Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Black and White Intrasquad Game

Team White won 4-3.

If I can find these kids twitter link, I'll add them in...Will be a work in progress.

Goalies
Spencer Bomboir - 17
Zac Robidoux - 16 (played second half for black)
Kenny Cameron - 19 (Played first half for black)
Kellan Williams = 16 (Played the second half for white)
Dawson McAuley - 18 (played first half for white)
Nathan Warren - 17


Team Black
Dylan Busenius - 19
Nathyn Mortlock - 16
Brad Forrest - 15
Tyler Lewington - 18
Matt Staples - 17
Spenser Jensen - 17
Gavin Broadhead - 17
Ryley Wozniak - 16
Jake Fletcher - 15
Alex Mowbray - 16
Josh McCulloch - 16
Curtis Valk - 19
Jayden Hart - 18
Boston Leier 19
Sean Aschim - 20
Scott Allan - 16
Matthew Bradley - 15

Team White
Daniel Hansen - 17
Dallas Rossiter - 18
Ty Stanton - 16
Gabe Bast - 16
Brennan Hunker - 17
Mendell Dubuisson - 15
Trevor Cox - 17
Steven Owre - 16
Kyle Becker - 18
Miles Koules - 18
Ty Schultz - 15
Rhyse Dieno - 19
Blake Penner - 16
James Wade - 17
Devon McAndrews - 17
Dylan Bredo - 19
Chad Butcher - 16
Chad Labelle - 17



Links
You Can also download the roster from the Tigers website...Although its a little incorrect as some guys like Kale Kessy and Jacob Doty weren't dressed.

http://tigershockey.com/rosterLink

Tigershockey Twitter
Darren Steinke Twitter
Video Highlights


Vet Notes
Everytime Curtis Valk or Dylan Bredo was on the ice they controlled the play.
Miles Koules scored a goal and was involved in a couple others. He looks like he has a great deal of skill offensively, picked off a couple cross ice passes.

Chad Labelle crushed Jayden Hart with a solid open ice hit, but Labelle was the one who went down.

Jayden Hart got into a fight with Ty Stanton they were tucked in a corner but it looked like both guys connected with a few shots. No clear winner.

I liked the play of Rhyse Dieno, I also thought Kyle Becker and Tyler Lewington looked like rocks defensively.



Rookies
Ty Stanton - Hit everything and anything, managed to crush Curtis Valk in the corner. Your gonna like this guy. Got into a fight with Jayden Hart. Looks tall on the Ice. Very solid taking the body. He was the most impressive prospect on the ice for me. Reminds me of Colton Tuebert (former regina pat) at this point. Has a mean streak in him running over everyone in a clean and legal way.

Nathyn Mortlock - Incredible offensive vision and puck handling, but got burned a couple times defensively. Looks pretty small on the ice.

Daniel Hansen - Euro Looked nervous.

Brennan Hunker - Superb passing skills. Threaded a couple beauties through feets and sticks.

Gavin Broadhead - He can absolutely fly. IF his hands catch up to his skating he could become dangerous.

Blake Penner - Scored a goal. Was penalized for a very late hit on Nathyn Mortlock. I remember him looking poised with the puck in tight against the blueline when he was on the powerplay.

(Sean Aschim) a journeyman whler was on the Ice who I didn't realize was a 20 year old until the third period was almost over. He will be in tough for a spot.

Other Notes
Its impossible to get a decent viewing on all players from both teams on just 60 minutes of icetime but Rookies Josh McCulloch(16), Matt Staples(17), Steven Owre(16), James Wade(17), and Devon McAndrews(17) all caught my eye with their play.


Cole Sanford was not on either list. Someone told me that he was out of training camp with the flu? Edit His twitter feed mentions Mono on August 15th so he may be out for a while.

Who did you like?

Edit: Prospect Signings
Jake Fletcher August 26th
Zac Robidoux August 27th

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Training Camp Starts

Last Edit: 2:50 mtn (Added Kale Kessy)

Well It's time to ramp up and get this blog going again as Tigers Camp starts with their retreat into Cypress Hills.

This upcoming season should be an exciting one to watch as the Tigers have quite a few draft eligible guys on the roster this season highlighted by Hunter Shinkaruk who is projected to be a first round pick as well as a potential candidate for the world juniors.

NHL Lockout
It is starting to feel like the beginning of the NHL season will not start on time. Recently Don Cherry among others have said they expect at least a 2 month lockout into the season. While I hope that doesn't happen, this could be the wrong year for a lockout to benefit the Tigers.

Tyler Bunz - Neither Dubnyk or Khabibulin are on 2 way contracts, which means they won't be sent down in case of a lockout. If their is a lockout their would still be a goalie slot open in Edmonton's System.

I think the ECHL would be a better than usual training ground, and I think the Oilers would want to put him in pro hockey for his development. I doubt he comes back.

Edit: Kale Kessy
I think lockout or no lockout he will be returned by phoenix. He had a disappointing season last year, plagued with suspensions and injuries. I expect to see the same work ethic this year as he brought in the first round of the playoffs against saskatoon, and help instill that confidence in the younger players.

Emerson Etem
I'm quite certain the Ducks will want him playing in the AHL. The ducks have a lot of forwards on 2 way contracts, and some unsigned guys from the previous season, so they will have a lot of depth in case of a lockout in the AHL.

Even though Anaheim's Farm Team (Syracuse) forward depth is packed, Etem is good enough that he will be on that team........The ducks however did send Etem back early 2 seasons in a row..... I think their is a really good chance he does not return either.

I would put Bunz as 95% not coming back, and Etem at 90% not coming back. Their is still always a chance if something funky happens with this looming NHL lockout.

Forward Group
The forward group will be slightly different to the group that ended last season. Less top heavy with the loss of Emerson Etem, but the core young guys are one year older and offense should be spread a little more evenly.

The potential loss of Etem will be a big hole. However the emergence of Curtis Valk and Boston Leier in the second half of last season and the acquisition of Miles Koules should really help spread out the goal scoring depth.

The Tigers should have an extremely dangerous top line, followed by a lot of depth and speed at forward. I expect Leier, Hart, Koules, Valk, Shinkaruk, Cox, to reach at least the 20 goal mark with maybe Dieno, Labelle, possibly Kessy sniffing close to that area as well barring big injuries.

To think that all of them are eligible to come back next year(minus kessy) is absolutely mouth watering. Cross your fingers now that the forward core will all be back after (next season 2013-2014 ) as the Tigers have potential to dress one of their strongest groups at forward since the memorial cup days next season.

Depth Purposes Only
Shinkaruk Bredo Koules
Hart Valk Leier
Kessy Cox Dieno
Doty Labelle Broadhead
penner
+ prospects



Defense
Losing Matt Konan, James Bettauer, Patrik Parkkonen...that's 3 important players in which their experience will be hard to replace. Fortunately the young crop of D-men looks like they will be a pretty talented group in 2-3 years, but that could mean slumps and tough times depending on how fast this group adapts.

Depth Purposes Only
Busenius Theriau(inj?)
Lewington Becker
Stanton Jensen
Hanson
+Prospects

The D group is mildly inexperienced with Theriau out of the lineup...but every single guy shows really good potential...They could start the season with Busenius and Lewington as the number 1 pair (with theriau's status unknown) and those 2 were sort of the #3 pairing at season end. These guys may takes some lumps early in the season if they don't adapt quickly and defense could be an issue if Theriau is out for a long time.

Import Pick Daniel Hanson skill level is unknown, and for predictions sake you gotta put him on a similar path to Patrik Parkkonen where the first year was a bit rough.

The explosiveness and speed the Tigers have up front should hopefully help them have greater success at getting the puck out of their zone once their forwards have puck possession.


Goaltending
Marek Langhammer
Kenny Cameron
Dawson MacAuley
Zac Robidoux

I don't really expect goaltending to be a concern even with the loss of Bunz. If Langhamer does indeed come over the Tigers will have 2-#1 goalies this year and that will make it hard for the young Zac Robidoux, and Dawson MacAuley to crack this team. Nonetheless the job for the goalie spot will be highly competitive and extremely interesting.

Overall
I love the mobility of the roster this year.

I think this team could be very competitive right off the bat and in the later half of the season, but their will be bumps and bruises along the way. They are a bit younger this year than usual, so hopefully they don't get too cocky, or too down when things get tough.

Their is competition in every position and they still have room to add a 20 year old with Mckay going to school. They may look at bringing in a Dman with the forward group already quite packed.

With the mobility the Tigers have I'm certain their will be some tinkering. They may offload a prospect, they may offload a 19 year old. They may offload a goaltender. They may bring in a defense-man/overager. Their are a lot of options they could go with.

MH News Articles
Time To Get Aquainted

Friday, August 17, 2012

Head Office Shifts Roles

http://www.tigershockey.com
Shaun Clouston is now the Head Coach and the General Manager.
Brad McEwen will take on an assistant GM role, and the Head Scout Role.

If you follow the comments on this blog their were a couple users suspecting that Brad would step down for a lesser role.

Tiger Call Press Conference at 2 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB - The Medicine Hat Tigers have called a media conference for today Friday, August 17th at 2:00pm in the main lobby of The Arena.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
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- I will be working at the Time and may not be able to provide updates until later in the day.


Goal-tending Situation Wide Open
http://www.medicinehatnews.com/local-sports/goaltending-situation-wide-open-08172012.html

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Mavericks Game Cancelled Tonight

Due to rain the Mavericks game has been cancelled tonight.

Tonight's playoff game vs. Regina is CANCELLED due to weather. Game is now scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday at 705pm

-From their Facebook Page

Monday, August 13, 2012

Grbavac Awarded Scholorship

StFX Athletics is pleased to announce their newest Danny Gallivan Memorial Scholarship recipient. Cole Grbavac from Calgary will be suiting up for the X-Men hockey team this coming fall and has been named the recipient of the prestigious award.

We are very pleased that Cole has received the prestigious Danny Gallivan award,” comments X-Men hockey head coach Brad Peddle. “He will be a great addition to StFX, to the X-Men hockey program and to the community overall.”

“Cole was a tremendous leader for his team in junior hockey; he was heavily involved in the community and was a very popular teammate. He possesses a strong work ethic both on the ice and in the classroom, is very strong academically and he will study business at StFX. Cole will be a welcomed addition to our program and we are very appreciative of the Gallivan family for their continued support of our StFX student-athletes,” continues Peddle.

http://boxscorenews.com/stfx-athletics-announces-gallivan-scholarship-recipient-p44110-68.htm

I guess this confirms that Cole Grbavac will be going the school route. I wish him the best of luck.
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Hunter Shinkaruk

1st Game (3-2 Win)
Shinkaruk centered a line with Ryan Strome(Niagra) and Lucas Lessio (Oshawa).
They were playing against the Russians top Line featuring the 1st overall pick in last years Draft Nail Yakupov in game 1. Russians top line only scored a 5 on 3 goal.

2nd Game (6-3 Loss)
Shinkaruk got a hooking penalty.

Third game
(Monday Night) Hunter Shinkaruk will be scratched

Overall No points for Shinkaruk, 2 penalty minutes, not sure of plus/minus.

Mavericks Fans
Free Stream of Game 4 between the Regina Red Sox and Medicine Hat Mavericks Tuesday Night
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/medicine-hat-mavericks

Regina is up 2-1 in the best of 5 Series.