Expect Raiders to shake off sweep by Blades

Hayden Harsanyi (#6) shields the puck from Owen Corkish.

The silence of the Prince Albert Raiders fans at the SaskTel Centre conveyed the shock of what they saw.

Last Saturday, the Raiders dropped a 5-2 decision to the host Saskatoon Blades to fall to 1-3 with a third straight loss. That skid included dropping both ends of a home-and-home series to the Blades.

While the Raiders faithful are known for hijacking the atmosphere inside the Blades home rink making it feel like a Prince Albert home game, the roar of the Blades supporters was noticeable among the 7,379 spectators that turned out.

The Saskatoon marketing staff did their jobs ensuring there was a sizable turnout to support the host side, and it was obvious they enjoyed what they saw.

The surprise of the Raiders supporters regarding how the season started for their club is understandable. In 2025-26, the Raiders topped the East Division and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 52-10-5-1 mark. Going into the post-season, the Raiders were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

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

Hoping “Ozzy” will be spiritually hanging in with the Raiders, team mainstay is missed

Mark Odnokon raises the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2019.

I can still hear Mark Odnokon’s laugh when I told him Terry Simpson was selling up his captains and players again saying he didn’t have anything to do with the success of the Prince Albert Raiders.

During this particular chat, I was talking to Odnokon, who was often referred to as “Ozzy,” about the 1981-82 Raiders that won the team’s final SJHL and Centennial Cup national junior A championships before the team graduated to the major junior ranks the next season. Odnokon, who was a feisty winger in his playing days, served as an assistant captain with that 1981-82 Raiders team along with Robin Bartel, while Bob Lowes was the captain.

Of course, Simpson is the iconic head coach and general manager of the Raiders, who has been retired from the game for some time now. Simpson always tried to deflect credit to his captains and players for the many successes the team had. He was trying to sell that he really didn’t need to do anything for a Raiders team that went 57-3 in the regular season and 20-3 in the post-season in that 1981-82 campaign saying the captains ran the show.

“Stanks,” said Odnokon, giving a pause before going on. “You’ve been around for a long time.

“You know better than that. Don’t let him (Simpson) get away with that.”

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

Raiders season was a special one, traction moment eluded them in WHL final

The Raiders contemplate the end of their season last Friday.

The longer a team plays during a season the more the end will hurt unless you win it all.

The Prince Albert Raiders special 2025-26 campaign came to an end last Friday, when they dropped a 7-2 decision to the visiting Everett Silvertips in Game 5 of the WHL Championship Series at the Art Hauser Centre. With the win, the Silvertips took the best-of-seven set 4-1 to claim their first WHL championship in team history.

As everyone with the Raiders deals with the emotional aftermath of falling in the WHL final, the realization does hit that it was a special season. Prince Albert topped the Eastern Conference, claimed the East Division title and finished second overall in the WHL with a 52-10-5-1 mark. The Raiders were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

For everyone who is linked to the Raiders, they have nothing to hang their heads about. They experienced a campaign that created many special memories that players, coaches, managers, staffers and fans with the team can carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Prince Albert also fell to a quality organization in the Silvertips. Everett topped the WHL regular season standings, the Western Conference and the U.S. Division with a 57-8-2-1 record and was rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Silvertips 57 wins and 117 standings points are team records.

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

Expected battle materializing in WHL final between Raiders and Silvertips

Braeden Cootes has three points in the first two games of the WHL final.

You didn’t think it was going to be easy?

After two games of the best-of-seven WHL Championship Series, the Prince Albert Raiders and Everett Silvertips find themselves locked in a 1-1 tie. The first two games were held at the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett with the Raiders taking Game 1 last Friday 4-2 and the Silvertips rebounding with a 6-2 triumph in Game 2 one night later.

Both teams likely believe they could have exited the first two games holding a 2-0 series lead after reviewing video of the first two contests. A split was likely the fair outcome to start the set.

Going into the WHL final, there was no clear cut favourite.

Everett topped the WHL regular season standings, the Western Conference and the U.S. Division with a 57-8-2-1 record and was rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Silvertips 57 wins and 117 standings points are team records.

Prince Albert topped the Eastern Conference, claimed the East Division title and finished second overall in the WHL with a 52-10-5-1 mark. The Raiders were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

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

Raiders rise and pass Tigers challenge, face stiff Silvertips test in WHL final

The Raiders celebrate a goal by Daxon Rudolph (#10) on April 29.

The Prince Albert Raiders rose up and passed the test of the Medicine Hat Tigers, and they will now face a new stiff test in the Everett Silvertips in the WHL final.

The Raiders and Silvertips open the best-of-seven WHL Championship Series with Games 1 and 2 set for Friday and Saturday respectively at the Angel of the Winds Arena. The series will switch back to the Art Hauser Centre for Game 3 on Tuesday, May 12. The start time for all games of the series will depend on the TSN broadcast schedule and could change the longer the series goes.

When it comes to the WHL final, the Raiders have made two trips to the league championships series in their history coming up with title wins in 1985 and 2019. Prince Albert went on to win the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in 1985.

The Silvertips have gone to the league final twice in their history. They got there as an expansion team in 2004 and again in 2018 and weren’t able to come up with a WHL title on either occasion.

For the Raiders, they will be helped by the fact they made it to the WHL final after eliminating the defending WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers in six games in the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series. While the Tigers were battling a flu bug for the entire series, they showed a heart of a champion, including a never give up battle, when the Raiders closed out the series with a 7-6 victory in Game 6 at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat this past Sunday.

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

Tigers and Raiders fans battle over God’s place in hockey

A quartet of Tigers players take part in a prayer circle on Saturday.

A holy war is breaking out in the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series between the fans of the Medicine Hat Tigers and the Prince Albert Raiders.

The trigger moment for the rising heat between the two fan bases came at the conclusion of Game 2 of the set played before a sellout crowd of 3,299 spectators at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre, which was won 5-0 by the Tigers on Saturday night. At that point, the Christian players on the Tigers set out to do their traditional prayer circle.

Before I go on, I want to say I liked how all parties in the Tigers, Raiders and the game officials handled the next part.

After the game ended, Raiders defencemen Linden Burrett and Matyas Man skated to centre ice, and both went down on one knee at the faceoff circle. When the Tigers were done celebrating and sharing congratulations around netminder Jordan Switzer, Tigers captain Bryce Pickford, assistant captain Jonas Woo, centre Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll, right-winger Luke Cozens and left-winger Cam Parr separated from the rest of the Tigers and looked towards centre ice.

Pickford, Woo, Gordon-Carroll and Cozens are the four regulars who always take part in the Tigers prayer circle. To me, it looked like the group of Tigers players asked the Raiders players if they wanted to do a prayer together.

From my view, it looked like Burrett waved them away and told the Tigers players to go do their thing. In sports, the team logo at centre ice or centre field is a big thing, and it seemed like the Raiders players wanted to protect the logo.

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

Legendary former Mintos coach to enter P.A. Sports Hall of Fame

Tim Leonard behind the Mintos bench. (Photo courtesy P.A. Mintos)

It was a full circle moment for Tim Leonard.

As part of the announcement for being part of the 2026 class for the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame, Leonard, who is going into the Hall as a builder, and members of his class were introduced to a crowd of 2,463 spectators at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre before a Prince Albert Raiders home WHL regular season contest on February 6. The Raiders hosted the Lethbridge Hurricanes on that night, and it hit Leonard that he coached the head coaches of both teams.

“It is crazy,” said Leonard. “When they brought us out on the ice at the Raider game to introduce everybody that is going in this year, I get out on the ice, and look across at the benches, and there is Ryan McDonald.

“On the other bench where Lethbridge is Matty Anholt, and I coached them both. It was fitting, and it was a great feeling.”

Way back at the start of the 2002-03 campaign, Leonard joined the Prince Albert Mintos Under-18 AAA Team as an assistant coach. He was working on a staff led by head coach Ron Bonneau. One of their first decisions was to offer a roster spot to McDonald, who was an underage 14-year-old centre that came out to Mintos camp just to get some extra skating work.

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

Raiders versus Tigers conference final could be epic

Daxon Rudolph (#10) and the Raiders are ready to face the Tigers.

It has the potential to be one of the most epic post-season series ever played in the history of the WHL.

The heavyweight showdown for the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series has materialized. The Prince Albert Raiders will take on the Medicine Hat Tigers. Game 1 of the series is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre.

The Raiders topped the Eastern Conference, claimed the East Division title and finished second overall in the WHL with a 52-10-5-1 mark. They were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Raiders swept their archrivals the Saskatoon Blades in an Eastern Conference semifinal.

The Tigers, who are the defending WHL champions, finished second in the Eastern Conference, captured the Central Division title and finished third overall in the WHL with a 50-10-5-3 mark. They were rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Tigers swept their division rivals the Calgary Hitmen in the other Eastern Conference semifinal.

Last year, the two sides met in an Eastern Conference Semifinal Series that the Tigers took in a sweep on their way to winning the WHL title. While the Tigers were one of the circuit’s powerhouses last season, they were powered by lots of emotion playing for star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin, whose father, Derek, passed on the final day of the 2024-25 regular season.

Meneghin was playing for his father, and the Tigers were playing for him. They rode that to the team’s sixth WHL championship and a berth in the Memorial Cup tournament’s title game, where they fell 4-1 in the CHL championship contest to the London Knights on June 1, 2025 in Rimouski, Que.

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

Lehner surprised, pumped for Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame induction

Katelyn Lehner pictured in 2013. (Photo courtesy Katelyn Lehner)

Katelyn Lehner didn’t think she was going to get any more accolades from her life in track and field.

The 31-year-old has been very focused on her singing career for about the past half decade. She never thought she would get the call to become a member of the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame.

“I was so shocked,” said Lehner. “It was such an exciting phone call to get.

“I’ve been retired for five years now. I felt like all of my track accomplishments had kind of run their course. It was super exciting to be getting that call and to be recognized in my home town.

“Immediately, it just brought back a lot of really good memories of my sport days and growing up and competing and training in Prince Albert. I feel very honoured to be included in this year’s class.”

Starting in the sport at age 12, Lehner would become one of the most decorated athletes to come out of track and field in Prince Albert. While attending St. Mary High School, Lehner won gold in every discipline she entered in taking part in the Prince Albert High School City Championships and the North Central District Championships. Her success came in the 100-metre and 200-metre races, high jump, long jump and 80-metre hurdles.

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

“Hockey Town North” faithful on fire for Raiders in series against Blades

A Raiders fan holds up a sign for Blades netminder Evan Gardner.

When the fans of the Prince Albert Raiders are at their best, they truly do give the Raiders hockey team a boost on the ice.

Way back in the summer of 2001, I met Reg Martsinkiw who was the founder of the Raiders. When you talk to Martsinkiw, he will tell you there were a lot of folks that played a part in getting the Raiders rolling way back in 1971 that created the base for the team to grow into what it is today. With that noted, Martsinkiw was the man that got everything rolling from the start, so I’ll always believe it is proper to recognize him as the founder of the community owned team.

One of the first lessons I learned from Martsinkiw was that the fans were a part of the journey the Raiders are on. The fans are part of the Raiders family. When the fans rally around the team, it helps make all the success the Raiders have had possible.

The work Martsinkiw and the first Raiders board of directors did was seen in that first season in 1971-72 in the junior A ranks of the SJHL resulting in the atmosphere at the new built Comuniplex that is still seen to this day in the same building now famously known by its current name in the Art Hauser Centre. When the Raiders hosted their first game at their storied and historic home rink on December 12, 1971, 3,000 people turned out and sat on cement slabs where the first “Smarty box” seats were installed about midway in that first decade for the club.

When the Raiders fell in Game 6 of a second round series in the 1972 SJHL playoffs at home against the Melville Millionaires, over 3,600 fans came out to that contest cheering on the Raiders sitting on those cement slabs.

Fast forward to the current day with the Raiders having played in the major junior ranks since 1982, Prince Albert claimed the first two games of a best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against their archrivals the Saskatoon Blades by scores of 6-1 and 3-0 on Friday and Saturday respectively. The sellout crowd of 3,299 spectators at the Hauser, which has 2,580 seats, was raucous for both games.

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

“Let’s get ready to rumble!” – Raiders and Blades to throw it down in round 2

The Raiders and Blades exchange pleasantries on Feb. 14.

As far as the second round of the WHL Playoffs, this is going to be CM Punk versus Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42.

For the next potentially two plus weeks, Prince Albert Raiders versus Saskatoon Blades in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series will be the thing that is on everyone’s mind in those respective centres. Actually, you can bet it will be on everyone’s mind in “Hockey Town North.”

In Saskatoon, the series will likely be on a lot of people’s minds. With it being a city of 300,000 people, there are a significant portion of hockey fans set to spend $5,000 to $10,000 on trips to see NHL games while staying in posh hotels or heading off to take part in other interests.

Actually if Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan was in season in “The Bridge City,” that is a must treasure to check out. Even for people who hated Shakespeare in school, the folks that make that production happen make Shakespeare cool, but I digress.

Getting back to the second round of the WHL Playoffs, the upcoming Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Raiders and Blades is the one that jumps off the page. Out of the circuit’s four conference semifinal series, this is the only one that is a true rivalry series.

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

Raiders taking advantage of Rebels youth on defense

Jake Missura (#3) chats with Brandon Gorzynski and Justice Christensen.

The Prince Albert Raiders have been merciless when it comes to taking advantage of the youth on the Red Deer Rebels defense.

One of the facts on life in the WHL is teams will capitalize on an area you can take advantage of in an opponent and keep doing it again and again and again until you pick up the win. That type of development becomes larger in a best-of-seven post-season series.

That is becoming evident in the best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs between the Raiders and the Rebels. The Raiders lead the series 2-0 with Games 3 and 4 to be hosted Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at the Merchant Crane Centrum in Red Deer.

During the regular season, the Raiders topped the Eastern Conference and finished second overall in the WHL with a 52-10-5-1 mark. They were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

At this point in their development, they are an experienced and more veteran team that also has a youthful contingent who are proving to be special players. The steady veterans include 20-year-olds in captain Justice Christensen, Brayden Dube and Aiden Oiring along with Braeden Cootes, Brandon Gorzynski, Maddix McCagherty and Linden Burrett.

The youngsters who are playing beyond their age include Daxon Rudolph, Brock Cripps, Ben Harvey, Connor Howe and netminder Steele Bass. On Monday, the 16-year-old Cripps was named the WHL’s rookie of the week for posting two goals, two assists and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department in Prince Albert’s victories in Games 1 and 2 of the series at the Art Hauser Centre.

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

Raiders to face playoff intensity out of gate in Rebels

The Raiders salute their fans at the Art Hauser Centre last Friday.

Getting the Red Deer Rebels first in the WHL Playoffs might be a good thing for the Prince Albert Raiders.

After topping the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 52-10-5-1 mark finishing the regular season with six straight wins, the Raiders will face real playoff intensity against the Rebels, who finished eighth in the conference 26-36-5-2. Two sides are set to engage in a best-of-seven first round series with Games 1 and 2 set for Friday and Saturday respectively at 7 p.m. at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre.

By tradition, the Raiders and Rebels are mirror images of each other. When they are at their best, they play with great skill offensively, grind out games, play physically, bring a strong work ethic and possess a never quit mentality. The Raiders traditional style dates back to when Terry Simpson was the team’s head coach and general manager, and the Rebels traditionally mirror in the image of their longtime general manager and owner in Brent Sutter.

The Raiders do go into the series with an edge in the experience department. Prince Albert is carrying a roster with five players in the 17-year-old age group and three players in the 16-year-old age group before adding in associate player call ups.

The Rebels are carrying 11 players in their 17-year-old seasons, and five of those players make up the seven skaters on their defensive unit. One of those overall 17-year-olds in centre Beckett Hamilton led the Rebels in scoring with 62 points coming off 24 goals and 38 assists, while 17-year-old right-winger Kalder Varga had 21 goals and 37 points.

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

Raiders in rare air with 20-goal men

Maddix McCagherty (#17) celebrates scoring his 20th goal last Friday.

Do you like 20-goal men?

While the Prince Albert Raiders have lots of 20-goal men – eight to be exact. Entering play on Tuesday, they include Daxon Rudolph (28), Aiden Oiring (28), Max Heise (28), Brandon Gorzynski (27), Braeden Cootes (22), Jonah Sivertson (22), Brayden Dube (21) and Maddix McCagherty (20). At the moment, 18-year-old import rookie left-winger Alisher Sarkenov is sitting on 19 goals. If he scores one more goal, that would give the Raiders nine 20-goals scorers.

The Raiders 2018-19 WHL title winning team didn’t even have eight 20-goal scorers. The five players who hit the 20-goal mark in that campaign included Noah Gregor (43), Brett Leason (36), Parker Kelly (35), Cole Fonstad (29) and Sean Montgomery (29).

The last time the Raiders had eight players who hit the 20-goal plateau was back in the 1991-92 campaign. The players that hit the 20-goal mark that season included Lee Leslie (52), Jeff Nelson (48), Dan Kesa (46), Dean McAmmond (37), Donevan Hextall (33), Curtis Regnier (30), David Neilson (25) and Jeff Gorman (23).

If Sarkenov scores one more goal to hit 20, it would give the Raiders nine players who hit the 20-goal plateau for the first time since the 1985-86 campaign. That season they included Pat Elynuik (53), Ryan Stewart (52), Dale McFee (47), Tony Grenier (42), Steve Gotaas (40), Kim Issel (29),Scott Kruger (26), Emanuel Viveiros (22) and Rod Dallman (20).

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

Raiders, Tigers in final sprint for top spot in Eastern Conference

The Raiders are in a final sprint for first in the Eastern Conference.

For the WHL regular season, the final sprint is here and has just taken off from the starting line.

The Prince Albert Raiders sit in an exciting place having locked up first in the East Division with a 45-8-5-1 mark entering play Tuesday. They lead the Medicine Hat Tigers (42-9-5-3) by four points for top spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Tigers lead the Edmonton Oil Kings (39-16-3-2) by nine points for first in the Central Division. Medicine Hat should take the Central Division title. The Tigers would need to lose seven of their last nine games in regulation to give the Oil Kings a chance at first in the Central Division.

Edmonton is pretty much out of the loop as far as the race goes for first in the Eastern Conference. The Raiders just need to win two more games to eliminate Edmonton from having a shot at first in the conference.

That means the Raiders and the Tigers will engage in a nine game sprint to see who takes top spot in the conference. Prince Albert with a four point lead in the standings and could go out and win just five of nine games to put Medicine Hat in a bind for getting top spot. In that scenario, the Tigers would need to win seven of their last nine games and get a point from an extra time loss to overtake the Raiders.

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

CHL Top 50 Players promotion great way to engage game’s history

CHL Top 50 list gets people talking

Mike Modano in action in the 1980s. (Photo courtesy the WHL)

At times it feels like a hockey player’s exploits in the NHL are always remembered, but memories of a player’s junior days seem to evaporate over time outside of the junior community that athlete played in.

On February 10, the Canadian Hockey League announced a promotion listing its top 50 players of the last 50 years. The promotion is being done as part of festivities of the CHL recognizing its 50^th anniversary season in the current campaign. The CHL in its current form was created on May 9, 1975 as the umbrella organization that the WHL, OHL and QMJHL play under.

For the CHL’s Top 50 Players List, it was selected by a panel of more than 40 media members who submitted ranked ballots from one to 50, which were guided by a weighted evaluation framework designed to ensure consistency across eras.

Media members considered a player’s impact beyond the CHL – including NHL and international success, major awards and championships and Hall of Fame recognition – alongside on-ice achievement in CHL member leagues. A player’s accomplishments during their time in the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL through production, individual honours, team success and sustained dominance were taken into account.

Selections also accounted for historical significance, recognizing milestones, era-defining influence, generational impact and lasting contributions to CHL history. To be eligible, players must have competed in at least one full season in the WHL, OHL or QMJHL during the CHL’s 50-year history beginning in 1975-76. For players who competed in 1975-76 and also played prior to that season, their entire CHL career was considered when evaluating on-ice accomplishments.

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

Prince Albert Northern Bears alumna stars at Huskie Women of Influence Breakfast

Kaitlin Willoughby, right, chats with Heather Morrison.

The centre stage spotlight of the University of Saskatchewan Huskie Women of Influence Breakfast was a deserving spot for Kaitlin Willoughby.

These days Willoughby skates for the Montreal Victoire as a checking forward in the PWHL. From 2013 to 2018, she was a star forward with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s Hockey Team skating to a legendary career where she still sits as the program’s second all-time leading scorer. Before that, she was a star with the Prince Albert Northern Bears, who were then known as the A & W Bears, of the SFU18AAAHL.

On Tuesday morning before a packed TCU Place in Saskatoon, Willoughby was the keynote speaker for the third annual Huskie of Women of Influence Breakfast that raises scholarship funds for the Huskies women’s programs. She took part in a sit down style question and answer session with emcee Heather Morrison, who is a local area broadcaster.

While Willoughby talked about her hockey journey through all parts of her life, she enjoyed the vibe at the breakfast.

“I think seeing this event, I think it is in its third year, and just to see the support of people in the community showing up for women athletes at U of S I think it is really incredible to see,” said Willoughby. “Events like this are what makes it possible to have female athletes play a sport at the university and be able to financially have a little bit of aid in getting their degree and also playing a sport.

“I’m all about supporting that and to see everyone turn up today and hear the stories of the athletes were just incredible.”

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

Fun with Raiders versus Blades rivalry never gets old

Memories of past Raiders/Blades clashes get better with age

A Raiders fan has a sign for the archrival Blades.

A post-game sign was all that was needed to announce the rivalry between the Prince Albert Raiders and Saskatoon Blades is still alive and well.

On Saturday before a standing room crowd of 3,044 spectators at the storied and historic 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre, the Blades blanked the host Raiders 4-0. After congratulating their star netminder Evan Gardner on a 29-save shutout win, the Blades players skated to centre and a sign placed up against the glass close to the penalty box caught the attention of most of the Saskatoon skaters.

A Raiders fan was holding a sign that said, “Blades 59 years still no cup.”

That of course is the classic Raiders fan dig at the Blades, who have never won a league title or a Memorial Cup championship joining the WHL as a charter member in the 1966-67 campaign. Actually, you can add two more years on to that sign as the Blades were born in 1964 and played two seasons in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League during a time when all clubs that currently play major junior and junior A were all on the same level and competed for the Memorial Cup.

The Blades never finished above .500 in their two campaigns in the SJHL. As a useful double check for the Raiders faithful, the Blades are currently working on year 62 and still no cup.

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

Raiders’ Rudolph might be wisest potential NHL Draft pick

Daxon Rudolph was named the WHL player of the week on Monday.

Daxon Rudolph may be the player that gives an NHL team the most value in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

The 17-year-old Prince Albert Raiders defenceman seems like a certainty to be selected in the first round of the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, which will be held June 26 and 27 in Buffalo, New York. In most debates for the upcoming draft, it is projected that Penn State University Nittany Lions left-winger Gavin McKenna, University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks defenceman Keaton Verhoeff and left-winger Ivar Stenberg of Frolunda of the Swedish Hockey League will be taken with the top three picks.

Rudolph, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 202 pounds, was rated sixth among North American skaters in the midterm rankings released by NHL Central Scouting on January 12. Various NHL Entry Draft prognosticators have Rudolph potentially creeping in to be selected in the top 10 of the first round.

On Monday, Rudolph was named the WHL’s player of the week for the week ending on Sunday, January 18. He claimed the honour after recording two goals, four assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department helping the Raiders go 3-0 for the week in question.

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

Raiders land biggest fish in Cootes before trade deadline

Curtis Hunt went deep like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. when it came to this year’s WHL trade deadline.

The WHL trade deadline is passed on Thursday at 7 p.m. Saskatchewan time. A total of nine deals were made on the deadline day itself, and pretty much all those transactions equate to a team sending a player to another team in hopes of getting more ice time and a restart.

On Tuesday, the Raiders executed their final deal before the deadline and it was a blockbuster. They landed Seattle Thunderbirds captain in 18-year-old centre Braeden Cootes. Cootes just finished helping Canada win bronze at the world juniors that wrapped up on Monday in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Cootes started the campaign playing three regular season games with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks selected the Sherwood Park, Alta., product in the first round and 15^th overall in the NHL Entry Draft held last June. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Canucks on July 9, 2025.

After being returned to the Thunderbirds, Cootes appeared in 17 regular season games posting 10 goals, 13 assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department before departing to join Canada’s squad for world juniors. He had a pair of goals in seven games for Canada at world juniors.

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