibition starts. NHL Teams Sometimes like to reward good camps with playing in an exhibition game.

Also wanna say thanks to the Medicine Hat Tigers facebook page for linking to TigerTurf.
----------------------

Devan Dubyk has reported to Moose Jaw

http://www.discovermoosejaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18948&Itemid=402

-------------------------------------
Day Game Stats

Wild 4 Oilers 3
Bunz played 28 minutes and stopped 10 of 11 shots.

Vancouver 4 Flames 3
Tochkin received 8:43 of ice-time, no points

Phoenix 7 Anaheim 4
Kale Kessy -1, 1 charging penalty, 8:42 of ice-time

Emerson Etem 1 assist, -1, 2 penalties, 1 shot, 12:11 of ice-time

Tigers Defeat Rebels 3-1 Exhibition

2011-09-18T00:42:00.011-06:00

Last Edit: 8:35 Monday Sept 19th

The Tigers soundly defeated the rebels 3-1 in their last tuneup game before the season starts. According to the game-sheet the Tigers outshot the rebels 46-10.

Scott McKay, Adam Rehak, and Rhys Dieno all scored for the Tigers. Dylan Busenius was back from Minnesota's camp and played in the game. Kenny Cameron picked up the win in net.

The Tigers finish the pre-season with a 4-1-0-1 record.

Away At Camp
Their are still 7 Tigers Away at nhl camps:
Kale Kessy, Alex Theriau, Tyler Bunz are all expected back (From all accounts Bunz and Theriau have had very good rookie camps. Can't find very much info on Kale Kessy other than 1 twitter user saying they have become a big fan of his, so you know he is throwing his weight around)

Tochkin, Owuya and Emerson Etem's future are all uncertain.

Cole Grbavac has made the stars main camp as a free agent which indicates they have some interest in him. Hopefully they sign him and send him back for another year of junior. If Dallas signs him its possible he plays in the AHL this year.
If he does get signed hold your breath that he comes back.

Vancouver has a new AHL affiliate this year(Chicago Wolves) and their is a bit of uncertainty as to where everyone will fit. Their was a rumor earlier in the year that the Canucks wanted to send Tochkin back for another year of junior. Tochkin was one of the better forwards at Canucks rookie camp, and interviews with him during the camp said that he isn't sure where the Canucks plan to play him.

Sebastien Owuya has made the Jets main camp. I watched a couple periods of their rookie camp games and he didn't look out of place. Having only 1 year of junior as a euro, and where it took him a while to get adjusted, it would be wise to send him back for another season of junior however, that may throw a wrench at the Tigers roster situation, depending on the other overagers.

The Tigers open the season at Home Saturday September 24th against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
-----------------

Edit
The Phoenix Coyotes first cuts are expected Wednesday following thier pre-season game. (Kale Kessy is in camp for phoenix)

Edmonton Oilers have said thier first cuts may possibly come today.(Tyler Bunz in camp with the Oilers)

Tigers Cut Defenceman

2011-09-16T21:51:00.003-06:00

The Tigers cut 16 year old Ty Stanton earlier today.

http://www.tigershockey.com/article/tigers-trim-roster

I didn't like his Intrasquad game, but I really liked his last couple periods against Lethbridge in the exhibition game, where the Tigers won 10-1. If Stanton can develop his defensive ability and get stronger he could have a good shot at making the team next year.

Defense
Defense(10)
Ryan Aasman (19)
Kyle Becker (17)
Dylan Busenius (18)
Spenser Jensen (16)
Matthew Konan (20)
Tyler Lewington (17)
Scott McKay (19),
Sebastian Owuya (20)
Patrick Parkonnen (18)
Alex Theriau (19)

So roughly 3 cuts to make.

I have learned that Sebastien Owuya has made the Jets Main Camp
http://illegalcurve.com/2011/09/16/winnipeg-jets-2011-training-camp-primer-complete-roster-included/

Tigers Cut Wheaton King

2011-09-16T08:35:00.008-06:00

Last Edit: Septmeber 16th, 9:25 AM

Thier roster now sits at 30 players.

Forwards(16)
Dylan Bredo (18)
Gavin Broadhead (16)
Trevor Cox (16)
Rhys Dieno (18)
Emerson Etem (19)
Jonathon Gaudet (19)
Cole Grbavac (20)
Jayden Hart (17)
Kale Kessy (19)
Boston Leier (18)
Reid Petryk (18)
Adam Rehak (19)
Riley Sheen (17)
Hunter Shinkaruk (17)
Curtis Valk (18)
Kellan Tochkin (20)

The Tigers have about 1-2 more Forwards to cut however they will probably stick at this number for a while depending on if Kellan Tochkin and/or Emerson Etem are sent back, as currently they only have 1 spare forward.

Alex Theriau has made main camp with the Stars. Cole Grbavac is listed on Dallas main camp roster. Dylan Busenius who was not listed on minnesota's main camp roster is back.
http://stars.nhl.com/v2/ext/pdf/2011CampRoster.pdf

NHL Camp - Tiger Edition

2011-09-15T21:24:00.005-06:00

Jets 2 Vancouver 0

Kellan Tochkin -1, 1 shot, 2 PM's
Sebastien Owuya +1, 1 shot.

King 3 Coyotes 3
Linden Vey scored at least one goal and one assist. Full Boxscores aren't available at time of post.

Kale Kessy had at least 1 assist

Still No Fight videos available from last night.

Players Status Updates

Dylan Busenius wasn't listed as a try-out players who made main camp for Minnesota so I assume he is on his way back.

----
Kale Kessy is listed on Main Camp With phoenix which starts on Saturday

--------
Cole Grbavac not lsited on Main Camp so I assume he is returning to the Tigers.
-----
Alex Theriau ihas been invited to Main Camp
----
Emerson Etem. The ducks didn't have a rookie camp but their main camp opens Saturday 17th and of course Etem is listed on it.

-------------
Tyler Pitlick it has been confirmedby a twitter user that quoted Edmontons's GM saying that he wont be sent back to junoirs for an overager season

-----------
Linden Vey has had a very good rookie camp playing on the Kings rookies top line. Pretty much guaranteed to stick n the Kings farm system this year.

-------------
Tyler Bunz
Oilers kick off their Main Camp on Friday and Bunz is still in Edmonton So I assume he will take part in it.

-----------------
Sebastien Owuya The Jets listed their roster for training Camp yesterday and Owuya is not on the list. However they played their last prospects game today(thursday) so its unknown if they plan to invite a few more players to main camp.
------------
Kellan Tochkin The canucks made 8 cuts yesterday and Tochkin was not among them.

Dubyk's Thoughts on Being Claimed

2011-09-15T19:05:00.003-06:00

medicine Hat News Link

The following quotes were from the News Article
"""""
"Right now, I am kind of mind blown," said Dubyk over the phone from Humboldt. "I am a Bronc right now.

"None of the coaches have phoned me from the Moose Jaw Warriors. The only way I found out was going on the Internet, and I found out I was claimed. That is where I am sitting right now.

"I thought I put up good enough numbers to get listed or even traded," said Dubyk. "I went down to Humboldt, and you know what, I am with them right now, and I don't have any plans right now about what I am going to do.
"We will see in a couple of days."
"""""(End Quote)

--Article Goes on to interview the Warriors Director of hockey operations Alan Miller, and he wasn't sure if Dubyk is their answer but wants to find out.

------------------------------------

- Well If Dubyk does go to Moose Jaw it sucks that the Tigers get nothing for him. The Tigers must have been aware of Moose Jaw's interest as the MH News article suggests, and that's probably why they delayed putting him on waivers.

If Dubyk makes moose Jaw he gets another crack at the can to open some eyes if he can play solid #1 hockey. If the Jaw were to hold onto him for a month or two and then release him, he might have a tougher time finding somewhere to play.

He has a tough decision to make.

Wednesday Night Games

2011-09-14T22:19:00.006-06:00

Tigers Defeated Lethbridge 3-2 in Exhibition Play. Dawson MaCauley played the entire 60 minutes for the Tigers while the Hurricanes new 20 yr old goalie Damien Ketlo played in net for Lethbridge.

Sheen, Petryk, and Dieno scored for the Tigers. Gavin Broadhead was involved in a fight.

Gamsheet

The Tigers have 1 final pre-season game in Stettler facing the Rebels. The Tigers are 3-1-0-1in pre-season
------------------------------------------------

Tigers At NHL Camps

Vancouver 5 SJ Sharks 3
Kellan Tochkin had 2 assists and a +1 rating.

http://www.pointstreak.com

------
Flames 4 at Oilers 3
Tyler Pitlick 1 goal, 2 PM's, +1
Oiles have 3 goalies and they each were given 1 start. Bunz turn to be scratched

http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=1703727

Thier was some speculation among oilers fans that Pitlick may get sent back to Junoirs but that speculation has been put to rest as Steve Tambellini has confirmed that Tyler Pitlick will turn pro this year.

------

Minnesota 4 Dallas 1
- Dylan Busenius +3, 1 shot
- jace Colye -1, 2 shots
- A.Theriau -1, 1 shot
- C.Grbavac 2 shots, a fight and 7 PM's
-Triston King - no stats

http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=1707818
-Dallas finished last in the Traverse City 6 team tournament.
-----

Phoenix 8 Kings 7
Linden Vey 1 assist
Kale Kessy 19PM 1 fight+instigator+tripping penalty

http://lakingsinsider.com/2011/09/14/rookie-game-postgame-reaction/#more-15775

I'll look for the fight videos tomorow as they aren't up at the time of posting

Devan Dubyk claimed off waivers by Moose Jaw.

2011-09-14T15:54:00.005-06:00

Moose Jaw Times article on Moose Jaw's Claim

http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/Sports/Hockey/2011-09-14/article-2748190/Warriors-pick-up-Dubyk/1

Devan Dubyk left the Tigers Recently to head to the Humboldt Broncos, due to the 3 overager rule. Interestingly enough when Devan Dubyk left he had this to say:

"I've got to be loyal to the Humboldt Broncos," says Dubyk. "They gave up a roster player for me so I've got to be loyal to them and stick with them and that's what I'm going to do. If someone comes knocking at my door, I've just got to politely turn them down and say I'm loyal to this team and I'm going to stick with them."

Will Dubyk change his mind and report to the team that traded him away 2 years ago? Or will he stick with Humboldt? The warriors may be out of luck?

Edit
An Anonymous poster in the comments has mentioned that Dubyk will need a release before he can officially join Humboldt.

Moose Jaw currently has 5 20's on thier roster including Dubyk.

NHL Prospects Tiger Edition Cont.

2011-09-13T21:56:00.006-06:00

Tuesday September 13th Games

Oilers 2 Jets 0
-Tyler Bunz Shuts out the Jets!
-Tyler Pitlick no points, shots not updated at time of post
-Sebastien Owuya no points but he crunched Drew Czerwonka along the boards

http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=1703725
-------

St. Louis 6 Dalas 1
-Jace Coyle 1 shot
-Alex Theriau -1, 2 PM's
-Cole Grbavac -2, 2 shots 6 PM's
-Triston King -1, 1 shot

http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=1686834
--------

Columbus 3 Minnesota 1
-Dylan Busenius Scratched

http://www.pointstreak.com

For Days 1 and 2

http://tigerturf.blogspot.com/2011/09/nhl-prospect-camp-tiger-edition.html
----------------------

Almost Everyone's teams are playing Wednesday Night as the Traverse City prospect camp Concludes.

Tigers Release 3

2011-09-13T09:00:00.006-06:00

Jared Wilson, Chad LaBelle and Cole Sanford were all released to their respective midget AAA teams, with 17-year-old Wilson going back to the Calgary Royals, 16-year-old LaBelle headed to the Calgary Northstars and Sanford, also 16, going back to the Program of Excellence in Kelowna, B.C

http://www.medicinehatnews.com/local-sports/tigers-release-three-more-players-09132011.html

So thier Roster now Looks Like:

Goalies:(3)
Tyler Bunz, (19)
Dawson MaCauley (17)
Kenny Cameron (18)

Defense(11)
Ryan Aasman (19)
Kyle Becker (17)
Dylan Busenius (18)
Spenser Jensen (16)
Matthew Konan (20)
Tyler Lewington (17)
Scott McKay (19),
Sebastian Owuya (20)
Patrick Parkonnen (18)
Ty Stanton (16)
Alex Theriau (19)

Forwards(17)
Dylan Bredo (18)
Gavin Broadhead (16)
Trevor Cox (16)
Rhys Dieno (18)
Emerson Etem (19)
Jonathon Gaudet (19)
Cole Grbavac (20)
Jayden Hart (17)
Kale Kessy (19)
Wheaton King (19)
Boston Leier (18)
Reid Petryk (18)
Adam Rehak (19)
Riley Sheen (17)
Hunter Shinkaruk (17)
Curtis Valk (18)
Kellan Tochkin (20)

31 Players Total

Likely To Not Return(2)
Tyler Pitlick(20)
Linden Vey(20)

The forward group is almost set. The Tigers have 2-3 cuts on forward to make. Although this year they may keep an extra depth player with Etem's return uncertain.

4 Defensive Cuts to make. This will be a very tough decision for the Tigers to make as a couple of thier new rookies are making legitimate cases to stay. Are they good enough to push out a veteran or two for thier spots?

NHL Prospect Camp - Tiger Edition

2011-09-12T09:50:00.011-06:00

Last Edit: Tuesday Morning 8:45 AM (included Dylan Busenius game with minnesota)
For my thoughts on Saturdays exhbition game look down 1 post.

The Traverse City Tourney started on Saturday and here is a recap of Tiger Performers for both Days

Sat Sept 10. Dallas 8 Carolina 2
Jace Coyle: +1, Alex Theriua: +6, Cole Grbavac 3 shots, Trisston King 1 assist +2
http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=1662920

Sun Sept 11 Dallas 2 NY Rangers 6:
Jace Coyle 1 shot, 2 PM's
Triston King -2
Cole Grbavac 2 assists +2 1 shot 7 PM's 1 fight
Alex Theriau Scratched

Grbavacs Fight - Cole Grbavac vs Tayler Jordan
-Nothing Landed Grbavac with the takedown.

http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=1686832

Saturday Sept 10 Buffalo 6 Minnesota 3
-Dylan Busenius was scratched

Sunday Sept 11, Minnesota 4 Detroit 2
Dylan Busenius was a +1

Sun Sept 11 -- Oilers 7 Canucks 2
-Bunz ws the backup, Pitlick healthy Scratch, Tochkin Scratched
---------------------------

EDITED In Mondays Game
Vancouver 4 Calgary 3
Kellan Tochkin 1 goal 6 shots +2

Jets vs SJ
- Owuya Scratched

Tigers Defeat Lethbridge 10-1 Exhibition

2011-09-12T08:20:00.006-06:00

Was busy this weekend plus my internet was down, but here are a few notes from this weekends exhibition game.

The Tigers simply played like a team full of players still looking to grab a roster spot. Lethbridge Came out and played more physical early in the second but they couldnt withold a Tigers Surge.

2 players Jared Wilson and Kyle Becker were not listed on the Tigers Gameday roster sheet, everyone else including the gameday scratches were listed. Haven't heard anything news wise about them being released, but it may be the case?

EDIT Kyle Becker is injured.

Notes On New Players
Ty Stanton(16) - Very smart, and very quick. As a 16 year old he has lots or room to fill out his frame but this Dman could be a stud for the Tigers down the road. He looked very good

Tyler Lewington(17) - Reminded me of Former Tiger Thomas Carr - Very steady work ethic, made all the right plays. Lewington and Stanton played the majority of the game together, and they looked very poised and confident all night.

Spenser Jenson - Big body but looks like he hasn't 100% adjusted to the whl speed, which may not be a great thing when it comes to regular season play. He could possibly be an odd man out.

Rhys Dieno - Reminds me of Bretton Cameron, but with quicker acceleration. Finishes his checks, works hard, and also displays some skill.

Adam Rehak - 4 goals. This kid loves to shoot. He was on a 3 on 1 and shot the puck from the high slot(of course he scored). Has an aggressive nose for the net, and tried to go after a hurricane player after he knocked over his linemate in the corner, has a fiestyness to him.

Riley Sheen - displayed a couple nice offensive moves. Has nice hands in tight however while he wasnt bad defensively he wasn't winning some of the puck battles that the other players were winning in his own end.

Trevor Cox(16)- Small speedy but with the forwards left he could be an odd man out.

Jonathen Gaudet - He got into a fight early on was behind the paly but the opposing player got an instigator. Gaudet pounded on him. Gaudet, Grbavac, Kessy - could be the most feared(intimidation wise) line in the league if they happened to play together. Although it might be better to spread their toughness out.

Ryan Aasman - Got into a fight after he was tangled with a Hurricane player who was looking to go all night. The Tigers have two rookies who have looked pretty good. If the Tigers want him to stay they will likely either have to cut a young rookie in lewington/stanton or trade someone like Mackay.

Overall a very good showing by the rookies. By my account they have roughly 1 goalie, 4 defenseman, and 4-5 forwards to cut. Although they might not get down to the numbers for a while.

Goaltenders - Both played half the game. MaCauley let in one goal. As it stands the goaltending battle is still very close, with Bunz a key prospect in the Oilers system one of these two might be the starter for the Home opener in two weeks. Right Now its too tough to call.

Pats Defeat Tigers 6-5 SO Exhibition

2011-09-10T01:26:00.003-06:00

GameSheet: http://www.whl.ca/schedule/show/game/59413

The Tigers have Video highlights on their website.

Tiger Vets In Lineup:6 + Wheaton King, Ryan Aasman
Regina Vets In Lineup: 8 + 5 players with 30 games or more whl experience

Dawson MaCauley was in net for all 5 Regina goals. Kenny Cameron came into the game in the second period and shut the door the rest of the way. However he was beaten twice in 2 attempts in the shootout. The seesaw battle for backup continues.

------------------------------------
The Tigers make their only home exhibition game Tonight at the Arena.

Devan Dubyk Moving On

2011-09-07T16:30:00.002-06:00

Full Article: http://www.tigershockey.com/article/dubyk-moving-on

"It was a tough overeager situation here, and I didn't crack the top three so I've decided to play Junior 'A' in Humboldt, Saskatchewan for the Broncos," states Dubyk.

"It's sad to leave a great organization like the Tigers, and a great group of guys. I know I'll miss them and hopefully they miss me, and hopefully they'll make a long playoff push."

-----------------------------

Well with the numbers game, I think he knew that the oulook for this season didn't look very good for him. I'm happy to see that he will be able to keep playing hockey for another year, where it looks like he will be a starter. I wish him Good Luck!

That essentially cuts camp down one more to 34.

Tigers Cut 4

2011-09-07T10:03:00.002-06:00

Blake Penner(15)
Nathan Mortlock(15)
Quinlan Moore (17)
Brennan Hunker (17)

35 players remain in camp. From what I remember last year they had 29 players but had no extra's spares as players left for NHL Camps. 8 Players will be heading off to pro camps this next week(not including linden Vey, or tyler pitlick) Both are expected to be gone. Their may be an outside shot of pitlick returning if the Oilers farm system is filled with thier many up and coming prospects, however I still think it is unlikely for that scenario to happen.

Emerson Etem will have a chance to make the Ducks this year. If Anaheim Forward Teemu Selanne decides to retire Etem might just be given a chance to stick in the nhl if he impresses. IMO I think they will send Etem back after a handful of nhl games, but if selanne does retire they just may end up keeping him. Keep your fingers crossed.

http://www.tigershockey.com/article/tigers-cut-down-roster-after-weekend-tourney
------------------------------------------------

Dieno Shows Spark

Camp Exodus Set to Begin
------------------------------------------------

If I may make a comment :), this year the MH News and tigershockey.com have done an excellent job at reporting any and all news about the Tigers so far this season. Much Much better than in years past. Keep it up, Good Work!

Oil Kings Defeat Tigers 3-2 in Ex. Game 2

2011-09-05T22:28:00.003-06:00

WHl Gamesheet: http://www.whl.ca/schedule/show/game/59406

Despite the loss the Tiger rookies should be proud as they played a more veteran Oil King lineup, as I counted 12 Oil Kings vets who played last season in the game.

The Tigers dressed Devan Dubyk,Patrik Parkkonen, and Curtis Valk along with (,King,Aasman) as the other whler's with at least half a season of whl experience.

Curtis Valk wore the "C"
Patrik Parkonen the "A"
Ryan Aasman the "A"

Rhyse Dieno scored a pair of power-play goals. Dawson MaCauley stopped 20 of 20 shots for the Tigers, while Devan Dubyk surrendered 3 powerplay goals.

In the past the Tigers have made a couple more cuts after the Edmonton Tourney. They'll likely cut down on their 15 year olds as well.

Their Next game is on Friday in Shanavun against the Regina Pats. Followed by their only exhibition game at home on Saturday against Lethbridge.

Tigers Win First Exhibition Game 4-2 Against Calgary

2011-09-04T17:08:00.007-06:00

Game Sheet link: http://www.whl.ca/schedule/show/game/59401

Kenny Cameron and Dawson MacAuley split the goal-tending duties for the Tigers.

The Tigers dressed 3 whl regulars in Hunter Shinkaruk, Ryan Aasman, and Sebastien Owuya, as well as two former wheat kings in Wheaton King, and Jonathen Gaudet.

The Tigers also dressed Two 15 year olds in Blake Penner, and Nathyn Mortloch. Penner had a goal while Mortloch had an assist.

Hunter Shinkaruk wore the C, while Ryan Aasman and Sebastien Owuya wore the "A"'s

Rhyse Dieno, and Jayden Hart lead the way with a goal and assist each.

Next exhibition game is tomorrow vs the Oil Kings.

Tigers Cut Down to 39

2011-09-02T14:13:00.003-06:00

www.tigershockey.com listed their current roster http://www.tigershockey.com/article/tiger-trim-training-camp-roster

Comparing that to the players who played in the intrasquad game the following players have been cut.

Cody Schlosser
Spencer Bomboir
Wyatt Trumbley
Wyatt Johnson
Allan Killback
Devon McAndrews
Cameron Gotaas
Paige Maul

The Tigers play a couple exhibition games Sunday and Monday in the Oil Kings annual Pres-season tournament. Historically the Tigers have played mostly all of thier new players to see how they fit in, and make more cuts after the weekend.

MHNews Article on the cuts: http://www.medicinehatnews.com/local-sports/tigers-cut-down-to-39-players.html

EditAlso added Tyler Bunz blog to the blog roll on the right hand side.

Black & White Intrasquad Game!

2011-08-31T21:12:00.006-06:00

Thoughts

First time I saw a lot these players, so descriptions will be extremely brief. Kinda wished I kept a closer eye on some of the forwards, as they tended to blend it together. which is not a bad thing.

Spenser Jenson(16)(defense) - big agile, mobile, plays the body well. Needs some coaching but has a shot at making the team this year.

Blake Penner(15)(forward) - Quick, feisty and has a gritty aggressiveness in his game. Threw a lot of hits.

Riley Sheen(17) - Slick hands looked pretty shifty and has some speed to his game. Good hustle and picked up his man in the D-Zone.

Adam Rehak(19) - new Euro Loves to shoot from anywhere. Has an aggressive nose for finding the puck. I think he scored 2 or 3 goals in the Intrasquad game.

Cody Schlosser(15 Goalie) covers and controls the lower half of the net real well. shots up high seemed to handcuff him.

Dawson McAuley(17 Goalie) - Was victim to a number(3-4) of rebound goals. Real big in net, and made the first save though.

Kenny Cameron (18, goalie) has a Tim Thomas like attitude fighting for the puck. Quick and agile, Never gave up on the shot and made some good 2nd and 3rd saves. Has the potential to edge out McAuley if he can keep it up long-term.

Wheaton King(forward) - bigger body the few times I saw him he was throwing out hits, Good positioning.

Reid Petryk - looked really good controlling the puck. Noticed him and shinkaruk the most.

Jonathen gaudet (19)(forward) - This years version of Sam Dezman. Skated real hard, bigger body and threw some hits, looked real solid. He will have to play hard every day if he wants to get a spot.

Devon McAndrews(16)(forward) - HUGE looked like he was 6'5. Didnt get a long look at him but The couple times I watched him the smaller guys seemed to be skating around him. Although he did seem to posses some good straight line speed.

Emerson Etem(19) had a couple big rushes, He was playing the body and being aggressive.

Ryan Aasman(19)(defence) - wasn't particularly impressed. Good skater, but seemed to be fighting the puck. He had the initial poise of a veteran but I remember watching quite a few times where he fumbled the puck, and had no finish. He will have to be better if he wants a spot.

Hunter Shinkaruk(17) was flying out their and was easily beating all the rookies to the puck. Best Tigers off the night.

Gavin Broadhead(16)(forward) - I honestly thought he wasn't playing until I saw him in the third period. Watched him closely for a couple shifts and he looked real good at controlling the puck along the boards and anticipating the play. Based on those couple shifts he may be a front runner for a spot.

Nathyn Mortlock(15)(defense) looked very small on the ice.

Ty Stanton's(Defence) I liked his offensive instincts, but he might be a liability defensively.

Cameron Gotaas(forward) - (16) Very speedy, very small.

Thier was one line for team black, Paige Maul? Riley Sheen?, Brennan Hunker? cant 100% remember but they created lots of havoc stealing pucks and creating offense for team black. Rhys Dieno, and Trevor Cox I remember thinking they created some pretty good offense for team white But team white also struggled defensively at times.

The game roster is down below. Html is buggering up with blogger code so it may be a ways down.

Team Black	Team White
Goalies	Goalies
Kenny Cameron	Tyler bunz
Cody Schlosser	Dawson McAuley
Devon dubyk	Spencer Bomboir
Skaters	Skaters
Wyatt Trumbley	Sebastien Owuya
Ty Stanton	Scott McKay
Nathyn Mortloch	Ryan Aasman
Matt Konan	Tyler Lewington
Spenser Jenson	Quinlan Moore
Emerson Etem	Jared Wilson
Wheaton King	Hunter Shinkaruk
Riley Sheen	Gavin Broadhead
Brennan Hunker	Cameron Gotaas
Allan Killback	Rhys Dieno
Cole sanford	Trevor Cox
Wyatt Johnson	Blake Penner
Paige Maul	Reid petryk
Boston Leier	Curtis Valk
Dylan Bredo	Jayden Hart
Adam Rehak	Devon McAndrews
Kale Kessy	Jonathon Gaudet
Patrick Parkkonen	Chad Labelle

Allan Caldwell over at his blog has the Tiger players left at camp.
http://smallatlarge.blogspot.com/2011/08/2011-12-camp-rosters.html

Tiger Articles

2011-08-30T13:18:00.006-06:00

Sheen Ready To Step Up
http://www.medicinehatnews.com/sheen

Petryk Looks for Bigger Role
http://www.medicinehatnews.com/local-sports/petryk

Tyler Bunz Training Camp Blog
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

New Shaw TV Sports Reporter
http://dawsonscrease.blogspot.com

Black and White Intrasquad Game
The Tigers have thier annual Black and White intrasquad game Wednesday Night at 7:00PM admission is free.

----------------------------------
Wednesday Updates
Imports In A Crunch

Happy To Be Home

Making Their Case

Could Pitlick be back for another season?

2011-08-28T15:06:00.004-06:00

I have been hearing some chatter about the remote possibility of Tyler Pitlick being sent back to junior for another season.

The Oilers camp will be packed with prospects this year, and Pitlick might be behind a few players on the depth charts. He missed most of the Oilers development camp in the off-season because his ankle wasn't fully healed.

This years Oilers training camp will be their ultimate evaluation on prospects but if he stays behind a few players on the depth charts their is a small chance that the Tigers just might get a Huge bonus for this upcoming season.

IMO Pitlick is good enough for the ahl, and in normal circumstances he would be playing their this year. However, with the Oilers packed prospect in training camp it begs the question of whether to send him back and watch him play huge minutes back in juniors. (He only played 58 games last year due to his injuries/suspensions), or watch him get his feet wet in the ahl.

The Tigers graduated Wacey Hamilton last year and its almost certain Linden Vey will stick in the Kings systems, but if Pitlick came back he would probably slot on to be the Tigers #1 centerman.

Right now its a fools hope to think he will be back, however its not out of the realm of possibility, as we saw a similar situation with Thomas Kundratek a couple years ago with the New York Rangers.

For a good read on his situation visit check out these 2 Oiler Blogs:

http://lowetide.blogspot.com/2011/08/eta-pitlick.html
http://www.coppernblue.com/

Dylan Businius Invited to Minnesota's Prospect Camp

2011-08-24T19:01:00.007-06:00

I was extremely quiet with this blog in the off-season, and skipped quite a bit of Tiger News, but other sources have done a much better job at relaying information (especially now that twitter and facebook all have whl/tiger feeds).

Now that hockey season is around the corner its time to start this blog back up.

Dylan Busenius (finally spelled his name right)
Dylan Busenius participated in the Minnesota Wild's prospect camp this off-season. Dylan must have done well enough because he is listed on the roster for the Minnesota Wild's Traverse City prospect camp. So that makes 10 Tigers in total invited to prospect camps. Read the Medicine Hat News Article for More information on the other 9 Tigers going off to NHL Camps.

http://redwings.nhl.com/v2/ext/Prospect%20Tournament/2011-12%20MN%20Traverse%20City%20Roster.pdf - Minnesota Roster

I'd also be a little surprised if Mathew Konan does not eventually get an invite somewhere. He is a big body, long reach, stay at home physical defenceman, who has the potential to skate the puck out of the zone. I'm hoping this kid put some muscle on in the off-season. I still think he has a degree of pro potential in him at least of ahl quality, but he still needs to get stronger and quicker.

Tigers Announce Training Camp Schedule

2011-08-23T10:57:00.004-06:00

Rookie Camp
Friday, August 26, 2011
8:30 am – 9:30 am Practice Team Black Team Teal Fitness Test
9:45 am – 10:45 am Practice Team White Team Black Fitness Test
11:00 am – 12:00 pm Practice Team Orange Team White Fitness Test
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm Practice Team Teal Team Orange Fitness Test
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Vets Ice
4:00 pm – 6:15 pm Scrimmage Team Black vs. Team White
6:30 pm – 8:45 pm Scrimmage Team Orange vs. Team Teal

Saturday, August 27, 2011
8:30 am – 10:45 am Scrimmage Team White vs. Team Orange
11:00 am – 1:15 pm Scrimmage Team Black vs. Team Teal
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Goalie Session
2:45 pm – 3:45 pm Vets Ice
4:00 pm – 6:15 pm Scrimmage Team Teal vs. Team White
6:30 pm – 8:45 pm Scrimmage Team Black vs. Team Orange

Player releases to be done following each afternoon ice session today

Sunday, August 28, 2011
9:00 am –11:30 am Top 40 Game

Individual player interviews following today’s Top 40 Game
Rookie Camp Concludes

Main Camp
Sunday, August 28, 2011
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Team B Fitness Test
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm Team A Practice
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm Team B Practice
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Team A Fitness Test

Monday, August 29, 2011
8:30 am – 9:30 am Practice Team Orange
10:45 am – 12:45 pm Scrimmage Team Black vs. Team White
1:00 pm – 2:15 pm Goalie Session
2:30 pm – 3:30 pm Pros Ice
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Practice Team Black
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Scrimmage Team White vs. Team Orange

Tuesday, August 30, 2011
8:30 am – 9:30 am Practice Team White
10:45 am – 12:45 pm Scrimmage Team Black vs. Team White

Releases to be done following each morning ice session today

2:30 pm – 3:30 pm Pros Ice
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Scrimmage Team A vs. Team B

Wednesday, August 31, 2011
9:00 am – 10:00 am Team A Practice
10:15 am – 11:15 am Team B Practice
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Pros Ice
7:00 pm Intra squad Black & White game

The Intrasquad game is indeed on Wednesday!
http://www.tigershockey.com/article/tigers-training-camp-schedule

Tigers Add Local Product Ryan Aasman

2011-08-22T09:07:00.006-06:00

The Tigers have added local 19 year old defeceman Ryan Aasman to their protected list. Swift Current had released him a few days ago, as they were trying to get thier numbers down after having 8 potential defenceman returning.

With the addition of Aasman it should create some healthy competition between Aasman, Scott Mackay, and Dylan Businius for playing time, IF he makes the team.

Aasman has previously played for Prince Albert, Seattle Thunderbirds, and Swift Current.
Here is a link to his hockeydb profile.

Training Camp
Also this week prospects and veterans will be trickling into town if their not already here. I assume their training camp schedule will get released fairly soon. (last year at this time thier schedule was released on a tuesday and rookie camp started on friday)
-------

Edit
The Medicine Hat News just released an article that details some info on rookie camp
http://www.medicinehatnews.com/local-sports/summer-break-ends-for-tigers-local-whl-club-set-to-open-rookie-camp-on-tuesday-08222011.html

The rookies will play all day friday and saturday and have a top 40 rookie game on Sunday at 9 AM, main Camp will open later in the day at 4PM

Next Season

2011-07-18T10:24:00.007-06:00

Old News
The Tigers have invited 18 year old wheaton King to training camp. Last year he played in 38 games recording 11 points and 33 penalty minutes.

http://www.brandonsun.com/sports/local/tigers-give-king-a-chance-125254539.html?thx=y

Cole Grbavac
tigershockey.com just put out an article about Cole Grbavac and how he is preparing for a big season. He participated in Dallas Stars Development Camp. Grbavac also skated for them last year during pre-season.

http://www.tigershockey.com/article/grbavac-preparing-for-big-year-in-2011-12
Kellan Tochkin
I have also heard from a source that it is likely that 20 year old Kellan Tochkin will be back for another season with the Tigers.

20 Year Old List
Matt Konan - lock if not signed. ***
Scott Ramsay - Heard that he is going to college and likely not coming back
Kellan Tochkin - likely to come back
Linden Vey - GONE
Cole Grbavac - Lock if not signed
Tyler Pitlick - GONE
Sam Dezman - Likely Gone (concussion)
Deven Dubyk - Traded or Released
Sebastien Owuya - could be back

The likely candidates are
Mathew Konan
Kellan Tochkin
Cole Grbavac

Sebastien Owuya would need to beat out Mathew Konan for a spot, and beat out new Import Adam Rehak, and/or Patrik Parkkonen. Its looks unlikely but we will have to wait and see what training camp brings. The Tigers could have 3 euros and 4 overagers until cut down day.

Next Year Projection
Forwards **not the expected lineup but just for depth purposes.
*Note only showing prospects who played last year and first round picks.

Etem Shinkaruk Grbavac
Rehak Tochkin Valk
Kessy Bredo Petryk
Leier xxx xxx
xxx
xxx

Riley Sheen
Adam Rehak
Jayden Hart
Wheaton King
+ Prospects

Defense
Matt Konan Alex Theriau
Dylan Businius Scott Mackay?? (Defense or Forward)
Patrik Parkkonen xxx

Spenser Jenson
Kyle Becker
Ryan Aasman
+ propsects

Goalies
Tyler Bunz
Dawson MacAuley
Deven Dubyk (likely trade bait or released)

Overall
So that leaves 4 forward spots open and 2 defense spots open. However prospects that didnt make it last year could fill those spots. So expect one or two to be traded/released if any new prospect makes a significant impact.

It looks like the Tigers first and 3rd lines could be very strong. Their secondary scoring is hard to predict. It has the potential to be a very big plus, but it could also struggle if the new euro cant adapt well and/or tochkin struggles, or injuries happen.

The Defense
The Tigers will need a breakout performance from Dylan Businius and consistency from Scott Mackay and the Tigers will have a decent top 4. IF this group can clear rebounds and make a good first pass out of the zone, the Tigers overall game got a lot better. However if those 2 struggle we may see trades made and/or more time given to the rookies.

Overall
I'm not sure what to think. If certain combos can gel, they will be the dark horse of the league and suprise, especially with the loss of guys like Pitlick, Vey, and Hamilton. However their's alsoo the possibility of having the supporting players/ depth not up to par if the 18 year olds dont step up their game.

They have a combo of smart, physical, fast and skilled forwards, They should maintain an average offense at worst.
The Question will be on how the secondary offense and defense gels together.

It seems like they have the ingredients of where thier not expected to be a power house yet could suprise if things mix together well. Yet they could also cook up a rotten batch of cookies. A safe bet would put them in teh middle of the pack 5th-6th. However I wont be suprised to see them fall or rise in either direction.

CHL Import Draft

2011-06-29T08:17:00.008-06:00

The Tigers have the 54th pick in the first round. The Tigers will be making one pick as Parkonnen looks like a good candidate to be back for next year, as despite his smallish stature and limited ice he showed a good deal of potential.

Sebastien Ouywa is still eligible to come back and depending on pro opportunities / 20 year old situation he may or may not be back.

1st Round
54. Medicine Hat Tigers – Adam Rehak 19 year old.
D.O.B: Sept. 26, 1992
Last Team: HC Vitkovice U20
Country: Czech Republic
Position: Forward
Height/Weight: 5.11 179
Draft Status: Was eligible this year. Wasn't drafted. Ranked 96 overall for European skaters

Last Years Stats:
GP:50 G:31 A:31 PTS:62 PIM:101 +/-:33

http://www.chl.ca/draft/chl

Looks like the Tigers got a guy who is capable of scoring and not afraid to battle judging by his penalty minutes.
----------------
WHL Schedule IS OUT
Schedule is out very early this year, which is very surprising considering they just moved a franchise. Tigers Season and Home Opener is against Lethbridge again. September 24th.

The Tigers do the bulk of their traveling in the first two months of the season. They do not have a U.S road trip this year so their road schedule in the second half is extremely light with the exception of a small 2 games in 2 day trip to Prince George.

They also only have 2 occasions where they play 3 games in 3 nights. So overall a more balanced schedule with the long road trips early in the season.

Monday - 0
Tuesday - 6
Wednesday - 7
Thursday - 1
Friday - 6
Saturday - 15
Sunday - 1

One Tiger + 1 Hatter Drafted in NHL Entry Draft

2011-06-25T13:36:00.002-06:00

Kale Kessy Was selected 111th overall by the phoenix coyotes in the 4th round.

PHX KALE KESSY LW CAN 6' 3" 184 WHL MEDICINE HAT

One interest of Note Medicine Hat Born Darren Deitz was selected in the 5th round 138 overall to the Montreal Canadiens.

Congratulations to both players.

WHL Puts Pressure On Tigers/City

2011-06-22T11:22:00.009-06:00

I've decided to take a bit of a break from blogging, hence the no posts for the last month. This story is a little hard not to post something about, especially when the possible future of the Tigers playing in Medicine Hat is in jeopardy.

http://www.tsn.ca/chl/story/?id=369611

Tigers' future in Medicine Hat depends on new arena
MEDICINE HAT, Alta. -- The commissioner of the Western Hockey League says the failure of the City of Medicine Hat to fund a new arena is surprising and disappointing.

Ron Robison says the Tigers are the only WHL franchise to have an arena that doesn't meets league standards.

He says the construction of a new arena and event centre is necessary for the Tigers' future in Medicine Hat.

Robison says a meeting between hockey officials and the city is being scheduled immediately.

In 2004, WHL updated its arena standards and Medicine Hat is the only city to not meet the requirements.

------------------------------------
Thoughts

A new arena without question is needed. My understanding is that there are a couple important parts in the ice making process that could fall apart at any time. Combine that with the fact that the Medicine Hat Arena is now the only arena that doesn't meet league standards.

With the new police expansion, parking is going to be absolutely atrocious.

The biggest reason why the issue was defeated because a large sum would be taken out of the capital reserve fund. In terms of long term planning $51 million can generate a shit ton of cash on interest. Calculating the economic gain of building the events center vs taking out the cash from the reserve fund is tough to calculate.

The 96$ million dollar price tag seems extremely high, and I believe that was the biggest factor of alderman voting against the project. If The City could trim that price by 20-30 million, I think we'd get a better response.

P.S If the Tigers were to build a new Arena, they would become a prime candidate for hosting the memorial cup if they were to put in a bid.

Arm-Chair GM Scouting Report

2011-05-25T22:12:00.028-06:00

2nd Annual Arm-Chair GM Scouting Report

Will be inputting N/A for players I don't take interest in at the next level. Ha. May edit sections over the next couple days.

Using Hockey's Future Projection Rankings
Note: Dont judge purely by the number ranking as the potential rank is just as if not more important.

Tyler Bunz Hockey Age:18
I liked his development throughout the year, I thought he continually improved. The Tigers whl goaltending coach made a slight adjustment to his game mid-season as they said he was coming too far out of his net. Judging by the numbers and his overall game it definitely helped him catch fire late in the season. Last year he developed his positional play, this year he continued on with that and his reflexes/quickness also got a lot stronger, as a result his rebound control improved.

Bunz will be back next season. He was arguably one of the best goaltenders in the league last year. The Tigers keeping their GA for the year under 200 was a large credit to Bunz' play as the Tigers Defense was average.

My Mid-Season Rank: 7.5 C
End-Season Rank: 7.0-7.5 C
Hockey Future Rank: 7.0 D

My goalie experience is rather limited. Bunz in his 18 year old year was at the level of Keetley in his 20 year old year.
------------------------------------------------
Devan Dubyk Hockey Age:19
At times he displayed brilliance but had poor focus at times. I give him credit that he helped get the Tigers through the first round of the playoffs when called upon.

I thought Dubyk had troubles getting focused mentally in the first period, and when he had poor games he had poor focus. He has some talent but I don't believe he is consistently focused enough to make it to a higher level of play. That being said I thought his overall game showed a lot of improvement this year as he looked a lot bigger in net.

He likely will not be back next year as a 20 year old back-up. I'm not sure if there is much of a market for a 20 year old goaltender, but he could be had for a relatively cheap price. He has experience in winning a playoff round, and has the potential to be a real surprising upstart #1 guy if he can stay consistently focused.

Mid-Term Grade: 2.5 C
End Season Grade: N/A
Hockeys Future: N/A
-----------------------------------------------
Sebastien Owuya Hockey Age:19
I was initially disappointed in his caliber of play as I expected more from a Drafted prospect. However he continually started to grow on me from the last two months of the season and playoffs, as he was a more confident player, and was the best Tigers defenceman in rounds 2 and 3.

He is a big strong kid with a long reach that creates space for himself in the D-Zone. He has the ability to make a perfect pass but doesn't always show it. He is physical along the boards, but sometimes it looks like he gets intimated and shies away from physical scrums. Needs to improve his balance and get stronger on his feet

He's not ready for the next level, later bloomer being a 20 yr old next season. He needs another year at the junior level to develop his skills as he is still too raw.

He has a couple skills in his game that are very like-able, which is probably why he was drafted. He needs to develop his quickness/stronger on his feet and do a better job at defending 1 on 1 and keep an active stick before he is considered to move on to the next level, as the quick players sometimes burned him to the outside. Right now I would mostly pass on him, or perhaps give him a tryout on a minor league team to see where he is. I would rather re-evaluate him after another year of junior/europe.

Mid-Term Grade: 5.0 D
End Season Grade: 3.5 D
Hockeys Future: 6.0 C

--------------------------------------------------
Patrik Parkkonen Hockey Age:17
It took him a while to adapt coming over from Europe, but I thought he showed good improvement from his first game to his playoff appearances. This season was for him to get his feet wet. I thought the Tigers played him too much early on in the season, and he struggled.

I like a lot of the fundamentals in his game. He scoops the puck up along the boards very quickly, good skater, has the potential to see the ice well and be a smart player. Despite his smallness he is very adept at one on one play. He just needs to get faster, in the playoffs it looked like he was much more capable of keeping up with the play.

He displays no fear in taking hits from players who see cross-hairs with him being a smaller player. He will just have to get faster for him to contribute more next season which we saw glimpses off during the last 2 playoff games this year.

I dont like him enough to get drafted. He has potential to be an above average junior Hockey player, however I'm uncertain as to if that potential would translate at an nhl level.

Mid-Term Grade: Unsure
End Season Grade: N/A
Hockeys Future: N/A
--------------------------------------------------
Alex Theriau Hockey Age:18

His style is similar to Former Tiger Cam Barker. Theriau has a good shot, and has a smart hockey sense. If there is one negative to his game its that his acceleration/foot quickness is rather slow, but that may have partly been from his leftover ankle injury he suffered mid-season. If he improves on his quickness he cold develop into a solid 2 way defenceman, but right now I see his max potential as being more of a 6th/7th depth guy in the NHL, because of his footspeed.

Mid-Term Grade: N/A
My End Season Grade: 5.5 C
Hockeys Future: 6.5 C

-------------------------------------------------
Matthew Konan Hockey Age:19
Big, tall and has a long reach, likes to squish forwards along the boards. He needs to improve upon his defensive awareness. Sometimes he is prone to leaving a man slightly open. Has a good amount of quickness for his size. A Defensive defenceman, with an above average first pass ability.

His overall progress had been slow and steady. He needs to get stronger, improve his defensive awareness and learn that he can poke-check without reaching.

He will be a 20 year old next year, and I believe he needs one more year of hockey at the junior level. I think he is good enough to play at the ahl level and may have an outside shot at developing into a 3rd pairing guy at an nhl level. I would be in favor of sending him a camp invite.

Mid-Term Grade: 5.5 C
My End Season Grade: 5.5 D
Hockeys Future: N/A

-------------------------------------
Thomas Carr Hockey Age:20
Was a leader of this years Tigers team. Thomas has above average smarts, slightly above average skill, and a willingness to stand up and lead his teammates. Sometimes he has a case of stone hands where he's prone to mishandling pucks in random places. My personal opinion is that he doesn't quite have what it takes to reach the NHL. I'd see him as more of a 3rd pairing guy in the ahl, possibly 2nd over time. I think CIS hockey would be his best route.

Mid-Term Grade: N/A
My End Season Grade: 3.0 C
Hockeys Future: N/A
----------------------------------------------------
Jace Coyle Hockey Age:20

He signed a 3 year deal with Dallas earlier in the season. I think a large part of that had to due Willie Desjardins. Coyle's style of play projects to be more of an offensive defensman.

His biggest asset is his speed/stamina. However Coyle has many flags that will hold him back at the next level. He is hesitant to go into the corners, as he is not that physical and will have a tough time containing forwards along the boards. His first pass and overall decision making is questionable. His defensive awareness and work ethic in the D-zone needs massive improvement.

I think he's likely to see some ECHL time for his first season. I think he will top out as a 2nd/3rd pairing #2 PP guy in the Ahl.

Mid-Term Grade: 3.5 B
My End Season Grade: 4 D
Hockey's Future: 6.0 C
---------------------------------------------------------
Scott McKay Hockey Age:18

He reminds me a lot of Thomas Carr, a little more raw, less experienced but with a slightly higher hockey IQ potential. Next year will be his year to shine as he will be 19and expected to contribute and be a steady presence either on defense or forward. As of right now I don't see much interest in him at the next level.

Mid-Term Grade: unsure/3c
My End Season Grade: N/A
Hockeys Future: N/A
-------------------------------------------------
Dylan Busenius Hockey Age:17

Draft eligible this year. He projects to be something similar to a Jay Bouwmeester type player. A defenseman who has an offensive skill set but uses it more defensively than offensively. His play this year has baffled me. At times he looks very talented with a high degree of potential, but at times he looks like his potential will take a long time to develop.

Sometimes he is a little hesitant with the puck coming out of his own end, but I think part of that had to do with the Tigers systems with forwards taking off early and not giving him good passing options. His defensive awareness in his own end could also use a lot of improvement. The Tigers benched him late in the playoffs for a game.

He has a decent set of hands, has decent size, and good mobility for a guy his size. I would look at drafting him with my 7th pick, as Busenius is still fairly raw, and as such is hard to judge what kind of player he will end up being. I think he needs that confidence boost to play consistent and develop that potential he has hidden.

Mid-Term Grade: 6.5 D
My End Season Grade: 6.5 D
Hockeys Future: N/A
-----------------------------------------------
Scott Ramsay Hockey Age:19
Didn't get see him enough to make judgement due to injuries. From the limited action I saw from him he plays a simple physical game.

Mid-Term Grade: N/A
My End Season Grade: N/A
Hockeys Future: N/A

-------------------------------------------
Wacey Hamilton Hockey Age:20

He is very good at creating room in the neutral zone, and for a smaller type body on the ice displays a physical ability. He shows toughness playing through injuries and has a higher than average skill-set at the whl level. A leader on the ice and in the dressing room. Above average speed/acceleration.

I still see him as being more of a career minor league, that will take a few years before challenging for an nhl checking role. The only thing I hate about his game is that he is the type of player that will take penalties at inopportune times. He projects to be a speedy 3rd/4th line grinder type who could chip in with an odd goal and play the penalty kill.

Mid-Term Grade: 4.5B
My End Season Grade: 4.5B
Hockeys Future: N/A
-------------------------------------------------
Kale Kessy Hockey Age:18
A calm physical presence on the ice. Plays a smart positional game. His ability to scout out hitting opportunities is very high, however sometimes he has a tough time holding up on borderline or gray area hits.

His offensive ability is rather limited, as he has below average puck control. However he most often gets a shot on net when given an opportunity. Kessy has also displayed a talent for standing in front of the net as a screen and tipping pucks. He has a slower acceleration but his top speed is above average.

I think next season should continue playing physical and work on getting the garbage goals/tips, and develop his ability to play along the boards.

My opinion of him is more of a 4th line energy/physical guy. He could even possibly see ice-time on a 2nd PP unit banging and crashing in front of the net as he is not afraid to do that.

I think he is worth a 5th-6th round pick. However I could see a team really value his physical ability and take him in the 4th. There were reports on the net that a couple teams were keenly interested.

Mid-Term Grade: 5.5C
My End Season Grade: 5.5C
Hockeys Future: N/A
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Dylan Bredo Hockey Age:17
A big bodied smart defensive player. Wins a lot of the small battles and takes care of his own end. Frequently on the ice when the Tigers had a one goal lead late in the game. He doesn't take penalties. He showed massive improvement over his 16 year old season.I could forsee him becoming one of the whl's top defensive specialists before his whl career is done.

Projects to be a pure defensive 3rd/4th line player. I'd consider picking him up with my last pick, depending on the pool of other players available, but would rather offer a camp invite. Defensive forwards are not really sought after. Although I find his smarts/size intriguing.

Mid-Term Grade: 5.5D
My End Season Grade: 5D
Hockeys Future: N/A

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Emerson Etem Hockey Age:18
Emerson developed a couple extra dynamics in his game. His long reach and straight line speed created a deadly penalty killing ability. 2. He developed his play-making skills. He used to always go wide but now if the situations calls for it he is not afraid to cut to the middle, and has created a couple moves that are very effective. As I've said before he wont take long to reach the nhl after juniors.

He will be given a shot at making Anaheim next year. I think eventually he will come back to the Tigers but Anaheim might take a long hard look at him and let him play 9 NHL games before being sent back.

Mid-Term Grade: 7.5B
My End Season Grade: 7.5 B - 8.0C
Hockey's Future: 8.0 C

He will be at least a 2nd liner in the NHL. I think that a lot of scouts undervalued him and were concerned about hishis "one-dimensional game" which he shred this year.

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Boston Leier Hockey Age:17
Was a depth player for the Tigers this year. Plays a feisty game and not afraid to drop the mitts. I thought he improved quite a bit over the 2nd half, and worked his ass off. Next year he should be a 3rd liner.

Don't see any NHL interest in him as of yet being a late bloomer.

Mid-Term Grade: Unsure
My End Season Grade: N/A
Hockey's Future: N/A

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Curtis Valk Hockey Age:17
Played mostly on the 4th line with a few spurts on the first line filling in for injuries. I thought he was one of the most improved players this year. He got a lot faster towards the end of the season. Next year he will have a shot at playing on the 2nd line. He should be able to double his point totals next year.

I wouldn't draft him at this point in time, but would keep an eye on him as he might have potential to break out next season. He needs to get faster before he has nhl considerations who will be very wary of his size.

Mid-Term Grade: Unsure
My End Season Grade: N/A
Hockey's Future: N/A
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Reid Petryk Hockey Age:17
Anchored the 4th line for most of the year. Has good size, showed a good ability at protecting the puck/board play. Not worth a pick at this point in time, but may keep an eye for potential camp invites/try-outs later in his career. Hopefully next year he will be able to push 40 points.

Mid-Term Grade: Unsure
My End Season Grade: N/A
Hockey's Future: N/A
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Kellan Tochkin Hockey Age:19

Has a patient style of play, more of a perimeter player. Needs work on his skating. He does have an uncanny knack for being in the right place at the right time. You could compare him to a smaller version of former Tiger Tristan king, but with better vision but rougher skating ability.

Tochkin is already signed and drafted. He is not quite ready to move up a league. He needs to employ a steadier work ethic, keep his feet moving, and get faster. He does seem to posses a pretty good passing ability.

I think he could very well be sent back for another year. For his long term potential IMO I don't see him getting past the AHL level.

Mid-Term Grade: N/A
My End Season Grade: 4.0 C
Hockey's Future: 6.0 D
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Linden Vey Hockey Age:19

Excels at protecting the puck in the corner and along the boards. He maintains a low center of gravity and constantly fights for optimum body position on his opponent. Very quick turning ability. His vision and hockey IQ is off the charts.

He posses a very deadly laser-beam of a wrist shot that he can fire off quickly. His passing ability at the whl is top notch. He was constantly thinking 2-3 steps ahead of his opponents.

As this year wore on IMO Vey received a ton of icetime on the PP,PK and first line. He started getting lazy in the defensive end and conserved his energy for offensive chances.

His weakness is his physical game. He does not like to be hit, and rarely throws out hits in a game. A talented and skilled player but he has virtually no physical presence on the ice.

L.A is stacked with prospects so Vey will have time to toil in the minors. A safe bet would be 3rd line, as he possesses a pretty good checking ability.

Mid-Term Grade: 7B
My End Season Grade:7-7.5c
Hockey's Future: 6.5 C
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Cole Grbavac Hockey Age:19
One of my favorite players over the last few years. Last year I said his slow start may have cost him getting drafted but there was something about him that really peaked my interest. This season Cole had a big breakout year, and kept improving all season.

Excellent ability along the boards, physical and protects the puck very well. Finishes his hits, not afraid of anyone, wins a lot of small battles on the ice, warrior like mentality. There were a lot of times where he took on a much bigger opponent and wasn't afraid to take a few punches to deliver a knockout blow. He'll take punishment in front to score the garbage goals, and he is an intimidating presence on the ice.

His stone hands started disappearing 3/4 way through the season and he started popping in goals in the playoffs, and showed some surprising agility. I think he is capable of playing in the AHL next year, but another year of junior would be better served for his development in generating more offense and seeing how far his potential could go.

I believe Grbavac has the potential to play on a 3rd/4th line in the NHL. His energy and work ethic on the ice is incredible as he is always battling. I could definitely see him serving on a 3rd line in the AHL for a few seasons, then getting a chance at cracking a 4th line role.

If I'm not mistaken Grabvac is still eligible for this years NHL entry draft I would definitely be in favor at picking him up in this years nhl draft with one of my 6th/7th round picks. If he doesn't get picked I would be heavily interested in sending a camp invite. At worst he is a 3rd line grinder/PK heart and soul energy guy in the ahl.

Mid-Term Grade: 3C
My End Season Grade:5.5-6 C
Hockey's Future: N/A
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Hunter Shinkaruk Hockey Age:16
He surprised a lot of people this year as he became a steady presence on the 2nd line, after taking virtually a whole year off hockey to recoup a broken leg. He started the year strong, but his game topped off during the mid season grind. He recovered his game 3/4 the way through and was a dangerous threat around the net.

Very high enthusiasm level, and loves playing the game which is infectious to his teammates. Dirty shirt style of play, aggressively pursues the puck. Has above average vision, passing for a 16 year old.
Not eligible for the draft until 2013. Right now I could see him go anywhere from 5-30 first rounder, but he still has 2 years to go.

Mid-Term Grade: 7.5D too early to tell
My End Season Grade: 7.5 too early to project
Hockey's Future: N/A

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Tyler Pitlick Hockey Age:19

Power forward. Amazing agility for his size, very quick stick-handler. Has a rifle for a shot. Dynamic offensive ability. Saw big improvements on his consistency and defensive zone play. I wish he was back for another year. I have heard him say in interviews that he wished he would have came over earlier.

Mid-Term Grade: 7.5C
My End Season Grade: 7.5 B
Hockey's Future: 7.5 C
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Line1
**Reserved**
My Tiger Prospects Ranking
*only counted draft eligible and up
Emerson Etem--- 7.5B-8C
Tyler Pitlick---7.5 B
Linden Vey------7-7.5C
Tyler Bunz------7-7.5C
Cole Grbavac----5.5-6C
Wacey Hamilton
Alex Theriau
Kale Kessy
Mathew Konan
Dylan Businius
Sebastien Owuya
Kellan Tochkin
Jace Coyle
Dylan Bredo
Thomas Carr
Curtis Valk
Reid Petryk
Scott Mackay
Boston leier
Patrik Parkkonen
Devan Dubyk

Congrats to the Ice

2011-05-14T18:02:00.004-06:00

Congratulations to the Kootenay Ice who won the WHL Championship with a 4-1 Victory over Portland Last Night to take the series 4-1.

I thought Kootenay's journey to the memorial cup was pretty unique. It is very rare that Kootenay's most challenging competition would come from their first round opponent in Moose Jaw who took them to 6 games.

Their players are not only talented but they are very smart hockey IQ wise. Up and Down the Ice they are almost always in a triangle formation and support each other very well. They win 60%+ of all the puck battles, and every player finishes their hits with minimum penalties whether their a high goal scorer or defensman.

I'll admit I was ticked off that Kootenay took out the Tigers so quickly in their 3rd round matchup, but you got to admire the traits in their hockey team. They are a very good club who added a key peice at the trade deadline in Cody Eakin and they relatively slipped in under the radar until they dismantled everyone they faced in the playoffs.

Good Luck to the Ice @ the Memorial Cup in Mississauga.

Teams
OHL St. Michael's Majors
OHl Owen Sound Attack
QMJHL - St Johns Seadogs
WHL - Kootenay Ice