Tigers Behind The Scenes: Tomas Mrsic
Medicine Hat, AB – As we draw closer to the beginning of a new WHL season for the Medicine Hat Tigers, we are drawing near on our look at Behind the Scenes with various players.
This week brings in another second-year Tiger coming back to Co-op Place this season as Tomas Mrsic (Surrey, BC) is coming off a rookie campaign that brought a little bit of everything for the then 16-year-old centre.
Tomas took time out of his busy schedule to speak with Tigers Broadcaster Gino De Paoli for this latest installment of Tigers Behind The Scenes.
GDP: Tomas, how’s the off-season been? It’s hard to believe we’re less than 70 days away from training camp, has it just been a blur since you started with the Tigers?
Mrsic: It has, it just feels like yesterday I played my first game in the Western League. But just getting back home with family at the end season, having the gym and ice every day along with golfing with buddies was great. I’m just getting ready for my draft year, building to get stronger, getting heavier, just trying to be stronger, so I’m harder to push off the puck and details like that.
GDP: When the season ended for the Tigers, you get instructions from the coaching staff of what you have to do to get better and how have you implemented that in the off-season.
Mrsic: After the playoffs, I took a couple of weeks off and then got back in the gym, mostly for me from the coaching was to get stronger, and quicker and just work on my shot every day, I try to shoot 300-400 pucks a day just working on the little things.
GDP: When you shoot 300-400 pucks a day now you’ve shot thousands of pucks since the season ended, what goes into that many shots in a day?
Mrsic: I just want to get my shot as good as I can, some of the top guys as an example do that like Connor Bedard, he’s been shooting pucks every day since he was young so it obviously pays off and I just want my shot to be the best it can and be a sniper when it’s time.
GDP: I think your first season in the Western League was an interesting one, you start as a rookie, you’re trying to find your place, you get to the U17’s, you play the wing for let’s say 60% of the season. Then you go to your natural position of centre at the end of the season, what did you take from your first season in the WHL and with the Medicine Hat Tigers?
Mrsic: Obviously the first half of the season was a learning experience and I didn’t do my best but once I got to the U17’s I got a lot of confidence and I feel like that’s what you need to be successful is have that confidence in yourself and I came back and I was better than I was at the start of the season and just kept building into playoffs and had a good end to the season
GDP: It’s your draft year, you’ve seen the glitz and glamour of the NHL Draft this past June, now that you’re in your draft year how do you motivate yourself?
Mrsic: Seeing guys like Connor Bedard, Zach Benson & Tanner Molendyk get drafted, I’ve trained with them so it’s more motivating that it can be you. When I finished watching the draft I went and shot more pucks and I feel like there are guys to do that with here in Medicine Hat like Cayden Lindstrom & Andrew Basha together and have a really big year for all of us.
GDP: I look at how this Tiger team was assessed last year by analysts where there were no expectations and you make the playoffs, then the season ends and there are plenty of returnees on the roster, do you look around the room and think there’s something special coming here?
Mrsic: We know what’s to come, most guys are returning and we’ve got a really good group here with a good future and all we have to do is work hard and we’ll be successful.
GDP: Obviously everyone wants to score more goals and get more points but is there anything else on the Tomas Mrsic bulletin board that you’ve got for goals this upcoming season?
Mrsic: Getting drafted is an obvious goal, but I got to work hard every day and have a good season so hopefully I can get there down the road.
GDP: When you get in your car and head to Medicine Hat and you see Co-op Place for the first time since the off-season what do you see potentially for this team?
Mrsic: We want to build off of last year, get better every day, and hope to go on a deeper playoff run and continue to build and grow as a group. I can’t wait to see the fans in the fall it’s going to be a great season and I can’t wait.
