Tigers’ Desjardins still at the top of his game

Bench boss surpasses 500 wins as WHL head coach

Willie Desjardins pictured in the 2007 Memorial Cup game program.

“You still got it!”

That cheer is popular in the performance art professional wrestling worlds of WWE and AEW when long time veterans like The Undertaker, Randy Orton, John Cena and Bobby Lashley put on great matches.

In the WHL, that cheer should rain down from the stands at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat for Medicine Hat Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins. Actually, any rink in the WHL could give that cheer for Desjardins as a sign of respect as one of the best to ever be on the major junior circuit.

This past weekend was a milestone one for Desjardins. On Friday, the Tigers downed the Red Deer Rebels 8-1 at Co-op Place. That was the 500^th career WHL head coaching regular season win for Desjardins, and he became just the 12^th coach in the history of the circuit to reach that plateau.

One of the most beautiful moments of that night was one most fans likely wouldn’t be able to see. Current Tigers play-by-play voice Will Bryant brought the Tigers first and iconic play-by-play voice Bob Ridley on for the post-game portion of the broadcast. Ridley, who called 4,022 games over 52 seasons as the Tigers play-by-play voice, offered congratulations to Desjardins and the two reminisced about great times from the past.

On Saturday, the Tigers travelled to Edmonton and dumped the host Oil Kings 6-1 at Rogers Place. That of course was Desjardins’ 501^st career WHL head coaching regular season win.

At age 67 close to turning age 68 in February, Desjardins has the Tigers tied for the lead in the WHL’s Central Division and Eastern Conference at 52 points with the Calgary Hitmen. The Tigers have a 25-15-2 mark, while the Hitmen are 24-11-3-1. For his time in the WHL, Desjardins has a career regular season record of 501 wins, 384 losses and 85 ties and extra time setbacks.

Willie Desjardins works the Tigers bench in March of 2024.

His win total includes 10 victories as a midseason replacement and interim head coach of the Saskatoon Blades in 1997-98. Desjardins has served as the Tigers head coach for two stints with the first coming from 2002 to 2010 and the second starting in 2019 and continuing to the present day. The Tigers won two WHL titles with Desjardins as head coach in 2004 and 2007.

One of the reasons Desjardins always had “it” as a coach was because he was way ahead of the curve when he started his career. When he became the Tigers head coach for the first time way back in 2002, most hockey teams were filled with old time shouter head coaches. It was still an era when a hockey coach wouldn’t think twice about utilizing “the bag skate” style punishment practice as a necessary evil last resort to break a slump.

For the non-hockey people out there, a bag skate practice involves the players on a team skating hard for a lengthy period of time as hard as they can, and the overall sessions can last for two hours. During these types of practices, a puck never touches the ice.

In the 1987 “The Boys on the Bus” documentary on the Wayne Gretzky-era Edmonton Oilers, cameras filmed the Oilers participating in a bag skate during a slump in the 1986-87 season. Some players were vomiting including “The Great One” himself. This often happens in a bag skate.

From 1997 to 2002, the storied Tigers fell on tough times and went five straight seasons missing the WHL Playoffs going through a series of old time coaches. The respective loss totals in those campaigns was 50, 56, 45, 40 and 36.

Then Tigers general manager Rick Carriere thought he needed an “outside the box” thinking head coach to turn things around. Desjardins arrived in Medicine Hat in the summer of 2002.

Willie Desjardins pictured in the Medicine Hat News.

One of most eye-opening experiences about how much things changed with the Tigers came from a phone interview I did shortly before Christmas of 2006 with late NHL enforcer Derek Boogaard. While Boogaard only played 27 regular season contests as a 20-year-old at the start of the 2002-03 campaign for Desjardins, the gentle giant on skates loved his final Tigers bench boss.

Boogaard, who stood 6-foot-7 and weighed 258 pounds, said the players used to do things to rebel against the Tigers coaches that were behind the bench before Desjardins came. When Desjardins arrived in town, Boogaard said he treated the players with so much respect. Boogaard said he felt comfortable enough that he could tell Desjardins everything that happened with the team before he arrived hoping the bench boss could use that information to help turn things around.

The good guy tough guy was ultimately released by the Tigers in order to allow the club to add players who had more scoring punch. Shortly after his release, Boogaard was signed by the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and assigned to the ECHL affiliate at the time in the Louisiana IceGators, which started his journey in professional hockey.

I remember Desjardins telling me he wished he had Boogaard at age 19 as opposed to age 20. The likelihood would have been high Boogaard finished the 2002-03 campaign in Medicine Hat. Still, Boogaard made his way NHL debut three years later at the start of the 2005-06 campaign.

Desjardins always believed one of the best ways to help a player is to show a player respect. During one-on-one meetings, he will get to know the player and proceed to show genuine concern for all aspects of that player’s life.

Once the player understands the coach is legitimately going to be there for you, the player will play their butt off for the coach. That has always happened in all the years when Desjardins has coached the Tigers.

He knows when to allow the players to be themselves and when it is time to focus on work. Desjardins is comfortable enough to let players give him some light-hearted jabs and create some fun around the facility.

Willie Desjardins works the Tigers bench in December of 2019.

He has never been one of those coaches that took himself so seriously that something like this wouldn’t be allowed. Still when it was time to focus on the task at hand, he was able to get that message across and everyone went to work.

Desjardins, who as a player was captain of the 1982-83 University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team that won a U Sports championship, always pushed the idea that hockey is a great game and the rink is the best place to be. Even after games when the Tigers lost or if they were in a slump, the players always looked forward to coming to the rink. They knew it was still the best place to be and their head coach and his staff had the answers to help them play better.

Desjardins never used tactics like bag skates, because they were negative motivators that made players hate the coach and want to rebel.

That Tigers team Boogaard started the 2002-03 campaign with was a squad of highly talented players who liked to have a good time off the ice. They were characters with character.

When it came time to be on the ice, they were focused on the task at hand. When hockey was done, they were the guys you wanted to go have pops and socialize with even to this very day.

Most of the players on that 2002-03 Tigers team that snuck into the WHL Playoffs and fell in a heartbreaking seven game second round series to the Red Deer Rebels helped the Tigers breakout in 2003-04. In 2003-04, the Tigers topped the Eastern Conference with a record of 40 wins, 20 losses, nine ties and three overtime losses and advanced on to win the WHL championship.

Some of the players that were part of the Tigers in 2002-03 that helped them win the WHL title in 2003-04 included money goaltender Kevin Nastiuk, Chris St. Jacques, Darren Reid, Clarke MacArthur, Stefan Meyer, Cam Barker, Steven Regier, Ryan Hollweg, Dan Idema, Kieran Block, Steve Marr, Tommy Maxwell, Mark Vodden, Nathan Exner and Riley Day. It could be argued that the 2003-04 WHL champion winning Tigers were one of the best group of characters that had character that ever existed in the history of the circuit and I dare say the history of major junior hockey.

A picture of the Tigers 2004 WHL championship win.

It is common for the guys from the 2003-04 Tigers WHL championship team to joke that Desjardins liked the Tigers 2006-07 WHL Championship team that included money goaltender Matt Keetley and long time NHLers Kris Russell, Darren Helm, Derek Dorsett, David Schlemko, Tyler Ennis and Michael Sauer better because they were the more serious hockey team. It should be noted the 2006-07 Tigers knew how to have a good time on the social front too, but the 2003-04 Tigers were way ahead in that characteristic.

In truth, asking Desjardins to choose a favourite between the Tigers 2003-04 and 2006-07 WHL championship winning teams is like choosing a favourite child. Everybody was special.

Over his years as a coach, Desjardins has been so beloved by his players that in the off-season it is common for him and his wife, Rhonda Carlson, to find their calendars getting filled up with invites to weddings of players he once coached.

Because Desjardins was who he is, he got to be an associate coach with the NHL’s Dallas Stars for two seasons from 2010 to 2012. He guided the AHL’s Texas Stars for two seasons being named the AHL coach of the year in 2012-13 and navigating the Stars to a Calder Cup title as AHL champions in 2013-14.

Desjardins would serve as the head coach of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks for three seasons from 2014 to 2017. He also served as the interim coach of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings for part of the 2018-19 campaign.

Internationally, Desjardins was an assistant coach on Canada gold medal winner at world juniors in 2009 and was head coach of the silver medal winner at world juniors in 2010. In the 2017-18 season, he guided Canada’s national men’s team to a Spengler Cup title and a bronze medal win at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Over the years, other WHL teams has strived build the cultural aspects into their programs that Desjardins instilled with the Tigers. It is common for coaches to strive to emulate Desjardins as opposed to being the hard-butt coaches that were shouters from the old times.

A picture of the Tigers 2007 WHL championship win.

Since Desjardins was the trailblazer in being the connected players’ coach, he still has it when it comes to coaching players in the current day. As the years and decades have gone by, Desjardins has improved and evolved as a coach, but with that noted, it has felt like he always had all the right answers when it comes to helping players be better on the ice and in their lives away from the game.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Tigers would not be denied of 2007 WHL title

Bosch’s 2OT winner in Game 7 ends intense series

The Tigers team picture after winning the 2007 WHL title.

    It is the moment you can always see in The Arena even when it is empty.
    It is the second overtime in Game 7 of the WHL Championship series, and the host Medicine Hat Tigers are locked in a 2-2 tie with the Vancouver Giants.

    Tigers talented centre Brennan Bosch has the puck near the blue-line in his own zone, and he is tapped by a swinging stick of a Giants player. The Martensville, Sask., product goes down to his knees, quickly gets up and a 3-on-1 break ensues.

    Bosch skates two to three strides past the Vancouver blue-line and wires home the winner low stick side on Giants goaltender Tyson Sexsmith. The sellout crowd of 4,006 spectators at The Arena explodes like never before with the home side pulling out a 3-2 win and capturing their fifth WHL title.

    That was how the scene played out on May 14, 2007 in what goes down as arguably one of the greatest games in the history of the WHL.

    From that moment, Bosch would be forever cemented as a hero in “the Gas City.”

    It is crazy to think 13 years has passed since that game was played. I worked that game for the Medicine Hat News as the beat writer that covered that Tigers team.

    I can still remember that day and game well.

    Looking back now, I see myself as being really young. I was a really young guy who was locked into that series that day.
    That series had been an intense one. Before the opening faceoff of Game 1, there was a jostling match, followed by a beautifully conducted tag team fight in Game 2 and an overtime winner by Tigers defenceman Trevor Glass in Game 3.

A Tigers celebration picture from the pages of the Medicine Hat News.

    After Game 3, the Tigers were up 2-1 in the set.

    Game 4 featured “the bite,” where Tigers agitator Derek Dorsett bit the finger of Giants pest Kenndal McArdle, when McArdle was trying to use his finger to fish hook Dorsett.

    Dorsett was ultimately suspended for Game 5 for the bite. There were members of the Vancouver media that painted Dorsett as the real life Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter.

    The Giants claimed a 4-0 victory in Game 4 and a 3-0 win in Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in the series as it returned to the Hat for Games 6 and 7.

    Dorsett was inserted into the starting lineup for Game 6. He was the last Tigers member announced as part of the starting six.

    The fans at The Arena rose to their feet to give Dorsett a standing ovation that was cut off after 90 seconds by the start of the national anthem.

    Dorsett went out and immediately laid a massive hit on Giants captain Brett Festerling. The Tigers took the game 4-3 with star centre Darren Helm scoring the winner with 7:43 remaining in the third period that broke a 3-3 tie.

    The series was now tied 3-3 going to the first Game 7 to be played in a WHL final in 13 years.

    Looking at the intensity of the battle in that 2007 WHL final, one would never suspect both the Tigers and Giants had berths locked up in that year’s CHL Championship tournament – the Memorial Cup – due to the Giants being the host team for that event.
    With all that had happened in the series to that point, I was ready for anything to happen in Game 7. Of course, I wanted the Tigers to win, and I believed they would find a way to get it done.

    The guys on that team were my buds. Until this day, the guys that played for the Tigers over the two seasons from 2005 to 2007 are still the best group I ever dealt with in hockey.

The left and right photos show Tigers Game 7 moments from 2007.

    It also helped that Tigers star captain Kris Russell and the leadership group were great at making you feel a part of everything.

    Still, I prided myself in being able cover games objectively, and I felt set for any outcome to play out. I wasn’t making any predictions for that game.

    In the hours leading up to that game, I remember fielding a couple of requests from people looking for Game 7 tickets. The Tigers were in the midst of a lengthy sell out streak, and I had to tell those looking for tickets that they were out of luck.

    I arrived at The Arena about 90 minutes before puck drop. I remember being so nervous that I had to go to the washroom to vomit.

    About four of the Tigers veterans saw me throw up before the game, and that seemed to provide a laugh and levity.

    I was thankful I had a great crew at The News to cover that game with and the bench was emptied for that one. I was in the press box with my partner in crime Collin Gallant.

    Sports editor Sean Rooney motored back and forth between the rink and The News office putting together a column and handling the desking.

    The talents of Emma Bennett and Ian Sorensen expertly took care of the photography.

    Believe it or not, there was a time I went a lengthy stretch where I didn’t shoot photos of sports events. As a result, you won’t see a whole lot of photos with this post.

    In later years, I would try to mirror a lot of Bennett’s pictures when it came to championship celebrations.

    I just had to focus on my main story and a sidebar column filled with my three stars and odds and ends.

    Another group that was ready for the game were the fans. The rivalry between the Tigers and Giants built up to the ferocity you would see between bitter division rivals, and the Tigers faithful did not like the Giants.

    Despised might have been an accurate descriptor. The biggest Vancouver villains were McArdle and right-winger J.D. Watt.

A Tigers WHL championship T-shirt.

    They were heckled any time they hit the ice, and one Tigers fan had a sign for Watt that said, “Watt’s your problem.”

    When the Tigers came out to the ice before the start of the first period, they were greeted with a wave of noise the drowned out the public address announcer.
    They were engaged in the game with constant chants of “Go Tigers Go,” cheers for every big Tigers play and hit and chants of “Keets!” for every big save from hometown hero netminder Matt Keetley.

    Game 7 carried the intensity of the previous six encounters of the series.

    Tyler Ennis put the Tigers ahead 1-0 in the first period.

    Vancouver forwards Wacey Rabbit and Michal Repik potted singles in the second period to put the Giants up 2-1.

    At the media break of the third period, in game host Mike Thibeau rallied the fans to give a salute to Tigers overagers in Dorsett, Keetley and Chris Stevens for playing their final home game that night.

    Within about a couple of minutes of that salute, centre Daine Todd scored for the Tigers to even the score at 2-2 and force overtime.

    Another what would become a romantic moment came in the extra sessions. Due to being warm outside, the fog descended on to the ice at The Arena.

    On about two or three stoppages, the players came off their respective benches to skate circles to dissipate the fog.

    The Tigers hit another gear in the first overtime holding a 10-6 edge in shots on goal.

    That set the stage for Bosch’s goal in the second overtime frame creating the signature moment in the Tigers storied old home rink.

    Right after Bosch scored, I phoned my mom in Saskatoon, who was watching the television broadcast of the game with family.

    Energized, I jetted to the ice surface. I remember interviewing both Bosch and Keetley and their excitement was going all over the place.

    Keetley, who was named the MVP of the WHL playoffs, spotted a big gathering of his family in the crowd and gave a shout out and wave to them.

    Even at that time and looking back now, that was a game neither team deserved to lose.

    With that noted, the fact the Tigers won was a good thing.

    Even with a deadline looming, it felt effortless to finish of the work that night.

    After the work was finished, it was off to the Silver Buckle for a victory party. There were a few different ones that happened in town that night.

    To this day, that game is still my best memory in hockey.

My story of the Tigers Game 7 victory in the Medicine Hat News.

    Of course, it was a great one for that Tigers team, which began a tradition of getting together every summer to enjoy the memories of that day and run. It appears that the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will be the thing that breaks up those annual reunions this year.

    There are a lot of points in time I wish I could go back, be as young as I was and relive that day again. The fact that day happened will always make me smile.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Sports teams closer to families in social media age

The Estephan and Gennaro families enjoy the Broncos’ WHL title win.

    It was one of the coolest sights when the Swift Current Broncos won the WHL championship back in May.

    During the post-game celebration, you looked around and saw all the players and coaches had their families on the ice surface with them at the Credit Union i-Plex in Swift Current. Everyone was enjoying the moment, and snapping pictures on their phones.

    The vibe was real positive, and the thought that runs through one’s head is, “This is great.”

    For myself the next day, it hit me that the players were really close with their families. That thought had run through my mind on a number of different occasions during the last four sports seasons.

Broncos family members took lots of pictures of WHL title memories.

    That Broncos celebration happened on May 13. Just two weeks later on May 27 at the Memorial Cup tournament in Regina, I was on the ice surface of the Brandt Centre, when the Acadie-Bathurst Titan celebrated winning major junior hockey’s biggest prize.

    The celebration was almost a carbon copy of the one the Broncos had, when they won the WHL crown.

    I believe the strengthened family links is one of the good things that developed from the social media age. Players and coaches are in contact more with their families due to platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.

Titan family members flooded into Regina for the Memorial Cup.

    In circuits like Canada’s major junior hockey ranks, most players leave their homes to travel to a new centre to pursue their sport. Before social media existed, players’ family members back home didn’t learn about what was happening in that players’ life unless there was a phone conversation or a letter was mailed away.

    I can remember the days when players arrived at WHL training camps in August, and they wouldn’t see their families again until the Christmas break. Often, the news of what was happening in a player’s life was limited.

    With social media, the families back home have instant news about the life of a player, who is living away from home.

Families and friends cheer on the Pats in the 2017 WHL playoffs.

    The communication through social media makes family members more engaged with the life of a player. That engagement creates extra motivation for family members to make road trips to see the player play live.

    During the 2017 WHL playoffs, I worked a large number of games involving the Regina Pats, who advanced to the WHL Championship series that year. I saw the Pats play more than any other hockey team in the 2016-17 campaign.

    I hit a point I was recognizing the family members of the Pats players, when the Pats played on the road. I was impressed how many family members physically followed the Pats from centre to centre through that run.

Hilltops safety James Vause (#24) enjoys a PFC title win with his family.

    I remember one father of a Pats player coming up to me after a game in Swift Current and passing on a thank-you for covering the Regina team’s games.

    My experience was almost exactly the same this past WHL post-season covering games involving the Broncos. I couldn’t believe how many of the players’ families followed the Broncos all over the place.

    In past eras, families were present in the lives of the players but not to the extent I am seeing now.

    When I was a beat writer for the Medicine Hat News covering the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers, I remember the families of the Tigers team that won the 2007 WHL title frequently being present in the rink.

    When the Tigers won Game 7 of the 2007 WHL Championship series 3-2 in double overtime at The Arena in Medicine Hat, I don’t remember the players’ families being present on the ice for the post-game celebrations.

The “Chippendads” cheer the Huskies women’s basketball team in 2016.

    I remember interviewing Tigers goalie Matt Keetley and watching Keetley point into the crowd and say how happy he was to see his family in the spot he pointed to.

    At that point in time, Facebook was in its infancy. Twitter wasn’t very well known and Instagram and Snapchat didn’t exist.

    Following that Tigers victory in 2007, it seemed like everyone want to get to the post-game party as quick as possible.

    When the Broncos and Titan won their respective WHL and CHL titles this past season, it seemed like everyone wanted to soak in those moments with their families, and no one wanted to leave the rink. You would also see people racing to post photos of the moment on their Instagram accounts.

The Willoughby family enjoys time together after a Huskies win.

    In both cases, it seemed like all the players on the Broncos and Titan had quickly snuck in and out of their dressing rooms to get their phones during their respective victory celebrations.

    I haven’t just noticed this in major junior hockey. I have covered the Saskatoon Hilltops the last four Canadian Junior Football League seasons, and the Hilltops players, coaches and staff are really connected with their families. The Hilltops have won the CJFL title for the past four straight seasons, and it seems like the family members have been present every step of the way including road games and team practices.

    I see it with teams in U Sports. During each of the past four seasons, it was common to see family members of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s and women’s hockey teams sitting all over the Rutherford Rink at every game.

Kianna, left, and her mom Kim Dietz enjoy the Stars SFMAAAHL title win.

    The fathers of the players of the U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team have become mini-celebrities at games sitting together court side and becoming known as the “Chippendads.”

    During my time at the University of Regina in the late 1990s and early 2000s, I remember players from U Sports athletic teams always being pumped to go out and party after the Saturday night game, which usually closed the action for the weekend. Now players in U Sports head off to spend the post-game doing something with their families.

    In the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League, players’ families follow teams on that circuit in droves. The parent and family groups that back the Prince Albert Northern Bears, Saskatoon Stars and Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats are outstanding.

Roughriders DL Jordan Reaves, right, with dad, Willard.

    Even during my limited interactions with the CFL, it seems the families are more present. I remember interacting with members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2005, and it seemed the players couldn’t wait to go out and party after the game was done.

    There was a lengthy period of time in the late 1990s to the middle of the 2000s where I would always see members of the Roughriders or other CFL teams out for a party after games.

    During my interactions in the current day, players on the Roughriders are more focused with meeting up with their families after games and going out for a post-game meal at a nice restaurant.

    In pretty much all cases at each of these levels of sport, the families that are supporting the players are all awesome. They are all great and positively supportive of the players.

    I’ve had experience with bad parents and families during my time covering sports, but almost all the experiences in recent years have been outstanding.

    I hope players, coaches and staff members of sports teams can remain as connected to their families in the future similar to what I have seen in the present and at least in the past four years.

Back in the Express with FIBA tourney advancer

Nolan Brudehl, left, and Michael Lieffers celebrate and OT win last year.

    I was back in the pages of the Saskatoon Express this week with an advancer story for the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Masters basketball event.

    For the second straight year, a FIBA 3x3 World Tour Masters basketball stop is being held in downtown Saskatoon. Last year, the local Team Saskatoon entry advanced to the tournament final before falling 21-14 to Team Ljubljana.

    The Team Saskatoon squad containing Michael Linklater, Michael Lieffers, Nolan Brudehl and Steve Sir will be back for this year’s tournament, which is set for July 21-22 in downtown Saskatoon to be held in conjunction with Taste of Saskatchewan. 

Michael Linklater (#4) drives into the open for Team Saskatoon.

    Linklater, Lieffers and Brudehl were all members of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s basketball team that won the U Sports national title in 2010. Sir is based out of Edmonton, Alta., and travels to join the other three.

    The tourney features teams from around the world, and it drew big crowds last year, especially when Team Saskatoon hit the court. It is expected big crowds will turn out again this year.

    My story on the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Masters basketball even can be found right here.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Wilson’s passion for teaching goaltenders still shines

Veteran coach seen role evolve over 17 years

Eli Wilson, centre, has made his mark in hockey coaching goalies.

    Eli Wilson remembers the days when being a goalie coach in hockey was a rarity, and he was part of that rarity.

    When Wilson specifically began teaching puck stoppers 17 years ago, the notion of having one coach in hockey working just with netminders was still a relatively new one. Now, the 40-year-old, who has worked with 30 goalies who went on the play in the NHL including Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens, is surrounded by lots of company.

    “There are more goalie coaches than coaches,” said Wilson. “It is just non-stop.

    “I think when I joined the (WHL’s Medicine Hat) Tigers in 04, there were at the time some teams who didn’t have goalie coaches then. Some of the teams that did, it would be a guy that was maybe around once in a while type of thing. With (then Tigers head coach and general manager) Willie (Desjardins) there, he wanted me there once a week.

A young netminder mades a glove stop at Eli Wilson’s goalie camp.

    “I would come down on the weekends, watch the games and then spend Monday and Tuesday there. I was around a lot with those teams.”

    Wilson was involved with the Tigers through four seasons from 2004 to 2007, and he played an integral role in developing the team’s goalies. Thanks to Wilson’s work, the Tigers won WHL championships in 2004 and 2007 and earned berths in the Memorial Cup tournament in both of those years. Star netminders Kevin Nastiuk and Matt Keetley were the WHL playoff MVPs in those runs in 2004 and 2007 respectively.

    Besides working for the Tigers, Wilson also spent time working with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants and the NHL’s Ottawa Senators and the Anaheim Ducks’s AHL affiliate the Syracuse Crunch. With the Senators, Wilson played a big role in helping Ray Emery backstop that franchise to a Stanley Cup finals berth in 2007. He recently signed on to work with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, who happen to be Price’s former major junior team.

A young netminder works on positioning at Eli Wilson’s goalie camp.

    During his career, Wilson has criss-crossed Canada and ventured into the United States running goalie schools. He established his Eli Wilson Goaltending company in 2010 and has operated that school year round outside of stints where he has worked with WHL and professional teams.

    Now that there are numerous goalie coaches out there, Wilson said teaching netminders has evolved.

    “You go to a Western League level game or you go to a junior A game, everyone can move,” said Wilson, who wrapped up a week long goalie camp at the Jemini Arena in Saskatoon on Friday. “Everyone looks like they are a goalie, but some guys don’t have a feel or a read for the game and that is the tactical part of it that really makes a difference.

    “Ten years ago, some guys were further advanced technically, and it made all the difference in the world. Now, that is not good enough.”

A young netminder makes a blocker stop at Eli Wilson’s goalie camp.

    Wilson said mental toughness is the other factor that separates good goalies from great ones. He brings former WHL netminder Pete Fry, who played for the Portland Winterhawks, Spokane Chiefs and Victoria Cougars in the 1980s, to work with goalies on the mental aspect of the game.

    To show how much of a difference mental toughness can play in sports, Wilson has recently been telling his netminders to look at the NFL’s New England Patriots in the last Super Bowl. Despite the fact the Patriots fell behind 28-3 to the Atlanta Falcons, Wilson said you could tell by body language that Patriots all-world quarterback Tom Brady and mastermind head coach Bill Belichick never lost confidence.

    The Patriots rallied to beat the Falcons 34-28 in overtime.

Eli Wilson, second from right, address a group of goalies at his camp.

    “You saw what Tom Brady did this year,” said Wilson. “That was all mental, all of it. That is what you need.

    “Pete (Fry) talks about a lot of that stuff. That is the biggest thing. It blankets the entire position.”

    Wilson works with goalies at various ages and various levels of hockey. When it comes to teaching goalies, Wilson uses the same approach with relative newcomers to the position all the way to NHL veterans.

    “I’ll have an eight-year-old kid and I wouldn’t do anything differently or get him to try and play any differently than I would the best goalie in the world,” said Wilson. “I would take the same approach, the same structure, the same game plan, the same movement patterns, the same save techniques, the same tactical (and) the same technical.

A young netminder makes a stick stop at Eli Wilson’s goalie camp.

    “It doesn’t matter really what age, what size (or) size in comparison to the level of play.”

    Wilson works on four principles with netminders. They include the knowledge of positioning, technique and the ability to get into position on time, save technique and rebound control and post-save response.

    On the overall technical side, Wilson said there was one key.

    “It is about making the save the easiest part of your game,” said Wilson. “You make it as simple as possible to eliminate margin for error to give you your greatest chance of success.”

    He is frequently assisted at his camps by his veteran students.

    During the camp in Saskatoon, Wilson was helped out by Emery, Rylan Toth, who just wrapped up his WHL career after playing with the Red Deer Rebels and Seattle Thunderbirds, and Rylan Pareateau, who just wrapped up his WHL career with the Prince Albert Raiders and Americans.

    At the NHL Entry Draft in June in Chicago, Ill., Wilson was present to see two of his students hear their names called by NHL teams. 

Eli Wilson barks instructions at his goalie camp.

    Stuart Skinner, who plays for the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, was selected in the third round and 78^th overall by the Edmonton Oilers. Dylan Ferguson, who plays for the Kamloops Blazers, was selected in the seventh round and 194^th overall by the Dallas Stars before his NHL rights were subsequently traded to the Las Vegas Gold Knights.

    “You get so many guys that are just so thankful for the time that they’ve spent with you,” said Wilson. “It is a constant reward.

    “When you work with a lot of goaltenders, you get to see a lot of success.”

    Besides the technical, tactical and mental parts of the game, Wilson also stresses a couple of intangibles to his goalies. One is to enjoy the time you have with your teammates and coaches.

Former NHL netminder Ray Emery, right, gives instructions.

    “Enjoy the people that you get a chance to work with and meet,” said Wilson. “I think that is a huge part of the game.

    “My biggest thing is coming to the rink every single day and I get to do exactly what I want, and I just feed off that every day all day. I’ve been able to do that for 17 years.

    “It is constantly rewarding to go on an ice time and watch a group of goalies be way better in an hour and a half than they were in an hour and a half earlier. That is a huge part.”

    The other intangible Wilson stresses is to enjoy the journey of reaching a set end goal. Even when teams aren’t as successful as they want to be in the wins department, Wilson said you have to find the positives, and you can still grow and have a good experience.

Eli Wilson, centre, said it is key to enjoy the people you meet in hockey.

    Wilson said the joy of accomplishing a goal is fleeting, but the memories a goalie builds on the journey to accomplishing a goal is the thing that last.

    “You win the Olympics, you just won and then it is over,” said Wilson. “It is the whole process beforehand that is the point that should be enjoyed.

    “Reminiscing about winning something, it fades and goes away. Enjoying the process as you get there and you do the whole thing, then you’ve won weather you win or lose at the end anyways, because you’ve followed the process and you’ve enjoyed the process.

    “Just because you are not winning every night and there are tough parts about it, you have to find positives. You have to enjoy it and enjoy the people.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

The Arena – a legendary junior hockey home

Medicine Hat Tigers fans celebrate a goal in last year's WHL playoffs at The Arena.

 Tigers play out their final games at the old Ash Avenue barn

    At age 37, The Arena experienced its prime moment.
    Anyone that is a fan of the Medicine Hat Tigers can still see Brennan Bosch's overtime goal. On May 14, 2007, the Tigers were battling the Vancouver Giants in Game 7 of the Western Hockey League championship series, and the teams were locked in a 2-2 tie in double overtime.
    Both clubs were going to the Memorial Cup tournament, because Vancouver was the host team. Even with that in mind, the Tigers and Giants became fierce rivals over that championship series, not giving and inch and playing like everything was on the line.
    If you were at the Tigers legendary home rink that night, you can still see the game's deciding play.
    Bosch had the puck near the blue-line in his own zone, and he was tapped by a swinging stick of a Giants player. The Tigers talented centre went down to his knees, quickly got up and a 3-on-1 break ensued.

Rroary, the Tigers mascot, gets the fans going at The Arena.

    The Martensville, Sask., product skated two to three strides past the Vancouver blue-line and wired home the winner low stick side on Giants goaltender Tyson Sexsmith. The sellout crowd of 4,006 spectators at The Arena exploded like never before with the home side pulling out a 3-2 win and capturing a WHL title.
    In that one moment, you experienced everything that made The Arena special. A storied junior hockey team was winning a league championship in a classic junior hockey rink that had character. The victory came in a city of about 60,000 people that felt special to be a junior hockey town.
    As the Tigers celebrated on the ice, they looked into the stands and saw family members, fans they knew, rink attendants and the team's legendary play-by-play voice Bob Ridley up in the broadcast booth. They occupied the same spots game in and game out.
    Goaltender and local product Matt Keetley was answering questions during a post-game interview on the ice, and out of nowhere, he pointed to the stands and yelled out in joy that he saw his whole family. It wouldn't be that much of an exaggeration to say everyone that was partial to the Tigers cause felt like family for that one night.
    In major junior hockey, the Tigers are a legendary team. They have built a huge staple of memories in their storied home rink. Most can be recalled by Ridley, who has called all but one of the team's games as the play-by-play voice.
    For the players, coaches and staff that have passed though the Tigers since they were born in 1970, The Arena is a second home.
    In the 1970s, they used to shoehorn the fans into the barn that contained the "Smartie Box" coloured seats. Stories were often told that fans stood five deep in the walkway that circled the top of the stands to watch games.
    They saw Lanny McDonald and Tom Lysiak lead the Tigers to their first league title in 1973. They also got to see tough as nails characters like defenceman and later 1987 Memorial Cup winning head coach Bryan Maxwell, who always seemed to crack the right joke. Barry Melrose, who was sporting his mullet style haircut, made his first claim to fame at The Arena guiding the Tigers as head coach to a second straight Memorial Cup win in 1988.

A young fan cheers on the Tigers at The Arena.

    It was a building a Gas City youngster named Trevor Linden dreamed of playing in, when he attended games as a boy. He more than made good on that dream helping the Tigers win their back-to-back Memorial Cup titles. The trip to the 1987 title included a Game 7 WHL championship victory over the Portland Winterhawks, which saw fans jumping over the glass to celebrate with the team on the ice.
    It was a place Jason Chimera cried his eyes out over, because he didn't want to leave after being traded in the late 1990s.
    The Arena was where head coach Willie Desjardins brought the Tigers into their current era of success. When the team was at one of its darkest points having missed the playoffs for five consecutive seasons, Desjardins was the one that preached hockey was one of the best games there is and the rink is one of the best places to beat. He was the man that talked heart and soul character guys like Steve Marr into staying with the game, when there was every reason to walk away.
    Following his first season in 2002-03, the Tigers ended the playoff drought and fell in the second round to the powerhouse Red Deer Rebels in a tough seven-game series. A year later, they won the franchise's fourth league title making that run in what was then known as the loudest barn in the WHL.
    Countless NHL players have graced The Arena ice wearing orange and black. A way larger majority the hit the ice arriving as boys and departing as quality young men. The Arena was the place they grew up in.
    It seems everywhere you walk in the building you will encounter a part of its history.
    Or, if you just want to have a friendly visit with someone, Tigers assistant trainer Ken Stickel, who is a fixture there, always loves to chat.

Cole Sanford and the Tigers celebrate a goal at The Arena.

    However, The Arena's time as the home of the Tigers is coming to a close after 45 seasons. Tonight, the Tigers will play their final regular season game in their long-time home against the Saskatoon Blades at 7:30 p.m. local time.
    Next season, the Tigers will call the brand new Medicine Hat Regional Event Centre home.
    Before they make their move into their new home, the Tigers will embark on one more playoff run playing out of The Arena. The Brandon Wheat Kings and the Kelowna Rockets are the favourites to win the WHL crown, but the Tigers are in the mix.
    If fate would have it, it would almost be fitting if the Tigers could give The Arena one more Ray Lewis type last ride. Being the home of one more WHL championship and Memorial Cup winning team would create a fairy tale ending for the building that sits on Ash Avenue S.E. along the banks of the South Saskatchewan River.

    If you have any comments about this blog, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.