Game played on 1/21/2025.
General Game Notes: Medicine ran away with this game from the start scoring four goals in the opening period while blanking the Pats at the same time. The Tigers were able to score four power play goals, dominated in the face off circle, and shots on net. This type of puck control is hard to manage, and that was the difference for the Pats tonight, no time with the puck.
Jordan Switzer (G, L, 6’0″, 185, Medicine Hat Tigers, 01/26/2007)
Grade: B+
Comments: Regardless of the score, only seeing seventeen shots on net can be tough night but Switzer played well for the little action he had. Switzer did a good job maximizing coverage with his length and recovery tactics, as well as performing the appropriate depth control in various situations. He is consistently visually attached to the puck, which helps him compete for every puck. Switzer has the ability to work outside his positional framework and technical skill set to find creative solutions to difficult situations, like flashing glove before the shooter shoots, or showing more net glove side, just to take it away. He should continue to work on playing the puck and finding the appropriate passing option when passing options presents themselves.
Kadon McCann (LW, L, 6’3″, 200, Medicine Hat Tigers, 03/25/2007)
Grade: A-
Comments: McCann is a big winger who does a good job at getting up and down the ice. McCann was able to show that his lateral movement is also sufficient, as he shifts from one side to another without losing any momentum. His lateral mobility plus his soft hands make him hard to play against when he has time and space. He uses his size well and puts a shoulder down when he drives the net. He is at his best when he can get his engine going, drive wide, and use his creativity from there. The issue is that most the time he tries to get to the near post but just does not, at times, it looks like that is where his creativity ends.
Oasiz Wiesblatt (C, L, 5’7″, 178, Medicine Hat Tigers, 04/08/2004)
Grade: A-
Comments: It’s no question Wiesblatts best assets of his game are his shot and stick-handling abilities. Once he enters the offensive zone, he becomes an immediate threat to the opposition. He does a great job at carrying the puck through the neutral zone and making decisions as to if he should pass, dump and chase, or quickly maneuver around a defensemen. Most of the time he is choosing to carry it but will pass, not a lot of dumping in his game, he wants the puck on his stick. He has the type of bulldog energy where he is one of the smaller players on the ice but also one of the more effective as well. This is due to his high energy rate and not giving up on plays. He plays bigger than he is where he will battle at the net front and compete along the wall, no one gets twenty goals without this type of play style.
Liam Ruck (F, R, 5’11”, 175, Medicine Hat Tigers, 02/21/2007)
Grade: A-
Comments: When it comes to straight-line speed, Ruck was able to show his stride and how he effectively skates past defenders with ease when he builds up speed. He extends his legs proficiently which allows him to generate more power to build up more speed. He has the combination of straight line speed and can also cut inside you, this is the hardest part of his game to defend. Scored a couple nice goals tonight as he is able to pick corners and shoot from almost anywhere in the offensive zone, and usually chooses to do so. While having possession with the puck, Ruck uses tricks and fakes to pull goalies out of position such as the fake shot, open blade fake to shot, anything to get the goalie moving side to side or off his angle.
Hunter St.Martin (C, L, 6’1″, 175, Medicine Hat Tigers, 06/13/2005)
Grade: A-
Comments: With four assists on the night, St. Martin obviously did a good job at showing his distribution skill and ability to see the ice. He picked up fours assists multiple different ways, one being the most prolific, seams that are hard to see at a fast pace. If that one timer is not an option, St. Martin also utilizes the slap-pass where he aims the one timed shot low on the ice in order to get a shot tipped off and on net. He usually has no problem dealing with traffic as he can simultaneously use his body and his stick handling in order to create a gap between him and whoever is looking to defend. He is not small either, he can hold his own under pressure along the wall but he is better looking to avoid the hits.
Ryder Ritchie (LW, R, 6’0″, 180, Medicine Hat Tigers, 08/03/2006)
Grade: A-
Comments: One of the best players on the ice tonight, Ritchie plays with pace and is a threat on almost every rush he was in on. He was able to show that he was at his best tonight when he actively looks and attempts high danger passing that can increase the possibility for either a tap in or tip in, which you want from an attacking winger. However, there were times when Ritchie was driving to the net where, he turned it over a few times. Some plays he could assessed his puck management but this was just a minor blip in his game tonight. Even though his position isn’t expected to be deep in the defensive zone there were couple times defensively, that he was often seen coasting at the top of the blue line. This could have been due to the amount of energy he exerted on that shift looking to create but he could find ways to help out in both ends.
Marcus Pacheco (RW, R, 5’11”, 180, Medicine Hat Tigers, 04/06/2005)
Grade: B
Comments: Pacheco plays a solid game where he can be relied on to create in the offensive zone. A lot of his chances come from below the hash marks, making him an effective player down low. Defensively, he is usually good along the wall, at getting pucks out, but does tend to be inconsistent at times. Using his stick to poke at the puck is one of his strong suits, which can make him reliable on the penalty kill. But because of his lack of acceleration skating wise, he is often beat to pucks. If he can improve his skating abilities he will be much more effective chasing and poke checking pucks from the opposition.
Gavin McKenna (LW, L, 5’11”, 163, Medicine Hat Tigers, 12/20/2007)
Grade: A-
Comments: The combination of vision, footwork, and puck handling make him a threat anywhere on the ice. He does a good job at pushing the pace north being able to create an exit and entry on his own, but also has that threat to dish at anytime. As I am sure everyone has their own opinion on McKenna and how positive he is as a player, because he is, the one aspect of his game that could improve is his lower body stability along the wall. At times, he can get bumped off the puck or pinned easily when looking to get shifty on a larger defender. He is one of the younger players on the ice and this type of improvement will only come with time and maturity. His game is complete where he battles in all three zones.
Jace Egland (LW, R, 5’8″, 160, Regina Pats, 10/22/2007)
Grade: B-
Comments: As a little bit of an undersized forward like Egland, you would want him to be speedy and agile in order to compensate for lack of height, but Egland does not have that three step quickness. He is not a slow skater by any means when it comes to straight line speed, he is just average, so he does not really blow past defenders when driving to the net. Although, he might not be the fastest, he usually compensates by finding open spots of ice that is uncovered by opposing defenders to get into high danger opportunities. When it comes to his edge work and crossovers, he uses them very effectively. When he has time and space to get himself churning his feet, he has the skill to be shifty, just has to use it at better times. Too many times tonight, he decided to get shifty right at the blue line, worst place to turn the puck over.
Caden Brown (RW, R, 5’11”, 195, Regina Pats, 03/22/2005)
Grade: B+
Comments: Brown has some of the most skill on his team, at least tonight. He wants the puck on his stick, but versus such a dominant team, moving the puck would have been a better option a lot of the times tonight. He showed tonight that he likes to try and be fancy with the puck and cut, he ran into traffic because of this and made him lose puck possession, rather than delaying the teams ability to get the puck out of the defensive end. In these types of moments, doing it yourself can hurt, the defenders easily read him and are able to knock him off the puck. Offensively, Brown was able to fool defensemen and opposing forwards just by using his body to deceive them, this is especially important when he has possession with the puck on the boards or behind the net. His deceptive skating is a large part of his game.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
