Willie Desjardins takes over the GM and Head Coaching Role
https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/juniors/willie-desjardins-returns-medicine-hat-tigers-gm-coach/
https://chatnewstoday.ca/article/598064/desjardins-back-behind-tigers-bench-coach
https://medicinehatnews.com/sports/local-sports/2019/05/31/the-golden-age-is-back-desjardins-returns-to-tigers/
Friday, May 31, 2019
Thursday, May 30, 2019
OMFG - Sean Clouston Has Been Let Go
Sorry for the Title but this is Major Major News for the Tigers.
Tigers Part Ways with Sean Clouston
https://chatnewstoday.ca/article/597979/clouston-and-tigers-part-ways
Major News Conference
A Major announcement is expected for 10 AM on Friday.
Is Willie Desjardins Coming Back?
Sean Clouston
Sean's Tenure with the Tigers has had both good and bad moments. He was initially brought in by Willie Desjardins back in the 2003-2004 season. He was an associate/assistant coach under Willie Desjardins for 6 years. He was a big part of the coaching staff on 2 WHL titles in 2004 and 2007
In 2010-2011 Sean took over the reins as the Tigers Head Coach after Willie left to try out the pro ranks and coach with the Dallas Stars. In 2012 Clouston took over the GM role.
In 9 years as the Tigers Head Coach, Clouston has amassed a regular season record of 365-234-0-45. a Career .602 winning percentage. He also holds the record for most wins as a Tigers Head Coach.
During his tenure, the Tigers only missed the playoffs once, but also never advanced passed the 3rd round. 2 first round playoff exits, 4 - 2nd round playoff exits, and 2- 3rd round playoff exits. They had a couple of very good teams but were unable to find playoff success.
Fan Reputation
Not everything has been fine and dandy under Clouston though. There have been a handful of players to publicly sit out and demand trades. This past season 2 players Henri Rybinski and Gary Haden demanded out and both saw incredible success with their new teams. Both players put up .33ppg early in the season with the Tigers and jumped up to over a ppg pace on their new teams.
Clouston's reputation among the fans has long been soured because of this. If you're a daily/weekly reader here there have been lots of comments about wanting a coaching & GM Change. It's been a constant debate and theme.
Under Clouston, the Tigers have largely kept the same style of team and the past few season attendance has been dwindling. This past season the average attendance was 3121 which is a 19-year-old low. Ref: http://www.hockeydb.com/nhl-attendance/att_graph.php?tmi=6774
Hockey is always changing and coaching is a very volatile job. For what my opinion is worth 2 seasons ago I stated I was giving Clouston until the end of the next season to put up a winning season before I would publicly call out for a change.
Many readers of this blog have been crying out for a 5+ seasons that they need a change and it looks like today it has finally happened. As a long time follower of the Tigers, I do want to say thanks to Sean Clouston for his work with the Tigers.
I also feel hugely excited about Tigers hockey again. Might be time to pick up seasons tickets again. One thing for sure, this weekend I'll be starting my work on predictions for next season!
Go Tigers Go!
Sean Clouston's Response via Twitter
Tigers Part Ways with Sean Clouston
https://chatnewstoday.ca/article/597979/clouston-and-tigers-part-ways
Major News Conference
A Major announcement is expected for 10 AM on Friday.
Is Willie Desjardins Coming Back?
Taking Note has been told that Willie Desjardins will be returning to the Medicine Hat Tigers as GM/head coach.— Gregg Drinnan (@gdrinnan) May 30, 2019
Desjardins has previously mentioned in a radio broadcast last season that there have been offers from others but it would be difficult to coach anyone in the whl, but the Tigers.
Sean Clouston
Sean's Tenure with the Tigers has had both good and bad moments. He was initially brought in by Willie Desjardins back in the 2003-2004 season. He was an associate/assistant coach under Willie Desjardins for 6 years. He was a big part of the coaching staff on 2 WHL titles in 2004 and 2007
In 2010-2011 Sean took over the reins as the Tigers Head Coach after Willie left to try out the pro ranks and coach with the Dallas Stars. In 2012 Clouston took over the GM role.
In 9 years as the Tigers Head Coach, Clouston has amassed a regular season record of 365-234-0-45. a Career .602 winning percentage. He also holds the record for most wins as a Tigers Head Coach.
During his tenure, the Tigers only missed the playoffs once, but also never advanced passed the 3rd round. 2 first round playoff exits, 4 - 2nd round playoff exits, and 2- 3rd round playoff exits. They had a couple of very good teams but were unable to find playoff success.
Fan Reputation
Not everything has been fine and dandy under Clouston though. There have been a handful of players to publicly sit out and demand trades. This past season 2 players Henri Rybinski and Gary Haden demanded out and both saw incredible success with their new teams. Both players put up .33ppg early in the season with the Tigers and jumped up to over a ppg pace on their new teams.
Clouston's reputation among the fans has long been soured because of this. If you're a daily/weekly reader here there have been lots of comments about wanting a coaching & GM Change. It's been a constant debate and theme.
Under Clouston, the Tigers have largely kept the same style of team and the past few season attendance has been dwindling. This past season the average attendance was 3121 which is a 19-year-old low. Ref: http://www.hockeydb.com/nhl-attendance/att_graph.php?tmi=6774
Hockey is always changing and coaching is a very volatile job. For what my opinion is worth 2 seasons ago I stated I was giving Clouston until the end of the next season to put up a winning season before I would publicly call out for a change.
Many readers of this blog have been crying out for a 5+ seasons that they need a change and it looks like today it has finally happened. As a long time follower of the Tigers, I do want to say thanks to Sean Clouston for his work with the Tigers.
I also feel hugely excited about Tigers hockey again. Might be time to pick up seasons tickets again. One thing for sure, this weekend I'll be starting my work on predictions for next season!
Go Tigers Go!
Sean Clouston's Response via Twitter
Thank you @tigershockey ! pic.twitter.com/6xKWMJKWKe— Shaun Clouston (@ShaunClouston) May 30, 2019
Thursday, May 2, 2019
Bantam Draft Reviews (2011,2012,2013)
This year's crop Located @ Tigers Website
Thoughts
Too early to tell. They had 6 picks in the top 3 rounds. As long as the scouts did well come 2023-2024 the Tigers should see an upswing season barring trades etc.
-----
Draft Reviews
2013 - Director of Scouting & Assistant General Manager: Brad McEwen
Avg Height: 5''7.5
Thoughts
Too early to tell. They had 6 picks in the top 3 rounds. As long as the scouts did well come 2023-2024 the Tigers should see an upswing season barring trades etc.
-----
Draft Reviews
2013 - Director of Scouting & Assistant General Manager: Brad McEwen
| Rnd | Pos. | Name | P | H | lbs | GP | PTS | |
| 1 | 10 | Quenneville, David | RD | 5.07 | 175 | 251 | 214 | |
| 2 | 32 | Shaw, Mason | C | 5.06 | 150 | 162 | 142 | |
| 2 | 35 | Jevne, Ryan | RW | 5.09 | 175 | 273 | 253 | |
| 3 | 54 | Skapski, Marshall | LD | 5.08 | 151 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | 75 | McGrath, Austin | G | 5.11 | 148 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | 113 | Taupert, Jordan | C | 5.04 | 125 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | 118 | Gerlach, Max | C | 5.05 | 130 | 278 | 251 | |
| 6 | 121 | Fantillo, Caleb | RW | 5.09 | 162 | 159 | 35 | |
| 8 | 162 | Makar, Cale | RD | 5.06 | 125 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | 202 | Roberts, Ryan | LD | 5.10 | 154 | 0 | 0 |
Avg Height: 5''7.5
Avg Weight: 150 lb
Total GP: 1123
Total Pts: 895
Thoughts
This was an incredible Draft. Their top 3 picks all turned into key players. They also drafted 2 gems in the later rounds. Unfortunately, 1 didn't come to the WHL and will likely be a star defenceman in the NHL. If Makar had come over it would have been a draft for the history books, nonetheless an above average draft with 4 key players and a depth player.
2012 - (GM: Brad McEwen Head Coach: Sean Clouston)
Avg Height: 5"10
Thoughts
I feel the Tigers did very well considering their positioning @ 16th overall and no 3rd or 4th round picks. They still found 1 star, 1 core player, and 1 depth player. If you were to string a couple of these types of drafts back to back, it would pose talent problems with the lineup.
It was a slightly underwhelming draft but they did pretty well-finding talent with lean pick selection.
2011
Avg Height: 5.08
GM: Brad McEwen
Head Coach: Sean Clouston
Thoughts
The Tigers did extremely well because they had a late-round selection and no 2nd round pick. They found 2 whl stars and 2 depth players
Thoughts
This was an incredible Draft. Their top 3 picks all turned into key players. They also drafted 2 gems in the later rounds. Unfortunately, 1 didn't come to the WHL and will likely be a star defenceman in the NHL. If Makar had come over it would have been a draft for the history books, nonetheless an above average draft with 4 key players and a depth player.
2012 - (GM: Brad McEwen Head Coach: Sean Clouston)
| Rnd. | Pos. | Name | Pos | Height | Weight | GP | PTS |
| 1 | 16 | Schultz, Ty | RD | 5.11 | 150 | 187 | 50 |
| 2 | 38 | Bradley, Matthew | C/LW | 5.09 | 150 | 281 | 247 |
| 5 | 104 | Xavier, Jordan | C | 5.08 | 134 | ||
| 6 | 125 | Dubuisson, Mendell | RW | 6 | 150 | ||
| 6 | 126 | Dyck, Mitchell | RD | 6 | 184 | ||
| 7 | 143 | Morris, Riley | G | 5.1 | 154 | ||
| 7 | 148 | Young, Justin | RW | 5.11 | 152 | ||
| 8 | 170 | Forrest, Brad | LD | 5.09 | 135 | 151 | 36 |
| 9 | 191 | Fletcher, Jake | LW | 5.09.5 | 155 | 1 | |
| 10 | 211 | Bredo, Todd | LD | 6.02 | 170 | ||
| 11 | 226 | Uhrich, Brayden | RW | 5.09 | 151 | 7 |
Avg Height: 5"10
Avg Weight: 153 lb
Total GP: 627
Total Pts: 333
Thoughts
I feel the Tigers did very well considering their positioning @ 16th overall and no 3rd or 4th round picks. They still found 1 star, 1 core player, and 1 depth player. If you were to string a couple of these types of drafts back to back, it would pose talent problems with the lineup.
It was a slightly underwhelming draft but they did pretty well-finding talent with lean pick selection.
2011
| Rnd. | Pos. | Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | GP | PTS |
| 1 | 18 | Penner, Blake | LW | 5.09 | 170 | 165 | 43 |
| 3 | 62 | Butcher, Chad | RW | 5.05 | 121 | 302 | 260 |
| 4 | 69 | Mortlock, Nathyn | RD | 5.11 | 160 | 46 | 4 |
| 4 | 79 | Mowbray, Alex | C | 5.11 | 174 | 213 | 50 |
| 6 | 124 | Robidoux, Zac | G | 6.02 | 190 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 128 | Owre, Steven | C/RW | 5.09 | 140 | 283 | 221 |
| 7 | 150 | McEachern, Michael | LD | 5.09 | 124 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 172 | McCulloch, Josh | C/LW | 5.07 | 155 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | 194 | Martens, Nolan | LW | 5.11 | 145 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | 213 | Normandeau, Patrick | LD | 5.08 | 162 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 223 | Donnelly, Matthew | RW | 5.08 | 125 | 0 | 0 |
Avg Height: 5.08
Avg Weight: 151 lb
Total GP: 1009
Total Pts: 578
GM: Brad McEwen
Head Coach: Sean Clouston
Thoughts
The Tigers did extremely well because they had a late-round selection and no 2nd round pick. They found 2 whl stars and 2 depth players
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