Raiders win third straight as post-season nears

Prince Albert gets back to top of East Division for one day

Daxon Rudolph had the winning goal for the Raiders on Tuesday.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – It is all about playing the right way.

That is the message Prince Albert Raiders interim head coach Ryan McDonald has been preaching to his team. The Raiders are in a tight three way battle for first place in the WHL’s East Division, but the Prince Albert side doesn’t have control when it comes to landing in top spot in the division as the final week of the regular season progresses.

On Tuesday playing before a standing room crowd of 2,797 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre, the Raiders posted their third straight victory downing the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors 3-1. On route to the triumph, the Raiders battled through a tightly contest opening frame and controlled play through the second and third periods holding a 43-23 edge in shots on goal.

Ryan McDonald, centre, works the Raiders bench as head coach.

For McDonald, the focus is on building momentum towards the playoffs and ensuring the players are sound in their team play.

“It is about continuing to build our game and play the right way and make sure we are on top of our checks,” said McDonald. “Our F3 (the third forward positioned high in the offensive zone) is an extremely important piece to our offence, but not only our offence, but our defence as well too.

“We have to make sure we’re on top of our checks and teams have to go 200-feet to get their opportunities.”

Tuesday’s win did allow the Raiders to improve to 37-23-5-1 to sit one standings point ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings (36-22-4-3) and Saskatoon Blades (36-22-3-4) for first in the East Division. Prince Albert’s division lead won’t last for long.

Lukas Dragicevic scored the Raiders first goal on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the Blades travel to Brandon to face the Wheat Kings at 7 p.m. local time at Westoba Place allowing both of those clubs to use up the game in hand they have on the Raiders. The winner of the clash between the Blades and Wheat Kings will hold first place in the East Division after that contest.

Following Wednesday’s game action, the Raiders, Blades and Wheat Kings will have two games remaining on their respective regular season schedules.

The Raiders close the regular season playing the Blades in a home-and-home series. The two sides go at it Friday in Saskatoon (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre) and Saturday in Prince Albert (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

Joshua Banini made 40 saves for the Warriors on Tuesday.

The Wheat Kings conclude their slate with a home-and-home series against the Regina Pats (16-42-5-3). Those two teams play Friday in Brandon (7 p.m. local time, Westoba Place) and Saturday in Regina (6 p.m., Brandt Centre).

Raiders standout rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph, who turned 17-years-old earlier this month, said it is special and enjoyable to be playing in big games this late into the regular season.

“You want every game to have value, and these ones down the stretch really do,” said Rudolph. “Big players come up big in these times, and that is what it is all about.

“I think everyone in our locker room is ready for it, and we’re going to have a good weekend.”

Casey Brown scored for the Warriors on Tuesday.

As for Tuesday’s clash with the Warriors, the Raiders opened the scoring just 1:27 into the contest as star defenceman Lukas Dragicevic potted his 17^th of the campaign from the right side of the Moose Jaw net off a slick break into the Moose Jaw zone. Dragicevic was placed in a prime scoring spot after receiving a smart pass from 20-year-old star right-winger Niall Crocker.

At the 4:12 mark of the second, the Raiders pushed their lead out to 2-0 when Rudolph fired home a point shot through a screen. Rudolph’s goal happened to be the first stoppage in action for the frame.

“When you can contribute on the scoresheet and help the guys get some wins, that is all that matters,” said Rudolph, who has seven goals, 31 assists and a plus-12 rating in the plus-minus department in 62 games with the Raiders this season. “It is nice for myself to be chipping in here.

Tomas Mrsic (#26) had an empty-net goal for the Raiders.

“At the end of the day, it is all about the team, and we got the two points tonight.”

The Warriors cut the Raiders lead to 2-1 at the 7:19 mark of the third on a goal by 18-year-old rookie right-winger Casey Brown. Brown one-timed home a shot from the front of the Prince Albert net converting a sweet setup pass from 17-year-old centre Luke Moroz.

Raiders star left-winger Tomas Mrsic sealed victory potting his 33^rd goal of the season into an empty net to round out the 3-1 final score in favour of the host side.

Warriors 18-year-old rookie netminder Joshua Banini tried his hardest to steal the game turning away 40-of-42 shots fired his way. With how well Banini was playing, McDonald was pleased with his club’s persistence.

Max Hildebrand stopped 22 shots for the Raiders on Tuesday.

“I thought offensively our pace increased as the game went on,” said McDonald. “We did a really good job of getting pucks low to high, but also east to west and getting them to the net off the pass.

“We made sure we landed at the net with traffic. Their goalie made some real key saves for them tonight. I thought our guys did a good job of getting pucks to the paint and then finding those second and third opportunities.”

Max Hildebrand stopped 22 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. On the campaign, the 20-year-old star puck stopper has posted a 31-16-5 record, a 2.88 goals against average, a .918 save percentage and three shutouts.

While Hildebrand had another great outing for the Raiders, Rudolph said it was big for his club to overcome Banini having a stellar night in the Moose Jaw net.

Niall Crocker had an assist on Tuesday for the Raiders.

“I thought we played a good game, and obviously, he (Banini) did as well,” said Rudolph. “We put a lot of rubber at him, and he made some saves.

“I think second opportunities were there at time, and we almost banged them in. When you run into a hot goalie, it is what it is. You just have to find a way to win those games, and that is what we did.

“I think we played a really good 60 minutes here tonight and stuck with it.”

The Warriors will close their 2024-25 campaign with a home-and-home series against the Swift Current Broncos. Those two clubs go at it on Friday in Swift Current (7 p.m., InnovationPlex) and Saturday in Moose Jaw (7 p.m., Temple Gardens Centre).

The Raiders continue on with their final two regular season games against the Blades. Leading up to those contests, McDonald said the focus is to ensure his players are continuing put together good habits in preparation for those games.

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

“It is one game at a time,” said McDonald. “For us, the most important thing is tonight making sure that we get a good cool down in and get a good meal and get rested up so we can hit the game film tomorrow, and again, have another good day of preparation and just go for the weekend.”

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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Kovacevic’s playoff experience will help Raiders

Rilen Kovacevic was traded to the Raiders on Tuesday.

The Prince Albert Raiders have landed the Moose Jaw Warriors’ top gun.

In a significant trade on Tuesday, the Raiders sent import 20-year-old left-winger Krzysztof Macias, 17-centre Luke Moroz and fourth round selection in the 2027 WHL Prospects Draft to the Moose Jaw Warriors for 20-year-old right-winger Rilen Kovacevic. At the time of the trade, Kovacevic, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 182 pounds, topped the Warriors in goals (21) and points (40).

Kovacevic brings sizable post-season experience to a Raiders team that still carries a number of younger players. In helping the Warriors win their first WHL championship last season, Kovacevic played a sizable role appearing in all of the club’s 20 games in the WHL Playoffs recording four goals, 11 assists and a plus-seven rating in the plus-minus department.

With the WHL’s Eastern Conference being wide open, the Raiders have the potential to make some noise in the post-season. Kovacevic can help the Raiders younger players navigate the highs and lows of the post-season, while appreciating the passionate support teams located in small Saskatchewan cities receive from their fans.

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

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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Raiders take step forward, show optimism more good to come

The Raiders contemplate their campaign ending this past Friday.

The glass is more than half full for the Prince Albert Raiders.

With the 2023-24 campaign coming to an end on Friday with a 6-2 loss in Game 5 of a first-round post-season series to their archrivals the Blades in Saskatoon, you can rightfully have an optimistic feeling. After a one season absence, the Raiders returned to the WHL Playoffs.

A core group of players has been formed on the roster with Ryder Ritchie, Aiden Oiring, Justice Christensen, Terrell Goldsmith, Eric Johnston and Max Hildebrand. You could project Ritchie, Oiring, Christensen and Goldsmith could be together for the next two seasons without discounting Goldsmith could play in the system of the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes in 2025-26.

It is fairly safe to say Johnston, who is the Raiders captain, and Hildebrand, who is the team’s star goalie, will be outstanding and motivated 20-year-olds in 2024-25. Hildebrand was one of the WHL’s best stories rising to be one of the circuit’s top five goalies posting a 25-20-4 record, a 2.88 goals against average, a .907 save percentage and two shutouts in regular season play. He is doing pretty well considering he was taken in the 13^th round and 286^th overall or second last in the then 2019 WHL Bantam Draft.

As 16-year-old rookies this past season, wingers Oli Chenier and Luke Moroz show flashes of possible breakout potential as they gained more game experience. Chenier showed consistent sparks throughout the year and Moroz played some really good minutes the second half of the season.

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

Learning curve makes Raiders prospects bright for 2023-24

Ryder Ritchie had 55 points in 61 games with the Raiders.

The struggles in 2022-23 will make the Prince Albert Raiders reach bigger goals in 2023-24.

Actually for a reloading campaign, the Raiders did alright this past season. They posted a 28-37-3 record to finish 11^th overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and 10 points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers (30-29-8-1) for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the conference.

The 28 victories was the same win total the Raiders posted in the regular season in 2021-22, where they made the WHL Playoffs. In 2021-22, the Raiders posted a 28-35-4-1 record to finish eighth overall in the Eastern Conference taking the conference’s final playoff berth.

The Raiders in 2022-23 had two fewer standings points than in 2021-22. Of course in 2021-22, WHL teams just played a full 68 game regular season against conference foes, while there was cross-conference play in 2022-23. Ultimately, that shuffled the wins around in a way that the Raiders made the post-season in one campaign and missed out with almost the same standings points total in the next campaign.

The biggest thing the Raiders were able to deliver in the 2022-23 was hope that seasons in the near future have the potential to be bright ones. Their younger players grew by leaps and bounds and the experience they gained will be a big asset in future campaigns.

The two players that really stood out were left-winger Ryder Ritchie, who was a 16-year-old rookie, and centre Aiden Oiring, who was a 17-year-old rookie. Ritchie finished third in team scoring with 55 points coming off 20 goals and 35 assists in 61 games.

It isn’t often 16-year-old rookies almost score a point per game in the WHL and hit the 20-goal plateau. Ritchie, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 157 pounds, has the potential to be one if the circuit’s elite players in future campaigns as he follows in the strides of his father Byron Ritchie, who starred with the Lethbridge Hurricanes from 1993 to 1997.

Aiden Oiring gained lots of opportunities with the Raiders.

Oiring was acquired by the Raiders on December 31, 2022 in a trade with the Winnipeg Ice that saw right-winger Carson Latimer head to the Manitoba capital. Buried on a deep Ice roster, Oiring, who stands 5-foot-7 and weighs 164 pounds, had five goals and three assists in 26 games with Winnipeg. He was given a lot more opportunities with the Raiders including lengthy stretches as the first line centre and recorded seven goals and 16 assists in 31 appearances with Prince Albert.

Young forwards like Cole Peardon and Grady Martin, who were skating through their 16-year-old rookie seasons, showed glimpses that they could have greater potential in future seasons. Various forwards from the Raiders 18-year-old group this past season showed well at different times in Hayden Pakkala, Gabe Ludwig and Carter Anderson.

During the second half of the season, 18-year-old right-winger Niall Crocker, who was the Raiders first round selection in the then 2019 WHL Bantam Draft, started to pick up points on a more frequent basis. He might still find the scoring touch he had growing up in minor hockey as a late bloomer in the WHL.

One of the returnees that is pegged to take a 20-year-old spot next season is left-winger Sloan Stanick. Stanick led the Raiders in scoring this past season posting career highs in goals (31), assists (33) and points (64) in 67 appearances, and he has potential to be a really good 20-year-old.

On defence, the Raiders six potential returnees should give them a good base in Eric Johnston, Seth Tansem, Justice Christensen, Easton Kovacs, Terrell Goldsmith and Owen Boucher. Johnston and Goldsmith could make up a top pairing, and Christensen turned heads with his physical play.

Sloan Stanick put up a career high 64 points in 2022-23.

Netminder Tikhon Chaika will take up both a 20-year-old spot and an import spot, but he will give the Raiders comfort in net. As the Raiders went with a more youthful roster, Chaika’s statistics took a hit from the season before, but they were still respectable as he posted a 17-23 record, a 3.28 goals against average, a .894 save percentage and one shutout in 45 appearances.

Barring trades, he has the potential to continue to form a strong tandem in net with Max Hildebrand, who will be in his 19-year-old season in 2023-24. In 32 appearances in 2022-23, Hildebrand posted an 11-14-3 record, a 3.71 goals against average and a .871 save percentage, but those number don’t show the improvement he made.

The Raiders will miss their 20-year-old class from this past season. Star offensive-defenceman Landon Kosior and captain Evan Herman were regulars at the start of the 2019-20 season and hung in with the Raiders during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic shutdowns.

Centre Keaton Sorensen was acquired in a trade on August 17, 2021 with the Red Deer Rebels, and along with Kosior and Herman, he helped lead the Raiders back into an era of full 68-game regular seasons and once again playing in front of supportive crowds in their storied home rink in the Art Hauser Centre.

Kosior, who was named a second team East Division all-star on Tuesday, finished second in team scoring with 63 points coming off 17 goals and 46 assists to go with a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department in 60 appearances. Sorensen finished fourth in team scoring posting career highs in goals (25), assists (28), points (53) and plus-minus (plus-five) in 64 games. Herman was fifth in team scoring posting 38 points coming off 18 goals and 20 assists in 64 games.

Niall Crocker started to produce more offence for the Raiders.

Next season, players who were apart of the Raiders WHL Prospects Draft class in 2022 will get a chance to make positive impact on the team. 

Forward Luke Moroz was selected in the first round and 15^th overall in that draft by the Raiders, and he put up 16 goals and 31 assists in 40 regular season games with the Regina Pat Canadians under-18 AAA team this past season. There is anticipation to see what Moroz can do sporting a Raiders jersey on a full-time basis.

For future seasons, the Raiders found out on Wednesday in the WHL Prospects Draft Lottery held in Calgary that they will have the first and second overall selections in the WHL Prospects Draft slated to be held online on May 11. 

The first overall selection was acquired in a trade with the Edmonton Oil Kings. The Raiders will also pick in the seventh overall spot having acquired that selection in a trade with the Kelowna Rockets.

In the U.S. Priority Draft Lottery that was held on Wednesday in Calgary, the Raiders found out they will be selecting fifth overall in the U.S. Priority Draft to be held online on May 10. Those selections will likely allow the Raiders to strengthen their depth for the future.

Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt and head coach Jeff Truitt have to feel good about where their team is positioned.

The Raiders celebrate a win on February 11.

Of course when the 2023-24 campaign comes around, the WHL roster deck will see some shuffling. The Raiders are in position to take a decent step upwards.

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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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.