Standing on the opposing blueline at SaskTel Centre on Tuesday night with highlights of his junior career playing on the video board, Tanner Molendyk did all he could to stay composed, stealing a few glances away to not let the moment overwhelm him.
“It was a bit emotional,” said Molendyk. “I tried not to look up there the whole time, or else I probably would have shed a tear.”
Molendyk and Misha Volotovskii stared across at their former Saskatoon Blades teammates for the first time on Tuesday, visiting with the Medicine Hat Tigers for the first time since a blockbuster deal ahead of the WHL trade deadline.
The deal saw Saskatoon move the star defenceman in Molendyk and the steady centre Volotovskii to the Tigers in exchange for 2007-born talents Hayden Harsanyi and Jack Kachkowski, as well as five draft picks.
“It’s weird seeing them over there being on the other side,” said Molendyk. “Just good chats, kind of catching back up. It was nice to see them.”
The pair of former Blades were each honoured with video tributes in their return, with Molendyk’s coming prior to puck drop.
What the Nashville Predators top prospect didn’t know however, was his name living on within the Blades organization.
One of the program’s most revered defencemen, Molendyk was announced as the new namesake for Saskatoon’s annual top defenceman award.
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“I actually had no idea,” said Molendyk. “I was walking down the hallway and one of the guys said I had a ceremony. I didn’t know what it was about, but I had no idea. Obviously to have that recognition is pretty cool.”
It was an emotional night for both Harsanyi and Kachkowski as well, facing their former club in the Tigers for the first time after the trade.
Blades head coach Dan DaSilva had the duo in the starting lineup to faceoff against their old teammates, as well as former Tiger Ethan McCallum in net who was acquired earlier in the year from Medicine Hat.
In Harsanyi’s case, the reunion would include burying a goal against his former squad in the 5-3 loss to the Tigers.
“Yeah it was nice,” said Harsanyi. “It would have been a bit better if we got the win, but that was pretty cool to see.”
According to Kachkowski, it was a date the trio of ex-Tigers had circled on their calendars over the last month as they adjusted to their new home together.
“Coming over with those two guys, we’ve been really tight hanging out and sticking together,” said Kachkowski. “It was really good to be in the starting lineup with them playing against my former team.”
It was the former Blades getting the last laugh in their former rink however, as the eventual game-winning goal in the third period would come off a Molendyk point shot tipped home by Volotovskii.
“It’s cool scoring in this building always,” said Volotovskii. “It’s always sick playing here, they got great fans here.”
Dotting the arena all night were dozens of number 24 jerseys in honour of Molendyk, as well as homemade signs which surrounded the boards during warmups.
Signs were made by longtime Blades fans like Myra Kirk, who wanted to thank the duo for their years of memories made in blue and gold.
“They were such great friends with their teammates and really did help their teammates grow,” said Kirk. “The fans love them, the fans just loved them and we all loved them.”
Getting the chance to chase a WHL championship once again in Medicine Hat, Molendyk is encouraged with the direction the Tigers are trending in the second half of the season.
But seeing the response from his junior home of five years on Tuesday will be something that sticks with him beyond his WHL career.
“It’s special,” said Molendyk. “Obviously I kind of left my mark here which is huge, but to see that is awesome.”
Seeing a four-game winning streak come to an end on Tuesday night, the Blades are back in action Friday evening at home facing the Calgary Hitmen.