Raiders’ Rudolph ready for WHL, scores equalizer in debut

Pats spoil party claiming 3-2 OT victory

Daxon Rudolph had a solid first outing for the Raiders.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Maybe it was just a little too early for the Hockey Gods to allow Daxon Rudolph to write a storybook finish in the WHL.

The 16-year-old rookie defenceman, who was the first overall selection in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft, nearly played hero on Friday night for the Prince Albert Raiders making his major junior regular season debut. Facing the Regina Pats in the regular season opener for both clubs, the Raiders found themselves down 2-1 late in the third period.

Raiders 20-year-old right-winger Niall Crocker had the puck behind the Regina net and put a backhand pass to Rudolph, who pinched down from the right point into the right faceoff dot. Rudolph fired home his first goal of his WHL career to even the score at 2-2 with two minutes remaining in the third. That tally fired up the faithful at the Raiders storied home in the Art Hauser Centre and sent the contest to overtime.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Daxon Rudolph (#10) on Friday.

Just over two minutes into overtime, Rudolph found himself with the puck in the left slot of the offensive zone with a glorious chance to net the winner. His drive was swallowed up by Pats veteran netminder Kelton Pyne.

With 46.4 remaining in extra time, the Pats played spoiler. Inside the final minute of overtime, the visitors got the puck into the Prince Albert zone creating a lot of frantic play. Pats sophomore 17-year-old left-winger Cole Temple got control of the puck in the left corner of the Prince Albert zone below the icing line.

Temple passed the puck to the front of the net to Pats veteran 19-year-old centre Zachary Shantz. Schantz wired home the winner to the top right corner of the Prince Albert goal to deliver the Pats to a 3-2 victory.

Daxon Rudolph was selected first in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.

When the dust settled, Rudolph imagined what the scene would have been like had he netted the overtime winner.

“That would have been awesome,” said Rudolph, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 195 pounds. “The crowd would have went crazy.

“The boys would have went crazy. To get a win there would have been awesome, but unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way.”

Still, Rudolph’s first outing in the WHL was memorable one, and one most players wish they could have when they break into the major junior ranks. The Lacombe, Alta., product recorded one goal, four shots on net and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department. He said the fans in “Hockey Town North” made it a blast to suit up for the Raiders on home ice.

Sam Oremba scored the Pats first goal on Friday.

“It was really fun,” said Rudolph. “All the guys were amped up, and it is too bad we didn’t come out with the win.

“We pushed into overtime for a good game.”

Of course Rudolph is never going to forget his first goal, especially when it came at a critical moment for his club in forcing a 2-2 tie with two minutes remaining in the third period.

“It was awesome,” said Rudolph. “I mean the last two minute of the game to get one to get us back to even is big for our team.

Kelton Pyne stopped 37 shots for the Pats.

“It was great to hear the building go wild and get us kind of back into the game and get some energy heading into overtime. It is too back we didn’t come out with a win, but we got a (standings) point.”

Raiders head coach Jeff Truitt was pleased to Rudolph net his first career goal. The veteran bench boss believed Rudolph would get that milestone tally sooner than later.

“These kids are all good players, and it is just a matter of time before they score,” said Truitt. “Dax (Rudolph) got this one tonight and good for him.

“It is quite an accomplishment to get your first one.”

Overall, the Raiders dressed five 16-year-old rookies on Friday including Rudolph, defenceman Benett Kelly, left-winger Ty Menuier and right-wingers Riley Boychuk and Jonah Sivertson. While they lack experience at the WHL level, Truitt thought the 16-year-olds showed that they belong.

Niall Crocker had a goal and an assist for the Raiders.

“You know what, they might be 16, but they don’t look like 16 sometimes,” said Truitt. “Sometimes when you’re the home team you get the matchup.

“We were chasing the game a little bit. Do you rely on them at this point in time? Not always.

“We gave them some chances here and there, but we wanted to fight back and usually you go with your older group a little bit. Those younger guys I thought fit in real well.”

In Friday’s clash, the Raiders came out of the gate with some jump recorded the first three shots on goal in the contest. The Pats would turn away the host side’s early moment netting a power-play goal at the 7:07 mark of the opening frame.

While working with the man advantage, Pats 20-year-old centre Braxton Whitehead broke into the Raiders zone on a rush down the right wing. He centred a pass across the face of the Prince Albert net to linemate Sam Oremba, who popped home the contest’s opening tally to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

Samuel Laplante scored his first WHL goal on Friday.

With 2:01 one remaining in the opening frame, the Raiders evened the score at 1-1 on a gritty goal from 20-year-old right-winger Niall Crocker. Raiders sophomore 17-year-old left-winger Luke Moroz tried to pop home a shot during frantic action around the Regina net.

Pyne got a piece of the shot, but the puck sat loose in the crease of the Regina goal. Crocker swooped in and popped the loose puck home for the equalizer.

Just 2:21 into the second, the Pats went ahead 2-1 thanks to positive bounce goal. Pats 17-year-old rookie defenceman Samuel Laplante floated a puck from the right point towards the Raiders net.

Laplante’s floater deflected off Raiders 20-year-old defenceman Cedricson Okitundu into the Prince Albert net to give the visitor’s their one-goal edge. The tally was also Laplante’s first career WHL regular season goal.

Luke Moroz had an assist for the Raiders on Friday.

Okitundu, who spent last season with the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs, was signed by the Raiders earlier in the day. He had been released by the Bulldogs and was able to join the Raiders after clearing waivers.

That set the stage for the dramatics late in the third period and in overtime.

“I thought that at times we were sloppy with the puck and just the pace of play here a little bit,” said Truitt. “It is going to smooth out.

“It is going to take some time, and we know that. We had our chances. We had some chances here that we could have obviously scored on, but we didn’t finish and that seems to be the difference.

Cole Temple picked up an assist on the Pats OT winning goal.

“They score a power-play goal. They score on some of their chances, and we don’t and that is the difference.”

Max Hildebrand turned away 22 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders. Pyne stopped 37 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Pats.

Both clubs were still missing players who were away at pro training camps.

The Raiders have three players attending NHL training camps including centre Tomas Mrsic (St. Louis Blues), defenceman Lukas Dragicevic (Seattle Kraken) and import defenceman Norwin Panocha (Buffalo Sabres). Raiders import 20-year-old left-winger Krzysztof Macias is at the training camp of the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.

Zackary Shantz (#42) reacts to scoring his OT winner.

Pats star left-winger and Prince Albert product Tanner Howe is still at the training camp of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Pats return home to host the Brandon Wheat Kings (6 p.m., Brandt Centre).

The Raiders return to action on Saturday when they travel to Moose Jaw to face the Warriors (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre). It will banner raising night for the Warriors, who won their first WHL championship last season.

Rudolph is ready to get after it in his upcoming second career regular season game against the Warriors on Saturday.

“I think you can always get better every day,” said Rudolph. “We have to build off this one for sure.

The Pats celebrate their OT win on Friday.

“We have a few things to work on, but yeah, we’re looking forward to it tomorrow, and we’ll be in for a good one in Moose Jaw.”

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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The WHL’s golden season of the 17-year-old

Circuit’s NHL Entry Draft prospects deep in high end talent

Connor Bedard leads the WHL in goals (44), assists (46) and points (90).

The mid to late 1980s era of the WHL is often romantically remembered as a golden era for ultra-passionate followers of the circuit.

That time was viewed as a moment in league history when you seemingly couldn’t miss a game, because every team had a star you had to see. In particular, the quartet of Theo Fleury, Trevor Linden, Mike Modano and Joe Sakic were worth the price of admission alone in any contest they were skating in.

Fleury was piling up points and agitating opponents with the Moose Jaw Warriors. Linden at a young age was a clutch power forward and team leader with the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Modano was making magic skating circles around everyone lighting up scoreboards for the Prince Albert Raiders. Sakic was proving he was “no ordinary Joe” filling nets for the Swift Current Broncos.

Of course, all of those players went on to spectacular careers in the NHL becoming overall legends in the game along the way.

With that noted, the current day of WHL might have the most high end depth alone in just one age group that hasn’t been seen since the 1980s. That group would be the 17-year-old players who were born in 2005. Some of those players have already turned 18-years-old due to having a birthday in January or today, February 1.

The unquestioned top player in the current group is Regina Pats captain Connor Bedard. He is a generational talented that is the consensus pick to go first overall in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. 

Oliver Tulk in action for the Hitmen last season.

The upcoming NHL Entry Draft will be held June 28 to 29 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

Bedard leads the WHL in goals (44), assists (46) and points (90), while posting a plus-30 rating in the plus-minus department in 36 regular season games. 

On Wednesday night, Bedard and the Pats helped the Calgary Hitmen attract 17,223 spectators to their home rink in the Scotiabank Saddledome to mark the highest attendance for a WHL contest this season. The game was shown before a national television audience on TSN.

Bedard didn’t disappoint. The North Vancouver product had a goal and picked up an assist on gritty centre Braxton Whitehead’s second tally of the contest, which forced a 5-5 tie with 33.8 seconds remaining in the third period.

The contest went scoreless through a three-versus-three overtime period to a tiebreaking shootout. Bedard scored the only goal in the shootout on a sick deke to a forehand shot to give the Pats the win in the tiebreaking session and a 6-5 victory in the game.

On the other side, the Hitmen have a fun draft eligible centre to watch in Oliver Tulk, who turned 18-years-old on January 19. Tulk, who plays feisty standing at 5-foot-8 and weighing 172 pounds, had an assist in Wednesday’s setback. He sits second in Hitmen team scoring with 42 points coming off 19 goals and 23 assists in 47 regular season games.

While it is pretty much a certainty Bedard is skating through his final days as a major junior player before joining the NHL next season, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was joined there by some others in the WHL’s current 17-year-old class.

Just a 45-minute drive west on the Trans-Canada Highway, the Pats archrivals in the Moose Jaw Warriors have Saskatoon area product Brayden Yager on their roster. 

Brayden Yager has 56 points this season for the Warriors.

Yager, who turned 18-years-old on January 3, has turned heads as skilled centre that can play both ways. In 49 games with the Warriors, Yager has 20 goals, 36 assists and a plus-six rating.

Before moving to the WHL ranks, Yager played a number of seasons together with another Saskatoon area product in centre Riley Heidt, who is staring in his 17-year-old season with the Prince George Cougars. 

Heidt sits 10^th in the WHL scoring race with 60 points coming off 19 goals and 41 assists in 44 regular season games with the Cougars.

Yager and Heidt applied to get exceptional player status to play in the WHL on a full-time basis as 15-year-olds along with Bedard going into the 2020-21 campaign. 

Bedard was the only one of the three granted exceptional player status, but all three skated as 15-year-olds in the WHL playing a shortened regular season in a bubble style format due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

The Winnipeg Ice, who top the WHL’s overall standings with a 36-6-1 record, have a deep team that is paced by 17-year-old left-winger Zach Benson. Benson sits second in the WHL scoring race with 69 points coming off 27 goals and 42 assists, while posting a plus-43 rating in 42 games.

Out in Kelowna, 17-year-old left-winger Andrew Cristall has been piling up the points for the Rockets. In 36 regular season games, he has 62 points coming off 26 goals and 36 assists to go with a plus-14 rating. 

Zach Benson sits second in WHL scoring this season with 69 points.

Cristall has been out with a lower body injury since suiting up for the Rockets in a 5-1 setback to the Blazers in Kamloops on January 7, but his return status is listed as day-to-day.

On the back end, the Rockets have another good youngster that is a must-see player to watch in 17-year-old defenceman and Saskatoon product Caden Price. 

Price has five goals and 19 assists playing in 44 regular season games with the Rockets. He is rated 30^th among North American Skaters in the NHL Central Scouting Mid-Term Rankings.

Along with Price, the Saskatoon Blades have a good young rearguard to watch in 17-year-old Tanner Molendyk. Molendyk has six goals, 20 assists and a plus-26 rating appearing in 45 regular season games for the Blades.

He is rated 36^th among North American Skaters in the NHL Central Scouting Mid-Term Rankings. Molendyk is a sound shutdown defender, and he can wheel up ice and go coast to coast to lead an offensive rush.

The potential is there for any of these draft eligible prospects to end up in the NHL next season depending on which team drafts them and how much improvement they make by the time NHL training camps open. 

Time will tell if this group of young star has the impact in the NHL like Fleury, Linden, Modano and Sakic did.

Tanner Molendyk has 26 points for the Blades this season.

At the moment like in the mid to late 1980s, the WHL is enjoying another golden era where seemingly each team has a must see star.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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