Draisaitl, Morrissey and Scott locks on Raiders quarter century team

Ian Scott makes a kick save during a 2019 post-season game in Edmonton.

A Prince Albert Raiders quarter century all-star team from 2000-25 would be anchored by a trio who are automatics.

Leon Draisaitl, Josh Morrissey and Ian Scott would be locks on the Raiders quarter century team. Draisaitl is the high scoring centre and Morrissey is one of the best to ever play defence for the Raiders and both have had outstanding NHL careers.

In my 26 seasons covering the WHL, Scott would be one of the top three money goalies I’ve seen in my time on the overall circuit. He backstopped the Raiders to the WHL championship in the 2018-19 campaign, and I believe he would have had a long stint in the NHL had injury not cut short his playing career.

Since the calendar flipped over to 2025, various sports bodies and teams have been producing quarter century all-star teams. I was just recently looking at one created for the Prairie Football Conference of the CJFL produced by an independent outlet.

I’ve seen lists come out for the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders and some NHL teams. Jason Kerr here at the Herald suggested maybe I should come up with one for the Raiders.

It didn’t take me long to agree that it would be a fun idea. At some point, I think a lot of WHL teams will likely have a contest or create a marketing angle to select quarter-century all-star teams.

This column of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click right here.

Raiders 2019 WHL title win still feels special

The Raiders raise the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2019.

    Waking up in Prince Albert on the morning of May 13, 2019, I felt a surreal calm that it was going to be a special day.

    One night earlier, the Prince Albert Raiders had a chance to capture the WHL championship at the Art Hauser Centre but fell 4-2 in Game 6 of the league title series to the Vancouver Giants. With the Giants win, the best-of-seven set was tied 3-3.

    The Raiders led the highly-competitive series 3-1, before the Giants won two straight to even things up.

    If there was any disappointment by the locals that the Raiders weren’t able to capitalize on their first two chances to win the WHL crown, it didn’t show.

    “Game 7” might be the most exciting term you could inject into a hockey series. 

Raiders fans rush into the Art Hauser Centre for a standing room spot.

    On May 13, 2019, Game 7 of the WHL Championship series would be played, and the Ed Chynoweth Cup would be awarded to either the Raiders or the Giants.

    The winner would advance to the CHL championship tournament - the Memorial Cup - that was set to be played in Halifax, N.S.

    For the Raiders, this was going to be their biggest home game since May of 1982, when they downed the Guelph Platers 8-4 to sweep the best-of-seven Centennial Cup Championship series 4-0.      

The standing room spots at the Art Hauser Centre are filled quickly.

    On that night, the Raiders became national champions of junior A hockey for a fourth and final time as they graduated to the major junior ranks joining the WHL the very next season.

    On May 13, 2019, I was enjoying the moment as I got to cover that game. I couldn’t believe how calm I felt. It seemed like everything that day was floating on air for me.

    There have only been a handful of times in my life where I have felt that calm for a big day.

    I reflected back to covering Game 7 of the WHL title series between the Medicine Hat Tigers and Giants on May 14, 2007. The Tigers won that contest in epic fashion when Brennan Bosch scored the winner in double overtime to give the Tabbies a 3-2 victory before a sellout crowd of 4,006 spectators at The Arena in Medicine Hat.

The Raiders enter the ice for the start of Game 7 of the WHL title series.

    When I arrived at the Art Hauser Centre on May 13, 2019, I told people outside and inside the building before the contest that the Raiders were going to win 3-2 in double overtime and Parker Kelly was going to net the winning goal.

    I was actually just having fun saying that scenario would go down. I thought something amazing would happen that night, and it would likely be something I had never thought of.

    I felt ready to cover the game no matter how the final outcome would play out.

Ultimately, I ended up seeing another one of the most epic games in the history of the WHL. It was a contest I will always remember.

Parker Kelly in action in Game 7 of the WHL final.

    I arrived inside the rink part of the Art Hauser Centre nice and early before the main doors opened for the fans. I just soaked in the calm of the scene.

    Before I knew it, the main doors were open, and the fans were racing to get their standing room spots standing on top of milk crates and portable benches. The seats filled and the sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 seat facility were all set to rock.

    The teams played through a scoreless opening frame. The Giants scored first in the second and the Raiders evened things up at 1-1 going into the second intermission.

    Star centre Noah Gregor scored at the 4:25 mark of the third to put the Raiders up 2-1, and I thought that might end up being the series winner.
    Just over four minutes later, Giants import centre Milos Roman scored on a power play to even the score at 2-2 and force overtime.

    For the second time in the history of the WHL, Game 7 of the league championship series would be decided in overtime. 

The Raiders faithful celebrates one of the team’s goals in Game 7.

    I would find out well after this clash between the Raiders and Giants finished that I would be one of the few that was in the building for both of those games.

    In overtime, the Giants had at least three outstanding chances to win the game, but they were turned away by Raiders star netminder Ian Scott, who would be named the MVP of the WHL playoffs.

    That set the stage for what would become the signature moment in the history of the Art Hauser Centre.

Noah Gregor put the Raiders ahead 2-1 in the third period.

    With 1:35 remaining in overtime, overage centre Dante Hannoun tapped in a backdoor feed from Gregor to give the Raiders a 3-2 victory.
    Hannoun jetted from one side of the rink to the other throwing his helmet in the air and the team piled into the northwest corner of the rink in celebration.

    I was just energized by the moment. I quickly finished some deadline items for The Canadian Press and raced down to the ice surface for the trophy presentation and celebrations.

    I think I was on the ice for at least two hours soaking in the moment, while doing interviews and visiting. I remember standing at centre ice looking around and marvelling at the full building.

    It felt like I knew half of the people in the stands, and it was so heartwarming to see them soak in that moment.

    I had covered the Raiders as a beat writer for the Prince Albert Daily Herald from 2001 to 2004, so I knew how big this moment would be for “Hockey Town North.” 

Dante Hannoun would be the overtime hero.

    I believe the reality of what happened was far better than the dream.
    On the ice, I was happy for so many friends. I really didn’t want that celebration and the great feeling of that moment to end.

    Of course, that moment was a huge topper for team’s core group of eight that has been together since the 2016-17 season in captain Brayden Pachal, Sean Montgomery, Kelly, Cole Fonstad, Spencer Moe, Zack Hayes, Max Martin and Scott.

    I was pumped to see Raiders star right-winger Brett Leason celebrate with his family. Leason’s father, Darryl, has been a long time bud going back to our University of Regina days about a couple of decades ago.

    I enjoyed seeing trainer Duane “Puff” Bartley and skills coach Mark Odnokon lift the Ed Chynoweth Cup, because they had put in a tonne of time with the team over a lengthy stretch.

    It was fun to see general manager Curtis Hunt and head coach Marc Habscheid beam with pride over their young men.

Dante Hannoun and the iconic OT goal celebration picture.

    Even when I went back to the pressbox to finish my work, I was still walking on air.

    I didn’t realize how good my picture was of Hannoun’s celebration, until I started finishing my pieces about the game later that night. I noticed that shot, when I was working on a quoter for The Canadian Press and a lengthy story for this blog.

    When I was back at my hotel room after finishing my work, it started to hit me what had happened. I was amazed I got to cover another Game 7 in the WHL Championship series that concluded with an overtime finish.

    For the first few days, I kept thinking, “Did that actually happen again?”

    Even now in the world that is consumed with uncertainty due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the lockdowns that has brought on, the memory of the Raiders Game 7 WHL Championship series overtime win on Hannoun’s goal helps you escape to a much better place for a time.

Sean Montgomery goes for a skate with the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    The moment of Hannoun’s goal easily brings a smile to the face to this day. That moment will keep creating a happy reaction as time keeps going by.

    It was one of those instances where it truly felt incredible to be alive.

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

-------                                     

    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Raiders rise fun to witness

The Raiders raise the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions.

    The idea of a long and successful Prince Albert Raiders playoff run came to me during a visit to Swift Current just over a year ago.

    On May 13, 2018, I was on the ice surface of the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex in Swift Current interviewing members of the host Broncos about winning the team’s third WHL Championship. It was the first time the Broncos had won the league title since 1993.

    Swift Current had just blanked the Everett Silvertips 3-0 in Game 6 of the WHL Championship series to take the best-of-seven set 4-2. The Broncos built a 2-0 lead in the first period and were fairly clinical shutting down the Silvertips from that point onwards.
    The sellout crowd of 2,890 spectators rose to their feet cheering through the final three minutes of what appeared to be a decided contest. 

Dante Hannoun (#17) celebrates his famous OT winner for the WHL title.

    The certainty of the final outcome grew as the last few seconds ticked away.

    The cheers hit even bigger heights when Broncos left-winger Beck Malenstyn scored into an empty net with 6.4 seconds remaining in the third period to cement the 3-0 final.

    The Broncos erupted off their bench as the time in the third period expired. A euphoric joy filled the building that contained a special and unique good vibe you wished you could take with you in anything else you did for the rest of your life.

    While I was on the ice surrounded by fans that were trying to lift the roof off the building, I saw Broncos veterans in captain Glenn Gawdin, Tyler Steenbergen, Aleksi Heponiemi, Colby Sissons and Antyom Minulin celebrate the moment hugging teammates, Broncos coaches, Broncos staffers and family. A tonne of different pictures were taken on mobile phones to remember that moment.

Dante Hannoun will forever be a hero in Prince Albert.

    It was so good to be in that time and space that a thought crossed my mind.

    I thought, “It would be so great if this could happen next year in Prince Albert, so the Raiders and their fans can enjoy a moment like this.”

    Fast forward to this past May 13 - one year to the day from the Broncos league title celebration in Swift Current.

    The Raiders were hosting the Vancouver Giants in a series-deciding Game 7 of the WHL final. The game went into overtime with the two clubs locked in a 2-2 tie.

    With 1:35 remaining in overtime, Raiders standout overage centre Dante Hannoun took a feed from linemate Noah Gregor at the right side of the Vancouver net. Hannoun made a backdoor tap into an open cage to give the Raiders a thrilling 3-2 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 Art Hauser Centre.

    I couldn’t believe it. It happened.

    The Raiders were celebrating a WHL championship on home ice in front of their adoring fans.

Brett Leason had a breakout season for the Raiders.

    I saw this type of moment over a year ago, but it was on a scale that was just a little more grand than I envisioned due to the Raiders championship win coming on Hannoun’s overtime winner.

    You were digesting the suddenness of the victory that came on top of the joy that was felt in the building.

    Until the Raiders won the WHL title, the only person I told about the thought that came to my mind during the Broncos WHL championship victory celebrations in May of 2018 was Kim Jackson, who is the Raiders manager of team services and a long time friend.
    This season, the Raiders lived up to their romantic image of being the team of Mike Modano and Dave Manson - the franchise where honour still matters.

    At first, I didn’t want to write a self-serving style of piece for obvious reasons.

    I covered the Raiders as a beat writer from 2001 to 2004 with the Prince Albert Daily Herald, and I knew how special the link was between that hockey team and the community.

Ian Scott was the CHL goaltender of the year.

    As the days have gone on since Hannoun’s winner, I have reflected on how fun it was to see the Raiders rise to the point they could win the WHL title. It was too bad the Raiders, like the three WHL championship teams before them, went 0-3 at the Memorial Cup tournament and weren’t able to win the CHL title.

    The Raiders season was still a big success and developed excitement that hadn’t been seen in that area for some time.

    What took place this year wasn’t just something that happened in the 2018-19 season, but it was the culmination of the work that went on for the four or five previous seasons.

    During the 2016-17 campaign, I remembered watching the eight players that made up the core of this year’s team in Brayden Pachal, Sean Montgomery, Parker Kelly, Cole Fonstad, Spencer Moe, Zack Hayes, Max Martin and netminder Ian Scott take their lumps in a 21-44-5-2 season.

The Raiders faithful backed their team vocally.

    While the Raiders finished third last in the WHL, you could see that core group improve. You could tell they were playing with heart and really cared about the team and the community. I thought that group might do something special together in future seasons.

    When the possibility of the Raiders winning the WHL title popped in my head during the Broncos victory celebrations, the Raiders performance in the 2018 playoffs made me think the team could realistically have a run to great things.

    The Raiders put together a 32-27-9-4 regular season record in 2017-18 to be one of five clubs from an extremely tough East Division get into the WHL post-season.

Sean Montgomery takes a memorable spin with the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    In the first round of the playoffs, Prince Albert faced the Moose Jaw Warriors, who finished first overall in the league with a 52-15-2-3 record.

    After four hard fought games, the Warriors held a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Raiders rallied back with two straight wins to force a series-deciding Game 7.

    In Game 7 of that series in Moose Jaw, the Raiders held leads of 2-0 and 3-2. The contest was tied 4-4 late in the third period when Brayden Burke scored the winner with 3:50 remaining in the third to give Moose Jaw a 5-4 victory.
    Had the Raiders won that game, many prognosticators would have pegged Prince Albert as a team to watch out for in 2018-19.
    In a 13-year period from 2006 to 2018, the Raiders had missed the playoffs seven times and were eliminated in the first round six times creating caution to expectations.
    It felt like Prince Albert could be in the mix to do good things playing out of the East Division along with the Saskatoon Blades and Brandon Wheat Kings. 

The Raiders players meet the fans returning home from the Memorial Cup.

    Since Brandon had experience by far the most success over the past 15 years between that trio of clubs, it seemed the Wheat Kings were a likely choice to finish first in the East Division.

    The Raiders would be able to go into the campaign under the radar. They didn’t stay there long.
    Prince Albert stormed out to a 26-1 start that included a team record 19 game winning streak. Brett Leason, a 19-year-old right-winger, broke out and hit star status leading the team in scoring with 36 goals and 53 assists for 89 points in 55 regular season games.
    Brett’s breakout was that much more special for me, because he is also the son of my long time bud Darryl Leason.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Noah Gregor (#18).

    Gregor, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks, had his WHL rights acquired by the Raiders in the off-season from the Victoria Royals. When the Sharks returned Gregor to the junior ranks, he had an outstanding campaign netting 43 goals and 45 assists in 63 regular season games.

    Scott was spectacular posting a 38-8-3 record, a 1.83 goals against average, a .932 save percentage and eight shutouts in 49 regular season games. His goals against average, save percentage and shutout totals were all regular season club records, and he became the first Raiders netminder to be named the CHL goaltender of the year.
    Leason and Scott would suit up for Canada’s world junior team.

    Montgomery had a heartwarming farewell as he piled up a team record 345 career regular season games played with the Raiders. During the regular season, Montgomery posted career highs in goals (29), assists (30), points (59) and plus-minus (plus-41).

Raiders GM Curtis Hunt was all smiles on winning the WHL title.

    On top of everything, the Raiders players were a respectable and classy great group of guys.

    The Raiders topped the WHL regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. In the WHL playoffs, the Raiders captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions on Hannoun’s winner that will never be forgotten.

    The hard work by general manager Curtis Hunt and head coach Marc Habscheid paid off in a big way. I was happy to see Hunt enjoy a WHL title win from a management role, because he had always done things the right way as a head coach or general manager with every team he had worked for in his career.

    He played defence for the Raiders when they won the WHL and Memorial Cup titles in 1984-85.

    It was cool to see long time veteran athletic therapist Duane “Puff” Bartley relish a WHL title win.
    The Raiders ensured they remembered those in the organization who passed away. 

A player card for the late Adam Herold.

    The list included Raiders prospect and defenceman Adam Herold, who was killed in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash on April 6, 2018.

    Last December, Ron Gunville, who was the Raiders director of player personnel, passed away as well. In March, former Raiders player, head coach and general manager Donn Clark passed away too after a long battle with cancer. Clark was inducted on to the Raiders Wall of Fame in his final days of life.

    Over the years, Clark became a valued friend, and we stayed in touch after I moved away from Prince Albert in 2004.

    Last summer, Habscheid’s father, Nicholas, passed away and the bench boss said his players were big in helping him through that.

    I was able to identify with that. During the 2003-04 campaign, my dad passed away. I rode the bus to cover in division games with the Raiders that season, and the team gave me great support back then, when my dad passed away.

    I believe the Raiders will be in good hands as long as Hunt and Habscheid are in their roles with the team. I am also well aware in sports that things change.

    The contracts for both are due to run out, and it is likely they will get well deserve opportunities to do other things in the game likely at the professional level.

I covered this classic Game 7 in the WHL final in 2007.

    Even for me, there were no guarantees I would cover the campaign until the end of the season depending on what life sends my way.

    It is possible I might not be around next season. If different opportunities come up in my personal life or a communications position with a sports team, sports organization or mental health organization, my life might be changed too in a different good way.

    You always hope your life doesn’t change due to a difficult situation.

    After Hannoun scored his OT winner for the Raiders, a few people have asked me what it was like to be in the building on both occasions when Game 7 of a WHL final was decided in overtime.

    Way back on May 14, 2007, I was in The Arena in Medicine Hat when Brennan Bosch scored the winner in double overtime to lift the host Tigers past the Giants 3-2 in Game 7 of that year’s WHL Championship series before a sellout crowd of 4,006 spectators.
    I was a beat writer covering the Tigers for the Medicine Hat News that game.

The Raiders enjoy their WHL championship win.

    Reflecting on seeing both Bosch and Hannoun score their winners in person, I am thankful the factors I can’t control in life allowed me to be there in those moments. I am one of the few individuals that saw both of those goals live.

    I don’t think I could ever find the words to adequately describe what it was like to be in the building for both of those goals. It is something I can look upon on, when I am having a bad day.

    I am happy life worked out to the point I could cover this special season the Raiders had. I gained a lot of sweet memories to add to the ones I have already collected in life.

    As I work to make the best out of life on a day to day basis, perhaps fate and the forces I can’t control will allow me to continue to experience special moments like these.

I don't always cover Game 7 of the #WHLChampionship, but when I do, it inevitably becomes an OT classic. Also, I am way happier than I look here. pic.twitter.com/Sj8BvbkDKe

— Darren Steinke (@StanksSports) May 14, 2019

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

-------

    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Legacy of spectacular Raiders season will live on forever

The Raiders celebrate winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    The Prince Albert Raiders relished in a 2018-19 campaign that you couldn’t script for the most part.

    How could anyone envision a campaign that sees star netminder Ian Scott score a goal during the regular season.

    The same goes for winning a league title on home ice in Game 7 in overtime. That Raiders pulled that off on May 13 before a sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre.

    Overage centre Dante Hannoun had the honours of netting the winner with 1:35 remaining in overtime tapping home a backdoor feed at that right side of the Vancouver Giants goal. He converted a beauty pass from linemate Noah Gregor.

Brett Leason celebrated scoring a number of goals for the Raiders.

    Hannoun’s tally gave the Raiders a 3-2 victory and sent the faithful at the Art Hauser Centre into a joyful celebration that might have been unmatched in the history of the club’s storied home rink. It delivered the Ed Chynoweth Cup to the Raiders as WHL champions.

    That goal is destined to become the building’s signature moment and a legend that will live on forever in “Hockey Town North.”

    For the Raiders and their fans, it was a season under the sun that was a long time coming. Entering the 2018-19 campaign, the Raiders hadn’t experienced a whole lot of success in the 13 previous campaigns missing the playoffs seven times and being eliminated in the first round six times.

    In the 2018 post-season, Prince Albert almost pulled off a major upset.

Noah Gregor had a stellar final WHL campaign for the Raiders.

    The Raiders, who were 32-27-9-4 in the 2017-18 regular season, went the distance before falling in seven games to the Moose Jaw Warriors, who led the 2017-18 WHL regular season standings at 52-15-2-3, in the first round.

    The Raiders were tied 4-4 late in the third period in that Game 7 with the Warriors before falling 5-4.

    Prince Albert entered the 2018-19 campaign with legitimate hopes of having a special season like when it advanced to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series in 2005. The Raiders fell in seven games to the Brandon Wheat Kings in the conference final that year.

    The Raiders were carrying a core group of eight players in Brayden Pachal, who became the team’s captain this season, Parker Kelly, Zack Hayes, Max Martin, Spencer Moe, Cole Fonstad, Sean Montgomery and Scott.

Dante Hannoun will always have a special place in the hearts of Raiders fans.

    That group was with the team in 2016-17 when the Raiders finished third last in the WHL with a 21-44-5-2 record.

    People in Prince Albert watched that likable and well-mannered group grow together and hoped their hard work would pay off in a big way with big accomplishments.

    Still, optimism was tempered. It seemed there was still a slight fear that maybe special seasons weren’t meant to come the Raiders way and that fate might ultimately conspire to bring down the team.

    No one expected the chips to fall like they did.

    The Raiders topped the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record.

Spencer Moe (#11) gets set to take a draw for the Raiders.

    The only time the club posted more regular season wins in the WHL came in the 1984-85 campaign, when the Raiders recorded a record of 58 wins, 11 losses and three ties.

    Prince Albert went on to win the WHL title and the Memorial Cup that season.

    During the 2018-19 campaign, the Raiders topped the CHL’s Top 10 rankings for a number of weeks and were rated second in the final installment of those rankings.

    The fans in Prince Albert realized early that something special was at hand. They started to pack into the Art Hauser Centre early in the campaign, and the team averaged standing room crowds of 2,615 spectators over 34 regular season home dates.

Zack Hayes was solid defensively on the back end for the Raiders.

    It was a big jump from the 2,050 spectators the Raiders averaged for 36 home games in the 2017-18 campaign.

    During the 2019 playoffs, attendance at Raiders games never dipped below 3,000 over a run that included 12 home contests. The sellout figure of 3,289 became a fixed sight over the last 10 of those games as people brought in milk crates, stools and boxes to stand on to see the action on the ice.

    When doors opened an hour before game time, fans ran to get their standing room spots.

    Faith in the Raiders always existed in Prince Albert. The 2018-19 campaign finally saw that faith be rewarded and the fans soaked in every moment of the journey.

Sean Montgomery (#25) wins a battle on the boards for the Raiders.

    The Raiders received a shot in the arm with a breakout season by 19-year-old right-winger Brett Leason, who shot up to star status. He led the Raiders in regular season scoring with 36 goals and 53 assists for 89 points, while posting a plus-55 rating in the plus-minus department in 55 regular season games.

    Leason and Scott earned spots on Canada’s world junior team.

    In the WHL post-season, Leason emerged as the club’s top scorer there too with 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points in 22 appearances.

    Gregor, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks, showed he is ready for the next level piling up 43 goals and 45 assists for 88 points to go with a plus-49 rating in 63 regular season games.

The passion of the Raiders faithful could not be denied.

    The WHL rights to the star overage centre were acquired from the Victoria Royals last June.

    Hard-working career Raiders centre Sean Montgomery had a big personal season the squad’s followers were hoping would come his way. He piled up 29 goals and 30 assists for 59 points to go with a plus-41 rating in 67 regular season games.
    Import left-winger Aliaksei Protas took on hero status in the post-season netting 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points to go along with a plus-12 rating in 23 games in the WHL playoffs. 

    The Raiders had a starting six on defence that was one of the best in the CHL in Pachal, Hayes, Max Martin, Sergei Sapego, Jeremy Masella and Kaiden Guhle. They were arguably one of the best groups of six the Raider have ever placed on the ice to protect their back end.

The Raiders faithful cheer one of the team’s goals.

    Scott was a clutch last line of defence in goal.

    All the work of general manager Curtis Hunt and head coach Marc Habscheid came to fruition. The pair has worked together building the team since the start of the 2015-16 campaign.

    Habscheid joined the Raiders partway through the 2014-15 season and Hunt came up board before the start of the 2015-16 campaign.

    Both men have been popular with the fans in all their years with the team. Hunt was also a Raiders defenceman back in their 1984-85 Memorial Cup winning season.
    Even when you walk into the team’s business office, there is a warm family type feeling there among that group headed up by business manager Michael Scissons.

At times it felt like the fans were on top of Raiders goal celebrations.

    As a whole, the organization is all class. The class came through when deaths had an impact on the club.

    On April 6, 2018, Raiders prospect and defenceman Adam Herold passed away in the bus crash involving the junior A Humboldt Broncos. Herold played four career regular season games with the WHL club and made strong friendships during his time with the squad.

    Last summer, Habscheid’s father, Nicholas, passed away and the bench boss said his players were big in helping him through that.

    Last December, Ron Gunville, who was the Raiders director of player personnel, passed away as well. In March, former Raiders player, head coach and general manager Donn Clark passed away too. Clark was inducted on to the Raiders Wall of Fame in his final days of life.

    The memory of all four men was prevalent during the Raiders run to winning the WHL title.

Parker Kelly, left, and Brayden Pachal do their handshake after a win.

    When the Raiders won the WHL title, the team picture at centre ice with the Ed Chynoweth Cup was heartwarming. The family that was made up of good people was happy and on the league’s mountaintop sharing that moment with the community.
    The only thing the Raiders weren’t able to do was win the Memorial Cup. They went 0-3 in the CHL championship tournament.

    That will ultimately just be an epilogue.

    The overriding memory of the 2018-19 season will be the fact the Raiders finished first in the WHL’s regular season standings and won the league crown both for the second time in team history. It has been a 34-year wait for the Raiders and their fans to go through those experiences again.

    The Raiders received a shot in the arm, and it was deserved shot that was long overdue. “Hockey Town North” is once again a force on the hockey map.

Scott claims CHL goaltender of the year honours

Ian Scott earned CHL goaltender of the year honours for the stops he made.

    Ian Scott achieved a first for the Prince Albert Raiders, when it came to the CHL awards.

    On Saturday, the CHL’s major individual awards were handed out as part of the Memorial Cup tournament festivities going on in Halifax, N.S., and Scott was named the winner of the goaltender of the year award.

    The Calgary product, who turned 20-years-old in January, became the first goalie from the Raiders to ever win the CHL goaltender of the year award, which was first handed out in the 1987-88 campaign.

    Scott, who has signed an NHL entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, had an outstanding season posting a 38-8-3 record, a 1.83 goals against average, a .932 save percentage and eight shutouts.

Ian Scott makes a kick save during a post-season game in Edmonton.

    His goals against average, save percentage and shutout totals were all regular season club records.

    In his 49 regular season appearances, Scott, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 183 pounds, collected two assists, and he scored a goal. Scott scored his goal shooting the puck into an empty net in the Raiders 3-1 victory at the Art Hauser Centre on Nov. 16, 2018.

    During the WHL playoffs, Scott continued his impressive performance. He played in all of the Raiders 23 games in the WHL post-season posting a 16-7 record, a 1.96 goals against average, a .925 save percentage and five shutouts.
    When the Raiders won the WHL title, Scott was named the MVP of the WHL playoffs.

Ian Scott stops a shot in Game 7 of the WHL final.

    Scott has played in four complete seasons with the Raiders. Over that time, he has appeared in 175 career regular season games posting an 87-64-14 record, a 2.90 goals against average, a .905 save percentage and 11 shutouts.

    Scott is the Raiders all-time career leader in regular season victories. He is eligible to return to the WHL for an overage season, but he is expected to play next season somewhere in the Leafs professional system.

    Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid was nominated for Brian Kilrea coach of the year award, but that honour went to Mario Pouliot, who is the head goal of the QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
    Bowen Byram, who is a Vancouver Giants defenceman, was named the top prospect. Jason Robertson of the OHL’s Niagara Ice Dogs claimed honours as the top scorer.

Ian Scott, left, took MVP honours in the WHL playoffs.

    Justin Almeida of the Moose Jaw Warriors picked up the sportsman of the year award. Charle-Edouard D’Astrous of the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic claimed honours as the humanitarian of the year.

    Netminder Dustin Wolf of the Everett Silvertips was named the scholastic player of the year. Quinton Byfield of the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves claimed rookie of the year honours.

    Ty Smith of the Spokane Chiefs took home the defenceman of the year award. Alexis Lafreniere of the Oceanic was named the player of the year.

    The Memorial Cup title game will conclude the CHL’s 2018-19 campaign. It is set for Sunday and features the Huskies taking on the host Halifax Mooseheads in an all-QMJHL tilt (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, Sportsnet).

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

-------

    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Raiders’ core group enjoyed journey to WHL’s peak

Raiders LW Parker Kelly, right, always makes time for the fans.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Parker Kelly is in his element, when he is amongst the fans.

    The Prince Albert Raiders power forward, who recently turned 20-years-old, soaked in every moment of a rally held for the team on Thursday night at the Art Hauser Centre. The rally concluded with the Raiders players signing autographs for a lengthy stretch after the formal part of the program for the fans.

    Kelly was smiling away and being his jovial self, while greeting the team’s supporters. The Camrose, Alta., product was intent on signing every autograph request and satisfying every picture query.

Parker Kelly in action for the Raiders in the WHL final.

    Thursday’s rally attracted about 600 fans, but sometimes it was hard to pin down the estimate. It was obvious some of the team’s faithful came fresh from games at the neighbouring softball fields as young players were still wearing the uniforms of their local minor ball teams.

    Some came from the neighbouring track facility and were wearing their track and field gear.

    Kelly was happy to see all the supporters, who came down to celebrate what was a special and remarkable season for the Raiders.

    After going through a 13-year stretch where they missed the playoffs seven times and were eliminated in the first round six times starting in 2006, the Raiders had their season in the sun in 2018-19.

    They finished first in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

The Raiders faithful give their team a standing ovation on Thursday.

    They won the WHL final in a 3-2 victory in overtime in Game 7 against the Vancouver Giants with overage centre Dante Hannoun scoring the winner. With that win, the Raiders captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    Prince Albert advanced to the Memorial Cup tournament in Halifax, N.S. and bowed out after posting an 0-3 record. The Raiders closed play at the Memorial Cup on Tuesday falling 5-2 to the OHL champions Guelph Storm.

    Kelly was pumped to see the turnout on the final night the 2018-19 Raiders would get together as some members of the team were slated to start returning home on Friday.

Raiders fans had their picture taken with the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    “It is unbelievable,” said Kelly. “It is kind of starting to sink in now.

    “You see all the people here after a long work day coming to support us, a little celebration we had tonight, it is really cool to see all the support we have and how many people love coming to watch us play. We appreciate it so much.

    “It is such an underrated town. It has to be one of the best places to play, when it is packed. We really appreciate these guys.”

    Kelly was part of a core group of eight players that were with the Raiders in 2016-17, when the club finished third last in the WHL with a 21-44-5-2 record. The other members from that group included Brayden Pachal, who became the team’s captain this season, Zack Hayes, Max Martin, Spencer Moe, Cole Fonstad, Sean Montgomery and netminder Ian Scott.

    Together, they pushed the Raiders into the playoffs with a 32-27-9-4 regular season record in 2017-18, where they fell in a heartbreaking seven game first round series to the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Raiders centre Sean Montgomery, right, satisfies a fan request.

    That set the stage for the magical campaign in 2018-19, where the Raiders topped the WHL standings and won the WHL title for the first time since the 1984-85 campaign. The 1984-85 Raiders were able to capture the Memorial Cup as CHL champions.

    Kelly was part of the team’s WHL Bantam Draft class in 2014 with Scott and Hayes and was proud the core group from the 2016-17 campaign could grow and persevere.

    “I go back to what Habby (Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid) said in his interview about us getting sand kicked in our faces and us being made fun of,” said Kelly. “All I can just say is look at us now - we’re champs.

    “We’re going to have rings on our figures. I’ve been through thick and thin with those guys, and you know what, we’re going to be brothers for life.”

Sean Montgomery was a heart and soul career Raiders player.

    Montgomery is the elder statesman of the entire Raiders team. The Calgary, Alta., product was selected in the sixth round and 114^th overall in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft.

    He would go on to play a team record 345 career regular season games for the Raiders collecting 72 goals and 72 assists. Montgomery enjoyed sharing the ride with the core group of eight that has been together since the 2016-17 season.

    “That has been awesome,” said Montgomery. “We’ve had a few tough years, but we learned from those years and grew from them and now we won.”

    The Raiders acquired Pachal in a trade with the Victoria Royals on Jan. 9, 2017. Pachal remembered the taunts he first endured with the Raiders after joining them for the second half of the 2016-17 campaign.

    “We didn’t forget that, and now we are at the top,” said Pachal. “We lost with class, and now we’ve won with class.

Captain Brayden Pachal addresses the team’s faithful on Thursday.

    “It is an amazing feeling. Obviously, becoming close with all those core guys is amazing, but at the same time it is tough. There are a lot of us that won’t be back next year.

    “We played our last game as a group together. It is a tough one. It is bittersweet.”

    Habscheid has gotten emotional talking about his team since the club concluded play at the Memorial Cup. He has a big sense of pride for his players and what they accomplished this season.

    The veteran bench boss said it has been fun seeing the journey the core group of eight has been on together since the 2016-17 season.

    “We just stayed with it,” said Habscheid. “We just kept believing and kept working.

    “You know hard work pays off, and it showed. These guys are league champions, and they resurrected a franchise that needed a little shot in the arm. They provided that for the franchise and for the city.”
    Kelly admitted there were stretches this season where he was really locked in and focused on the task at hand.

A scene that will be remembered forever in Prince Albert.

    During those stretches where the team is working hard day after day, Kelly said he might have not taken enough time to reflect how fun the ride has been.

    The prospect of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators said events like the rally that was held for the Raiders on Thursday more than made up for the times he might have been too locked in.

    “You kind of miss how fun a whole season is with your brothers and playing with them every night, going to war with them,” said Kelly. “When you finally get to raise a trophy and have a celebration like this, it is unbelievable.

    “There are really no words to put it other than it is just so surreal right now. Like we always say, we’ll be brothers forever and we’ll walk together for the rest of our lives.”

Huskies punch ticket to all-QMJHL Memorial Cup title game

    The Memorial Cup’s title game will be a rematch of the QMJHL championship series.

    On Friday, the QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies slipped past the OHL champion Guelph Storm 6-4 in a Memorial Cup semifinal game before a sellout crowd of 10,595 spectators at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, N.S.

    The Huskies and Storm entered the third period locked in a 3-3 tie.

    Huskies centre Felix Bibeau scored the first two goals of the third to put Rouyn-Noranda up 5-3.

    With 73 seconds remaining in the third period, Storm captain Isaac Ratcliffe scored his second of two goals on the night to cut the Huskies lead to 5-4.

    Huskies captain Rafael Harvey-Pinard sealed victory for his side scoring into an empty net with 2.9 seconds remaining in the third. Harvey-Pinard had two assists to go with his goal.

    Alex Beaucage, Joel Teasdale and Tyler Hinam had singles for the Huskies. Jack Hanley and Cedric Ralph replied with singles for the Storm.

    Samuel Harvey stopped 34 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies. Anthony Popovich turned away 33-of-38 shots to take the loss in goal for the Storm.

    Huskies offensive defenceman Noah Dobson was stopped on a penalty shot.

    With the win, the Huskies will play for the CHL championship advancing to the Memorial Cup title game on Sunday to play the host Halifax Mooseheads (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, Sportsnet).
    The only other time there was an all-QMJHL title game at the Memorial Cup came back in 2006, when the QMJHL finalists Quebec Remparts downed the host and QMJHL champion Moncton Wildcats 6-2 in 2006.

    The Huskies beat the Mooseheads 4-2 in the best-of-seven QMJHL final. The Huskies downed the Mooseheads 4-3 in a round robin game on Wednesday.

    The Huskies topped the QMJHL regular season standings with a 59-8-0-1 record and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    The Mooseheads finished first in the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference in the regular season with a 49-15-2-2 mark and were rated eighth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    Friday’s game brought an end to a remarkable run for Guelph. The Storm finished eighth overall in the OHL’s regular season with a 40-18-6-4 mark.

    Guelph trailed the London Knights 3-0 in a best-of-seven second round series and rallied for four straight wins for a 4-3 series victory.

    In the best-of-seven Western Conference final, the Storm fell behind the Saginaw Spirit 3-1 before rallying for three straight wins to take the series 4-3.

    In the best-of-seven OHL final, the Storm fell behind 2-0 to the Ottawa 67’s before rallying for four straight wins to take the series 4-2.

    At the Memorial Cup tournament, the Mooseheads, Huskies and Storm all had 2-1 records in the round robin portion of the tournament.

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

-------

    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.