2024 WHL Graduates – Medicine Hat Tigers
Over the summer, the Western Hockey League will be celebrating the WHL Graduates from the 2023-24 season in a 22-part, team-by-team series.
We continue with the graduating players from the Medicine Hat Tigers.
Bogdans Hodass (D)
Hometown: Jelgava, Latvia.
WHL Career Stats: 178 GP – 25G-67A – 87 points
WHL Draft: 2021 CHL Import – Second Round, 71st Overall (Medicine Hat Tigers)
The Medicine Hat Tigers enter the 2024-25 WHL Season without their skyscraping defender, Bogdans Hodass. Clocking in at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, the looming Latvian served three years on the Tigers blueline, collecting 87 points (25 goals–62 assists) in 178 appearances. Hodass, the 71st overall selection at the 2021 CHL Import Draft, first came to the Western League ahead of the 2021-22 regular season – making his WHL debut on October 1, 2021, against the Swift Current Broncos. In his first four regular-season appearances with the Tigers, Hodass tallied up five points (one goal–four assists). In his seventh game in the League, the Latvian recorded his first four-point night (one goal–three assists) in a 5-4 OT win against Swift Current. The product of Jelgava, Latvia was a consistent producer for the Alberta-based club, hitting the 20-point plateau in all three seasons with the Tigers. His best campaign, however, was the 2022-23 regular season, accruing 35 points (11 goals–24 assists) in 56 showings.
Bogdans Hodass has six goals on the season. Two of them have come in tonight's tilt with the Oil Kings!@tigershockey pic.twitter.com/5Qd27D5Kjr
— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 2, 2024
Dru Krebs (D)
Hometown: Okotoks, Alta.
WHL Career Stats: 279 GP – 21G-92A – 113 points
WHL Draft: 2018 – Second Round, 38th Overall (Medicine Hat Tigers)
Following a five-season stint in Southern Alberta, blueliner Dru Krebs is set to continue his playing career outside of the WHL. A member of the Medicine Hat Tigers’ graduating class of 2024, the 21-year-old exits the Club after amassing 113 points (21 goals–92 assists) in 279 appearances with the ‘orange and black.’ Selected in the second round, 38th overall by the Tigers at the 2018 WHL Prospects Draft, Krebs’ League debut went down on September 20, 2019. Becoming a permanent and immediate fixture on the Tigers roster, the Okotoks, Alta. local starred in 55 games in his inaugural season. He collected three goals, 10 assists, and 13 points in that span. Dru is one of three brothers to have careers in the Western League, following in the footsteps of former Tri-City Americans and Calgary Hitmen defenceman, Dakota Krebs, and current Buffalo Sabres forward, Peyton Krebs. Like his older sibling, Peyton, Dru was also drafted by an NHL team. The 2003-born d-man was a sixth-round (176th overall) selection by the Washington Capitals at the 2021 NHL Draft. Going unsigned, Krebs returned to Medicine Hat for a fifth – and final – season in the WHL. In his farewell season, the veteran posted 29 points (six goals–23 assists) in 68 regular season games.
Dru Krebs with a blast to give the @tigershockey a two-goal advantage in the third period! pic.twitter.com/1Tcv2lfS5H
— The WHL (@TheWHL) January 27, 2024
Rhett Parsons (D)
Hometown: Cremona, Alta.
WHL Career Stats: 219 GP – 17G-35A – 52 points
WHL Draft: 2018 – Fifth Round, 99th Overall (Medicine Hat Tigers)
Hard-nosed defenceman Rhett Parsons closes out Medicine Hat’s latest batch of graduating players. Initially drafted in the fifth round (99th overall) by the Tigers at the 2018 WHL Prospects Draft, Parsons made his Western League debut on February 26, 2021. His first career goal came a couple of months later, lighting the lamp on April 19, 2021. Known for his heavy-hitting playstyle, the Cremona, Alta. product spent four full seasons helping the Tabbies wear down their opponents with his bone-crushing hits. But, the story was much different in the confines of the Tigers’ locker room. Among his teammates, Parsons was a beacon of leadership and a role model for the younger recruits. For his efforts, he was named an assistant captain for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns. Parsons’ four-season tenure in the WHL saw the 6-foot-3, 210-pound defenceman don the Tigers’ iconic orange and black uniforms on 219 occasions. In that span, the Albertan collected 17 goals, 35 assists and 52 points. Parsons also made eight appearances during the WHL Playoffs, collected three points (one goal–two assists) and a +4 rating.
One does not simply hit Rhett Parsons. @tigershockey pic.twitter.com/UkflbyWN2f
— The WHL (@TheWHL) February 7, 2024
Loading ...