Tigers begin regular season against divisional rival Hurricanes

The Tabbies finished the regular season second in the Eastern Conference last year, making it back to the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to the Prince Albert Raiders in six games.

The Hurricanes finished last in the WHL with a 17-47-3-1 record but are expected to be much improved.

Despite their polar opposite 2025-26 campaigns, two of the final three meetings between the clubs last season required overtime.

The Tigers will be without several key pieces of their forward core to begin the season, with Liam and Markus Ruck away at Pittsburgh Penguins training camp, and Yaroslav Bryzgalov at Vancouver Canucks training camp.

After losing five of their six starting defensemen from last season, the Tigers are carrying ten blue-liners on their opening night roster as they continue to evaluate who will make the roster full-time.

New additions on the back end include Calgary Flames 2025 third-round draft pick Mace’o Phillips, acquired from the Portland Winterhawks this offseason, and 6’7″ Russian defenseman Denis Pasler, who was the Tigers second-round selection in this past CHL Import Draft.

The Tigers also added Reily Pickford, the brother of former Tigers defenseman and reigning CHL Defenseman of the Year, Bryce Pickford, to their group of blueliners.

At forward, the Tigers added a splash of local flair with the addition of Medicine Hat-born forward Josh Evaschesen last month from the Kamloops Blazers.

Evaschesen debuted in the WHL last season as a 19-year-old and put up 33 goals and 73 points in his rookie campaign. He now gets the chance to finish his junior hockey career in a prominent role with his hometown team.

Arvid Drott is another forward addition that should give Tiger fans excitement.

Drott was the Tigers first-round pick in this past summer’s CHL Import Draft and was a sixth-round pick of the Florida Panthers in 2025.

Between the pipes, the Tigers will roll with a tandem of Carter Casey and Cash Christie after the club moved on from Jordan Switzer this summer, shipping the 19-year-old netminder to the Moose Jaw Warriors in exchange for draft capital.

Puck drops on the season tonight from Lethbridge at 7:00 p.m. MST and you can catch all the action live, all season long, on WILD 94.5 FM.

by Will Bryant

Tigers begin regular season against divisional rival Hurricanes

Our Community