 |
| Max Hildebrand is having an outstanding season for the Raiders. |
As far as statistics go, he is hovering around 10 or just outside the top 10 in most goaltending categories in the WHL. For anyone that has been able to watch the quality of his recent starts with the Prince Albert Raiders, Hildebrand has grown into one of the WHL’s elite puck stoppers.
Hildebrand gives the Raiders a real chance to win every time he skates into the crease of the team’s net. That would also be true if he played for any other team in the WHL.
A couple of his most impressive outings came in a recent home-and-home series with the WHL leading Saskatoon Blades. In a 5-4 victory after a tiebreaking shootout at the Art Hauser Centre on January 26, Hildebrand made 41 saves over 65 minutes and turned away two-of-three shooters in the tiebreaking shootout.
The 19-year-old Martensville product kept the Raiders in striking distance when they entered the third period trailing 4-2. After the Raiders scored twice to tie the contest up 4-4 and force overtime, Hildebrand stopped all six shots he faced in overtime to ensure the contest got to a shootout. From there, the Raiders claimed a 2-1 victory in the tiebreaking session.
This column of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click right here.
