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| The Raiders aim to win their first WHL title since 1985. |
On Friday at 7 p.m. local time at the Art Hauser Centre, the
host Prince Albert Raiders will take on the visiting Vancouver Giants in Game 1
of the best-of-seven WHL Championship series.
The Raiders finished first overall in the WHL regular season
standings at 54-10-2-2 and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.
Prince Albert advanced through the post-season capturing the WHL Eastern
Conference title winning 12 out of their 16 playoff games.
The Giants placed second overall in the WHL regular season
standings with a 48-15-3-2 record and are rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10
rankings. Vancouver moved through the playoffs capturing the WHL Western
Conference title winning 12 out of their 15 post-season games.
When the season started, both clubs has the potential to
have successful campaigns. The fact their records were as good as they were and
both made long playoff runs still comes as a bit of a surprise.
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| Brett Leason has been a star all season for the Raiders. |
The Raiders last won the WHL title and the Memorial Cup in
1985. Since that time, they advanced to the league semifinal round seven times
without earning a berth in the league final.
After falling in the WHL Eastern Conference final in seven
games in 2005, the Raiders went through a stretch over the next 13 years where
they missed the playoffs seven times and were eliminated in the first round six
times.
The Giants topped the B.C. Division for five consecutive
seasons from 2005-06 to 2009-10. They won the WHL title in 2006.
They lost in the WHL final in seven games in 2007 but
rebounded to capture the Memorial Cup as the tournament’s host team. Vancouver
made appearances in the WHL Western Conference final in 2009 and 2010 but wasn’t
able to make the league final.
From 2011 to 2018, the Giants missed the playoffs four times
and were eliminated in the first round four times.
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| Dylan Plouffe is a solid defenceman for the Giants |
By making it to this year’s WHL final, the 2018-19 campaign
is an unequivocal success for both the Raiders and Giants. After getting this
far, you can bet both sides don’t want to fall short of winning a league title
and advancing to the Memorial Cup, which runs May 17 to 26 in Halifax, N.S.
The Raiders are lead by general manager Curtis Hunt, who is
the WHL’s executive of the year, and head coach Marc Habscheid, who is the WHL’s
coach of the year. The two hockey veterans have worked together since the start
of the 2015-16 campaign to bring the Raiders to this moment.
They oversee a team that is loaded with star forwards in
Brett Leason, Noah Gregor, Parker Kelly, Cole Fonstad, Sean Montgomery and
Dante Hannoun.
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| Bowen Byram is the Giants biggest star. |
Veteran Ian Scott, who was named the WHL’s goaltender of the
year, had a marvelous season and has been clutch in the playoffs.
Before the start of the 2018-19 season, Barclay Parneta
became the Giants new general manager and Michael Dyck became the team’s new
head coach. Both are long time hockey veterans who were looking to get the Giants
over the hump.
Dyck has been the head coach of his hometown Lethbridge
Hurricanes but parted ways with that club at the end of the 2008-09 campaign.
He spent the majority of the time between WHL head coach positions guiding
various minor hockey teams his son, Carson, played on.
Together, Parneta and Dyck, who is the coach of the year in
the WHL’s Western Conference, brought the Giants back to prominence.
They oversaw
a talented forward group in captain Jared Dmytriw, Davis Koch, Milos Roman, Lukas Svejkovsky, Tristen Nielsen and Justin Sourdif.
Dmytriw was the humanitarian of the year for the Western Conference.
The star on defence is 17-year-old Bowen Byram, and he is a hot prospect for the
upcoming NHL Entry Draft earning the number two rating among North American
skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings.
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| Raiders goalie Ian Scott will be out to stone the Giants. |
In goal, the Giants rest easy knowing they have two great
options in David Tendeck and Trent Miner, who both had solid seasons.
The Raiders and Giants met once in the regular season back
on Jan. 24 , when the Giants pulled out a 3-1 victory at the Langley Events
Centre in Langley, B.C.
Due to the fact these teams played just once in the regular
season and both has spectacular campaigns, it is hard to pick with any degree
of confidence who will come out on top.
The fact the Raiders are backed by a raucous home crowd
should help give them an advantage.
Still, this series appears it will be an exciting one for
hockey fans, so may the best team win.
Raiders select Crocker in WHL Bantam Draft
With their
first pick, the Raiders took forward Niall Crocker from Delta, B.C., in the
first round and 22nd overall. Crocker, who is 14-years-old, already
stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 161 pounds.
In 30 games with the Delta Hockey Academy Bantam Prep
program, Crocker piled up 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points.
The Raiders paid tribute to their late director of player
personnel Ron Gunville, while making their first pick. Gunville passed away due
to cancer last Dec. 11.
Gunville’s son, Reed, and nephew, Keanan Tibbs, stepped up
to the podium with current Raiders director of player personnel Curt Brownlee
to make the selection. Brownlee allowed Reed to make the selection.
The Raiders selected six forwards, four defencemen and two
goaltenders in the Bantam Draft. The list of the Raiders selections can be
found by clicking right here.
Blades trade Harsch, pick Lisowsky
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| The Blades traded Reece Harsch to the Winnipeg Ice. |
The Blades
traded overage defenceman Reece Harsch and first round and third overall pick
in the Bantam Draft to the Winnipeg Ice. The Ice sent the Blades their first
round and ninth overall selection and second and 24th overall pick
in this year’s Bantam Draft and a second round pick and a fifth round pick in
the 2020 Bantam Draft.
Last
season, Harsch appeared in 57 regular season games split between the Seattle
Thunderbirds and Blades posting four goals, 16 assists and a minus-10 rating in
the plus-minus department.
With the
first round and ninth overall selection, the Blades selected forward Brandon
Lisowsky, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 160 pounds, from Port Coquitlam, B.C.
Lisowsky,
who turned 15-years-old in April, collected 61 goals and 48 assists for 109
points in 53 regular season and tournament games with the Burnaby Winter Club
Bantam Prep team last season.
In the second round
with the 24th overall pick, the Blades selected 14-year-old forward
Hayden Smith from Chetwynd, B.C.
Smith, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 152 pounds, collected
24 goals and 23 assists in 30 games with the Yale Hockey Academy Bantam Prep
team in Abbotsford, B.C.
The Blades selected six forwards, five defencemen and two
goaltenders in the Bantam Draft. Saskatoon’s selections can be found by
clicking right here.
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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