It wasn’t the typical summer job for the average Western Hockey League player, but Ashton Tait made the most of it.
The 18-year-old Kamloops Blazers forward spent the summer serving as a logistics technician for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA).
“It was pretty cool.” Tait says. “I was doing deliveries up north for the fire base and fixing stuff up for the SPSA. It was a pretty cool job and it was a good experience. Mostly behind the scenes stuff. I don’t know if they trust me out there in the fires.”
Tait says he took plenty of life lessons away from his summer job that he can apply to his hockey moving forward.
“I think there were definitely a few. Obviously, it’s really important to be on time, show up early, and stuff like that. Be responsible every day, you have a job to do, you got to show up and get to work. It’ll be good for my work ethic and overall being early, just little things like that.”
Last season, the Blazers finished with the worst record in the WHL with a 20-42-3-3 record. Kamloops iced a younger roster after graduating several key contributors from the team that hosted the Memorial Cup in 2023.
With the disappointment of last season firmly in the rear view mirror, Tait says he is looking forward to the season ahead in the River City.
“I’m really excited. I think we’re gonna have a pretty strong team this year. We’re a year older so I think really good things are gonna come from us. I think you know, we all had a really good off season, we put a lot of work in.”
Last season was Tait’s first full campaign in the WHL. As a 16-year-old, Tait appeared in 22 games with the Blazers before being reassigned to the Prince Albert Mintos after getting limited ice time with Kamloops.
As a full-time player in his 17-year-old campaign, Tait registered three goals and six assists for nine points in 61 games played. He says there was a big learning curve playing in the WHL versus the Saskatchewan U18 AAA ranks.
“You really learn how fast-paced the game is, how much time and space you really don’t have on the ice. I think one thing is just making sure you’re always heads up, making sure you know what you’re going to do before you end up doing it. Another important one is not getting down on yourself. All the players in the league are obviously amazing, so players are going to make plays but you just need to stick with it and continuously just want to keep getting better and not focusing on the past, staying in the present.”
Tait was a prominent scorer while he was playing for the Prince Albert Mintos registering 13 goals and 17 assists in 24 games after he was reassigned by the Blazers in 2022-23.
With more confidence at the WHL level, Tait says is hoping to contribute more offensively in 2024-25.
“One of the things that I was doing last year, I was passing away good shooting opportunities. I would second guess myself a little bit and look to pass before I was shooting. I think this year definitely going to be shooting the puck a lot more, finding open space and hopefully contributing more on that side.”
In terms of offseason training, speed has been one area Tait has been working on to make an impact in the WHL. Tait says he noticed he needed some extra speed to make a difference with Kamloops.
“The big thing for me was definitely going to be working on my skating a bit. I think I have the skill and the defensive ability to be a great player, but I was lacking a bit in the speed department, which is really important at that level because you got to be able to think quickly and move. This offseason I worked a lot on foot speed, my skating stride. Definitely going to be a better year for skating and having more time and space with the puck.”
Another area Tait is hoping to improve in this season is his plus-minus rating. After finishing with a -20 rating a year ago, Tait says he is wanting to improve in that area to show the Blazer coaching staff that he can help the team on both sides of the ice.
“That’s a big one for me because if you want to be a good player, you got to be able to defend and produce on offense. I think plus-minus is a big one. (I’m) not worried too much about point totals. I think that’ll come. just overall, a better game, more opportunity and prove myself to the coaches that I can be a great player at that level.”
Kamloops opens the 2024-25 WHL season on Friday, Sept. 20 when they welcome the defending Western Conference champion Portland Winterhawks.
sports@paherald.sk.ca
