Dragicevic, Raiders drag series back to Edmonton

Prince Albert stays alive with Game 5 win over Oil Kings

The Raiders celebrate their Game 5 on Friday night.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Lukas Dragicevic is dragging everyone back to Edmonton.

With his team facing elimination from the WHL Playoffs, the Prince Albert Raiders star defenceman came up with a monster effort scoring a pair of goals and collecting an assist to go with a plus-two rating in the plus-minus category. Thanks to his big Friday night, Dragicevic powered the Raiders to a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings in Game 5 of a best-of-seven first round series before an ecstatic standing room crowd of 3,222 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre.

Lukas Dragicevic had two goals and an assist on Friday.

The win allowed the Raiders to cut the Oil Kings lead in the series to 3-2. Game 6 is set to be held at Rogers Place in Edmonton at 4 p.m. local time on Sunday.

“It was huge,” said Dragicevic. “Obviously, we knew what was at stake.

“We talked about that in the room. Leading up to the game, we knew what was at stake. We pushed, and we had a great team effort.”

Having been traded by the Tri-City Americans to the Raiders before the 2024-25 campaign began on July 24, 2024, Dragicevic has taken the Raiders faithful to heart. The Richmond, B.C., product loves the support his Raiders receive from the folks in “Hockey Town North” that fill the Hauser on a nightly basis.

Max Hildebrand stopped 36 shots in goal for the Raiders.

“They’ve been by our side all year,” said Dragicevic. “They’ve showed up every single night.

“To win for them is great. We’re going to force a Game 7, and we’re going to be back in front of them.”

If the Raiders win Game 6 in Edmonton on Sunday, they will force a series-deciding Game 7, which is set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. back at the Hauser. To start that journey to get to a potential Game 7, the Raiders had to take care of business in Game 5 first on Friday.

The Oil Kings came out with some early zip getting the first six shots on goal in the contest, but they were stoned by Raiders star 20-year-old netminder Max Hildebrand. Hildebrand denied Oil Kings overage centre and ace agitator Marshall Finnie close in twice on one sequence and turned away a toe drag snipe shot from Edmonton captain Gavin Hodnett on another.

Tomas Mrsic had the Raiders first goal on Friday.

The Raiders proceeded to push back at that point resulting in an offensive zone faceoff just over six minutes in the opening frame. Raiders star centre Aiden Oiring won the draw back to 19-year-old import defensive-defenceman Vojtech Vochvest, who passed the puck to Dragicevic at the right point.

Dragicevic fed the puck down to star left-winger Tomas Mrsic, who was skating through the right faceoff circle. Mrsic put home a backhand shot through a screen to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead at the 6:17 mark of the frame.

Unfortunately, the Raiders would lose Mrsic for the night with about four minutes to play in the opening frame while working on the power play. Mrsic was in the left corner of the Edmonton zone when he was accidentally cut in the face area by the skate of a falling Oil Kings player.

Ethan MacKenzie had the Oil Kings first goal on Friday.

Mrsic left the game and didn’t return. Raiders interim head coach Ryan McDonald didn’t have an update on the status regarding the skilled forward at game’s end.

Moments after Mrsic left the game and the Raiders still working the power play, the hosts entered the Edmonton zone on a rush. Dragicevic received a pass from star 20-year-old left-winger Niall Crocker and roofed home a shot from the right faceoff dot to the top left corner of the Edmonton net to push the Raiders lead out to 2-0.

While the Raiders held that two-goal edge going into the first intermission, Dragicevic said his squad knew the rest of the game would still be a battle.

“Obviously when we get up 2-0, we know that they’re going to push, and they did,” said Dragicevic. “We pushed harder, and we ended up winning.”

Landon Hanson had the Oil Kings second goal on Friday.

Early in the second, Raiders physical defensive-defenceman Matteo Fabrizi did his best impression of former NHL star offensively gifted rearguard Nicklas Lidstrom. Fabrizi jetted down the left wing with the puck cut across the front of the Oil Kings net and put a backhand shot on target.

Fabrizi’s shot slipped through Oil Kings rookie netminder Ethan Simcoe, who turned 19-years-old in March, and the puck was slowly sliding towards going into the Edmonton net. Oil Kings sophomore 17-year-old defenceman Blake Fiddler stopped the puck just before goal line and slid it under Simcoe to get a stoppage in play.

From that point, the Oil Kings mounted a push back. At the 11:59 mark of the second, Oil Kings 18-year-year old defenceman Ethan MacKenzie drove home a midrange shot through a screen from the front of the Prince Albert net for a power-play goal that cut the Raiders lead to 2-1.

Blake Fiddler made a big defensive play to prevent a goal.

With 3:37 remaining in the second, Dragicevic wired home his second of the contest to the top left corner of the Edmonton net to push the Raiders lead out to 3-1. McDonald was pleased to see Dragicevic come up with a clutch performance.

“He (Dragicevic) was fantastic,” said McDonald. “He made a great entry play on the power play and had a great shot.

“His second one he just came down off the point, and what a shot to be the goalie. He is moving pucks quick and making sure he is playing north and jumping in the rush when he has opportunities.”

The visitors responded with 93 seconds remaining in the second when Oil Kings right-winger Landon Hanson jetted into the Prince Albert zone on a rush down the right wing and wristed home a shot to the top right corner of the Raiders net to trim the host side’s lead to 3-2.

Aiden Oiring (#19) had an empty-net goal for the Raiders.

The Raiders ensured the Oil Kings wouldn’t comeback all the way. With 82 seconds remaining in the third, Oil Kings star right-winger Gracyn Sawchyn was coming up ice the with the puck and blew a tire and went down on his own in front of the Raiders bench.

Oiring pounced on the gift of a loose puck and sent it into the Edmonton goal for a long empty-net tally that sealed the 4-2 final outcome in favour of the Raiders.

The contest did end with a big scrum in the Prince Albert zone that was calmly broken up by the officials.

Hildebrand stopped 36 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Simcoe turned away 22-of-25 shots to take the setback in net for the Oil Kings.

Matteo Fabrizi created excitement with an offensive rush.

Oiring had a pair of assists to go with his empty-net goal in the win.

Both sides are starting to deal with their issues on the health front too. Raiders breakout star right-winger Brayden Dube participated in warm up but didn’t play in Friday’s contest due to an undisclosed ailment. When Mrsic was lost to a skate cut late in the first, the Raiders were without their two players who surpassed the 30-goal plateau during the regular season.

The Oil Kings were without rookie star right-winger Lukas Sawchyn, who turned 18-years-old in February, with an undisclosed ailment.

McDonald was impressed how his players raised the level of their game when they had teammates have to leave the lineup due to injury.

Niall Crocker had an assist for the Raiders on Friday.

“It just speaks to the character in that room,” said McDonald. “The guys, they battle, and they battle hard.

“They play the right way and manage pucks. It is the next man up mentality. They cheer each other on, and they battle hard for each other.”

The Raiders entered the series having won the WHL’s East Division title with a 39-23-5-1 mark. The Oil Kings were seventh overall in the Eastern Conference with a 37-27-2-2 mark.

Prince Albert took the regular season series against Edmonton claiming three regulation victories in five head-to-head encounters.

The Raiders and Oil Kings scrum it up to end Friday’s game.

The winner of the series between the Raiders and the Oil Kings will advance to face the Medicine Hat Tigers in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. 

The Tigers, who finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 mark, eliminated the Swift Current Broncos in five games in a first round series between those two clubs. 

The Tigers claimed a 3-2 victory in Game 5 on Friday in Medicine Hat.

The Calgary Hitmen, who were third overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 45-17-3-3 mark, will face the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who were sixth overall in the league during the regular season with a 42-21-3-2 record, in the other Eastern Conference semifinal. 

The Raiders faithful cheer on their team.

The Hurricanes beat the visiting Wheat Kings 5-2 in Game 5 on Friday in Lethbridge to close out that first round series.

Starting in the second round, the conference brackets in the WHL Playoffs reseed via regular season standing points. The division winners are given the top two seeds in the first round.

For the moment, the Raiders focus is on winning Game 6 of their series with the Oil Kings on Sunday in Edmonton to continue to stay alive in the WHL post-season.

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

“We’re in a one-game series again,” said McDonald. “We’re working on the next one, and that is the next game in Edmonton.”

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.

Feisty Oil Kings claim series opener over Raider 3-1

Niall Crocker had the Raiders lone goal on Friday night.

The little things added up to ultimately cost the Prince Albert Raiders.

On Friday night playing before a standing room crowd of 2,816 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre, the Raiders had a couple of mistakes at inopportune times and saw their power play that was rated third best in the WHL during the regular season come up dry on seven chances. That allowed the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings to skate away with a 3-1 victory in the opener of a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs between the two clubs.

Game 2 is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

The Raiders entered the series having won the WHL’s East Division title with a 39-23-5-1 mark and had won their last five straight games. The Oil Kings were seventh overall in the Eastern Conference with a 37-27-2-2 mark.

During the regular season, the Raiders claimed the season series between the two clubs winning three of the five head-to-head meetings.

The Oil Kings like to play more of a feisty and agitating style of game to go along with some decent skill. Overage centre Marshall Finnie relishes playing the role of being the Oil Kings version of Matthew Tkachuk of the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers of the NHL.

In 2024-25, Finnie appeared in 59 regular season contests for the Oil Kings recording 18 goals, 13 assists and 115 penalty minutes. The Lethbridge, Alta., product was one of eight players to have 100-or-more penalty minutes in the WHL this season.

The Raiders were able to hold their discipline in check enough to draw six power-play opportunities. That included Oil Kings star centre Gracyn Sawchyn picking up a double minor for high sticking late in the second period. That infraction will be automatically reviewed for a possible suspension by the WHL office.

Prince Albert had the WHL’s third best power play in the regular season, clicking with a 28.2 per cent success rate, but it came up dry on Friday against Edmonton. The Raiders power play was also hampered when star left-winger Tomas Mrsic left the game with an injury and didn’t play in the third period.

Edmonton was 0-for-2 with the man advantage in the game.

The first 29 seconds of the game proved to be ominous for the Raiders. Just 19 seconds into the contest, Oil Kings defenceman Josh Mori, who turned 21-years-old on Thursday, took a penalty for interference.

Just 10 second later, Oil Kings left-winger Roan Woodward made a long clearance from his own zone. The puck bounced off the end boards to the left of the Prince Albert net out to the front of the goal.

Raiders 20-year-old netminder Max Hildebrand misjudged playing the puck, which landed on Sawchyn’s stick. Sawchyn put a backhand shot on target that Hildebrand got a piece of with his stick, but the puck crept across the goal-line to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

After giving up that unexpected short-handed tally, the Raiders regained their composure. With 86 seconds remaining in the first, Raiders star 20-year-old left-winger Niall Crocker came through with a “vintage Crocker” goal shoveling home a loose puck in front of the Edmonton net to even the score at 1-1.

Raiders rookie right-winger Riley Boychuk, who turned 17 in January, and rising star rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph, who turned 17 earlier this month, both picked up assists on Crocker’s tally. The helpers were the first WHL post-season points for Boychuk and Rudolph.

At the 9:03 mark of the second, the Oil Kings jumped ahead 2-1 while working the forecheck. Oil Kings captain Gavin Hodnett picked off a breakout pass in the Prince Albert zone at the left side of the Raiders net.

Hodnett put a backhand pass across the front of the Edmonton net to linemate Landon Hanson. Hanson did a shake move and tucked home a shot to give the visitors the lead once again.

Despite their best efforts, the Raiders were never able to come through with another equalizer. With 97 seconds remaining in the third, Sawchyn scored into an empty net for his second tally of the contest to round out the 3-1 final score in favour of the Oil Kings. Hodnett had a helper on that tally for his second assist of the contest.

Hildebrand turned away 37-of-39 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders. Alex Worthington stopped 31 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Oil Kings, who were playing for the first time in the post-season since winning the WHL title and appearing in the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup – in 2022.

As this series goes on, you can expect more of the little things to add up to let one side or the other claim victory.

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 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.

-------                                                                

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.

Fabrizi perfect physical fit in “Hockey Town North”

Raiders rearguard gets goal in 4-1 win over Warriors

Matteo Fabrizi scored the Raiders third goal on Friday.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Matteo Fabrizi said it didn’t take long for Prince Albert to feel like home.

The 19-year-old physical defenceman was acquired by the Prince Albert Raiders in a trade with the Red Deer Rebels on December 31, 2024. By tradition, both the Raiders and the Rebels like to play more of a physical game. That characteristic has allowed Fabrizi’s transition from Red Deer to Prince Albert to be seamless.

“They (the Raiders) traded for me for a reason,” said Fabrizi, who 6-foot-5 and weighs 235 pounds. “They expect a certain game that they know I can play, and that I know I can play too.

“I just try to bring it every night and do what I can to help the team win every night.”

On Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre, Fabrizi was able to chip on offence. At the 9:33 mark of the first period of a WHL regular season contest against the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors, Fabrizi sent a shot from the point that deflected off a Warriors player into the Moose Jaw net.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Matteo Fabrizi (#5).

That tally was Fabrizi’s first goal as a member of the Raiders and it gave the Prince Albert side a 3-0 lead. The Raiders would cruise to a 4-1 victory from there to the delight of the 2,551 spectators in attendance.

In 51 games split between the Rebels and the Raiders this season, Fabrizi has three goals and nine assists for 12 points. His assist total is a career high and his point total matches a career high. The St. Albert, Alta., product was pleased to get his first goal as a member of the Raiders.

“I mean, no matter who you are, it is always good scoring a goal,” said Fabrizi. “I mean it is nice to get the first one here in the green.

“It is just whatever I can do to help the team.”

Matteo Fabrizi is known for his physical style of play.

The win allowed the Raiders to improve to 32-19-3-1 and jump back into first place in the WHL’s East Division combined with the fact the Brandon Wheat Kings dropped a 5-0 decision at home to the Calgary Hitmen. The Wheat Kings (30-17-4-3) and the Saskatoon Blades (30-18-3-4) both sit one standings point behind the Raiders for first. Brandon has a game in hand on both Prince Albert and Saskatoon.

The Blades slipped past the Rebels in Red Deer 3-2 in overtime on Friday night to keep the first place race in the East Division very heated.

Raiders head coach Jeff Truitt said it was big for the team to add Fabrizi’s physical style of play to the club’s roster.

“He is a big physical guy that stops pucks in our defensive zone,” said Truitt. “He makes the simple plays.

Niall Crocker celebrates scoring the Raiders first goal on Friday.

“He gets one tonight, which is tremendous. It is always nice to get one, but his job is to play defence and move pucks and be strong along the wall. We’ve got enough puck handlers and what not that can really motor.

“We needed to solidify things by adding on to what (import defenceman) Vojtech (Vochvest) does for us. We just thought that we needed a bigger body back there to help be a little bit more physical and simplify the game.”

Fabrizi said was welcomed into the Raiders organization and the team’s dressing room right from the start. He said it has been fun getting to witness the skill of the Raiders high-flying offensive players like Tomas Mrsic, Aiden Oiring, Rilen Kovacevic and Lukas Dragicevic.

Ty Meunier scored the Raiders second goal on Friday.

“They are a great group of guys, and obviously, a lot of them are very high skilled,” said Fabrizi. “It is cool to watch, and it is fun to watch the power play work sometimes.

“I wish I had half that skill sometimes.”

The Raiders offence got going opening the game’s scoring at the 4:15 mark of the first while working the power play. Raiders 20-year-old standout left-winger Niall Crocker tallied from a trademark area from in front of the Moose Jaw net putting home a backhander for his 24^th goal of the season.

Exactly four minutes after Crocker’s tally, Raiders 16-year-old rookie left-winger Ty Meunier slipped home a shot from the left boards in the Moose Jaw zone to put the host side up 2-0. Meunier’s tally was his 13^th of the campaign.

Matthew Hutchinson made 36 saves for the Warriors.

Fabrizi added his goal just 78 seconds after Meunier’s marker and the faithful at the Art Hauser Centre were rocking.

The Warriors were able to get some traction as 18-year-old right-winger and captain Lynden Lakovic tallied on the power play for his 20^th goal of the campaign to trim the Raiders lead to 3-1.

Moose Jaw continued to battle with some pretty good jump for the rest of the contest, but they were unable to get another puck past Raiders star 20-year-old netminder Max Hildebrand, who finished the contest making 28 saves.

Oiring, who is a Raiders star centre, rounded out the game’s scoring with an empty-net goal with 1:43 remaining in the third period. He finished the contest with an assist to go along with his goal. Mrsic, who is a star left-winger, and Brayden Dube, who is breakout right-winger, each collected two assists for the Raiders.

Lynden Lakovic netted the Warriors lone goal on Friday.

Truitt was pleased with the game’s final outcome, but he added there were still areas that could be improved.

“I liked our first period for sure,” said Truitt. “I thought that we dictated a lot of the play.

“In the second period, we didn’t do enough. Even in the third period, I thought that we didn’t do enough. We had too many blind plays when we just let guys come right to our net.

“You’ve got to be tighter than that.”

Matthew Hutchinson turned away 36-of-39 shots to take the setback in net for the Warriors (11-39-4-2).

The Warriors get back in action on Saturday when they return home to host the 36-15-3-2 Calgary Hitmen (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre). Moose Jaw is looking to end a nine game losing streak.

Max Hildebrand stopped 28 shots in goal for the Raiders.

The Raiders also return to action on Saturday when they travel to Regina to take on the 15-34-5-2 Pats (6 p.m., Brandt Centre).

Back in the 2022-23 campaign, Fabrizi helped the Rebels top the WHL’s Central Division. He is enjoying trying to help the Raiders top their division this season.

“It is our goal, so we’re just trying to stay on the path that we want and put ourselves in a position to control our own destiny however it may be,” said Fabrizi. “We want top spot.”

When the regular season wraps up, Fabrizi said he would like to be part of a long post-season run. In his three previous seasons with the Rebels, Red Deer advanced to the second round of the post-season but was never able to make the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series. Fabrizi wants to finally get pass the second round.

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

“I got a lot of games, but I’m ready for a third round,” said Fabrizi. “Three second rounds in a row, it is time for more.”

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 rock Hauser, down Blades 6-3 for fifth straight win

Prince Albert takes slim edge for first in East Division  

It was a great night to be a fan of the Prince Albert Raiders outside of a bit of a mid-length scare.

On Friday night, the host Raiders stormed out to an early 4-1 lead and downed their archrivals the Saskatoon Blades 6-3 in a WHL regular season clash to the delight of a standing room crowd of 2,919 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre. The win was the fifth straight for the Raiders allowing them to improve to 24-15-3 to hold the slim edge for first place in the WHL’s East Division.

The Raiders and Blades, who fell to 23-16-2-3, have the same amount of standings points at 51, but the Prince Albert side holds the standings tiebreaker due having more wins. The squad from “Hockey Town North” also has a pair of games in hand on “The Bridge City Bunch.” After the Blades traded away their three best veteran players to get some quality younger players and acquire WHL Prospects Draft capital, the Raiders faithful were waiting for their Saskatoon rivals to fall back to the pack.

The Blades have recorded just one win and one standings point from an extra time setback in their last six games. During the losses over this six game stretch including Friday’s clash, the Blades did have their momentum carrying moments where it appeared they would potential steal a win before ultimately falling on the scoreboard.

In Friday’s contest between the Raiders and Blades, it appeared for a time the music operators in the Prince Albert side’s storied home rink might start playing The Guess Who’s “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” at an early juncture. As has been the tradition in Prince Albert for a lengthy stretch of time, the song “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” is played every time the Raiders, the Prince Albert Mintos under-18 AAA team and the Prince Albert Northern Bears under-18 AAA female squad defeat their respective rival foes from Saskatoon.

Just 2:31 into Friday’s encounter, Raiders standout 16-year-old rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph scored to give the host’s a 1-0 lead. At the 5:42 mark of the opening frame, Raiders 19-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube potted his 20^th goal of the campaign to push Prince Albert’s edge out to 2-0. Raiders 16-year-old rookie right-winger Riley Boychuk proceeded to put his squad up 3-0 at the 13:34 mark of the first as the Art Hauser Centre was rocking.

The Blades broke through on the scoreboard just 33 seconds after Boychuk’s tally with standout 16-year-old rookie centre Cooper Williams potting his 13^th goal of the season to trim the Raiders lead to 3-1.

Raiders 19-year-old star centre Aiden Oiring restored the host side’s three-goal edge netting his 19^th goal of the campaign with 70 seconds remaining in the first.

At that point, the Blades proceeded to put a scare into the Raiders and their fans. Inside the final minute of the first, the Blades scored twice to cut the Raiders advantage to 4-3. Blades sophomore centre Hayden Harsanyi tallied with 43.8 seconds remaining in the first and 18-year-old right-winger Hunter Laing recorded his 12^th of the campaign with 12 seconds remaining in the opening frame.

The Blades came out buzzing in the second period holding a 16-5 edge in shots on goal and pinning the Raiders inside their own zone for lengthy stretches of time. Raiders star 20-year-old Max Hildebrand made a number of big saves to ensure his squad still held a 4-3 lead going into the second intermission.

The Raiders found their stride again and closed the contest out in a fairly evenly played third period.

With 4:16 remaining in the third, Raiders 18-year-old rookie centre Jackson Kostiuk scored his first career WHL goal to push the Raiders lead out to 5-3. Kostiuk joined the Raiders on January 10 after starting the current campaign in the junior A ranks with the Steinback Pistons of the MJHL.

Raiders star left-winger Tomas Mrsic rounded out the game’s scoring with an empty-net goal with 35.1 seconds remaining in the third.

Hildebrandt stopped 32 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Evan Gardner turned away 26-of-31 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades.

Both Oiring and Mrsic finished the night recording one goal and two assists for three points.

The Raiders get back at it on Saturday, when they travel to Regina to take on the 12-26-4-2 Pats (6 p.m., Brandt Centre). The Blades are idle on Saturday.

The Raiders and Blades will tangle again on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.

Tigers rally past Chiefs for eighth straight victory  

The Medicine Hat Tigers needed some late game heroics to pull out their eighth straight win and keep topping the WHL’s Eastern Conference and Central Division.

On Friday playing on the road before 7,134 spectators at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, the Tigers found themselves trailing the host Chiefs 2-0. Medicine Hat proceeded to rally with three straight goals in the final 10 minutes of the third period to pull out a 3-2 victory.

Just 31 seconds into the contest, Chiefs star 20-year-old left-winger Shea Van Olm opened the game’s scoring with his 34^th goal of the campaign to give the host side a 1-0 edge. The Chiefs pushed their advantage out to 2-0 at the 5:17 mark of the third on a goal by import 18-year-old rookie right-winger Assanali Sarkenov.

At that point, the Tigers offence came alive. With 9:58 remaining in the third, Tigers 20-year-old defenceman Josh Van Mulligen netted his second goal of the campaign to cut the Chiefs lead to 2-1.

Working on the power play with 6:54 remaining in the third, Tigers star 17-year-old left-winger Gavin McKenna one-timed home a power-play goal on a nice setup pass from 16-year-old centre Markus Ruck to even the score at 2-2.

With 4:57 remaining in the third, Tigers offensive-defenceman Jonas Woo potted the winner that gave the visitors their 3-2 victory.

Harrison Meneghin stopped 27 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers. Dawson Cowan turned away 27 shots to take the setback in net for the Chiefs.

McKenna had a pair of assists to go with his goal. Van Mulligen had an assist to go with his tally and Tigers star 18-year-old right-winger Ryder Ritchie picked up a pair of helpers.

Chiefs star 19-year-old right-winger Andrew Cristall picked up an assist and leads the WHL in scoring with 78 points coming off 31 goals and 47 assists. McKenna sits second in the league scoring race with 76 points coming off 21 goals and 55 assists.

With their eighth straight win, the Tigers improved to 29-15-2 to lead the Eastern Conference and Central Division by two points over the Lethbridge Hurricanes (28-14-1-1). The Hurricanes have two games in hand on the Tigers.

The Calgary Hitmen (26-12-3-2) sit three points back of the Tigers and one point back of the Hurricanes. The Hitmen have three games in hand on the Tigers and one game in hand on the Hurricanes.

The Chiefs fell to 30-16 and remain second overall in the Western Conference and the U.S. Division.

The Tigers return to action on Saturday when they travel to Kennewick, Washington, to take on the 22-17-3-1 Tri-City Americans (6 p.m. local time, Toyota Centre).

The Chiefs are off until Friday, January 31, when they will host the Victoria Royals (7 p.m. local time, Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena).

Braillard’s hatty keeps Hurricanes on heater, other notes  

Leo Braillard ensured the Lethbridge Hurricanes stayed red hot.

On Friday night playing before 3,927 spectators at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena, Braillard, who is a 19-year-old import right-winger, picked up hat trick to power his host Hurricanes past the Red Deer Rebels 4-1. The victory was the ninth straight for the Hurricanes, who improved to 28-14-1-1 to sit two points back of the Medicine Hat Tigers (29-15-2) for top spot in the Eastern Conference and the Central Division. Lethbridge has two games in hand on Medicine Hat.

In Friday’s clash with the Rebels, Braillard opened the game’s scoring netting a pair of power-play goals 14 seconds apart from each other just before the nine-minute mark of the first period.

Hurricanes star 19-year-old left-winger Logan Wormald recorded his 27^th tally of the campaign before the first period came to a wrap to push his squad’s advantage out to 3-0.

At the 2:03 mark of the second, Rebels 19-year-old right-winger Talon Brigley netted his fifth goal of the campaign to cut the Hurricanes advantage to 3-1.

Braillard completed his hat trick tallying at the 5:12 mark of the third to round out the scoring in the contest.

Koen Cleaver, who is a 17-year-old rookie, stopped 24 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Hurricanes. Peyton Shore, who is a 16-year-old rookie, turned away 32 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels.

Wormald had a pair of assists to go with his goal.

The Hurricanes went 3-for-7 on the power play in the win, while the Rebels failed to score on their three power-play opportunities.

The Rebels fell to 15-23-4-2 and haven’t posted a win over their last 13 contests picking three standings points in extra time setbacks over that span of games.

The Hurricanes return to action on Saturday host the Calgary Hitmen (26-12-3-2) at 6 p.m. local time at VisitLethbridge.com Arena. The Hitmen sit one standings point back of the Hurricanes.

The Rebels also get back at it on Saturday hosting the Moose Jaw Warriors (10-29-4-2) at 7 p.m. local time at the Peavey Mart Centrium.

• On Friday in Kamloops, captain Emmitt Finnie of the host Blazers had a pair of goals including the overtime winner and an assist in a 4-3 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. That result gave Blazers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston his 580^th career regular season head coaching victory in the WHL. He needs two more wins to equal Marc Habscheid, who is best remembered for serving as head coach for the Rockets and Prince Albert Raiders, for fifth on the all-time list at 582 victories.
• On Friday in Edmonton, 17-year-old right-winger Lukas Sawchyn had a pair of goals and an assist to power the host Oil Kings to a 5-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. The win was a third in a row for the Oil Kings who improve to 25-16-1-2.
• On Friday in Prince George, star 20-year-old right-winger Koehn Ziemmer had the winning goal and an assist to lead the host Cougars past the Brandon Wheat Kings 3-2. Star 18-year-old netminder Joshua Ravensbergen made 29 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Cougars.
• On Friday in Wenatchee, 19-year-old right-winger Dawson Seitz scored the overtime winner to give the host Wild a 3-2 upset victory over the WHL leading Everett Silvertips. The Wild improved to 17-22-3-1 to sit eighth overall and hold the final playoff berth in the Western Conference. The Silvertips record moved to 32-6-4-3.

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.

Dragicevic, Mrsic delivering for Raiders

Lukas Dragicevic in action for the Raiders last Friday.

Lukas Dragicevic and Tomas Mrsic are as good as advertised.

The pair came to the Prince Albert Raiders off-season trades with hopes both can give the club an offensive boost. Entering play on Tuesday, Mrsic, who is an 18-year-old skilled forward , sits second in team scoring with 34 points coming off 17 goals and 17 assists. Dragicevic, who is a 19-year-old offensive-defenceman, is third in team scoring with 28 points coming off two goals and 26 assists.

The pair helped the Raiders convert on 30-of-106 power-play opportunities for a 28.3 per cent success rate to sit third in the WHL. Last season, the Raiders converted on 60-of-258 power-play chances for a 23.3 per cent success rate, which was good enough for 10^th in the WHL.

Tomas Mrsic in action for the Raiders last Friday.

Dragicevic, who has a signed entry-level contract with the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, came to the Raiders in a blockbuster trade with the Tri-City Americans on July 25. Dragicevic was acquired by the Raiders along with 18-year-old prospect goaltender Eric Kahl and a seventh round selection in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft in exchange for 19-year-old shutdown-defenceman Terrell Goldsmith, 18-year-old centre Grady Martin, 19-year-old netminder Nathan Preston and a third round selection in the 2025 Prospects Draft.

Mrsic, who was selected in the third round and 113^th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, was picked up by the Raiders in a head turning trade with the Medicine Hat Tigers on August 26. In that deal, the Raiders received Mrsic, a third round selection in the 2025 Prospects Draft and a third round pick in the 2028 Prospects Draft in exchange for star 18-year-old right-winger Ryder Ritchie.

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

Avoiding early WHL season over reaction is cool

The Raiders and Regina Pats faceoff to start a WHL game last month.

For some legacy followers of WHL teams, the sky is falling.

For some legacy followers of other WHL teams, it is time to make travel plans to attend the Memorial Cup in Rimouski, Quebec, which runs from May 22, 2025 to June 1, 2025.

At this point in the 2024-25 campaign, it is way too early to head out on any of those extremes. Still, some fans do let their passions fly high to the point it feels like they are cheering for a favourite CFL or NFL team. Those leagues have short seasons, and early stumbles are a lot more difficult to recover from on those circuits.

A WHL regular season is 68 games long, which means all teams will go through times when they stumble and times when they are red hot. Over the first couple of weeks of the regular season, games for most WHL teams are spread out with sizable chunks of off time.

The schedule is usually set up like that because most clubs are still getting players cycled back from professional training camps. When players return to WHL clubs, those squads usually have to then assign younger players to under-18 AAA or junior A clubs.

Doing a quick glance over social media lines, it seems like Prince Albert Raiders fans are doing well riding the wave. They realized the Raiders shuffled the deck as the team’s roster goes from how it looked in 2023-24. The Raiders also just got some players back from the NHL ranks in Tomas Mrsic (St. Louis Blues), Lukas Dragicevic (Seattle Kraken) and Norwin Panocha (Buffalo Sabres), and the fans seem to realize there will be an adjustment period.

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

Will Oilers band break up of 2006 repeat in 2024?

A Connor McDavid card.

The business of hockey dealt a seemingly cruel blow to Edmonton Oilers fans in 2006.

On June 19 of that year, the Oilers took the ice for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final against the host Carolina Hurricanes at the RBC Centre. The Hurricanes prevailed in the contest 3-1 to win their first Stanley Cup.

The Oilers made the post-season finishing eighth in the NHL’s Western Conference with a 41-28-13 mark. They went on a magical run in the NHL Playoffs making the Stanley Cup final for the first time since last winning the iconic trophy back in 1990.

The run to losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final offered hope of a great new era for Oilers fans. The 2005-06 campaign was the first NHL season played after a lockout that wiped out the entire 2004-05 campaign.

Before the lost 2004-05 campaign, the NHL didn’t have a salary cap, and it was viewed small market teams like the Oilers would only be able to win the Stanley Cup through a miracle run where a goalie steals a number of games. That view was held even though a team like the Oilers had won the Stanley Cup five times in their history.

It was believed Stanley Cup title wins would be left for big market teams with big budgets like the Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs. Often, the Rangers and Leafs would be made fun of for their inability to buy a Stanley Cup win with an expensive roster.

A league wide salary cap leveled the playing field for small market clubs like the Oilers for the start of the 2005-06 campaign. Before the beginning of that season, the Oilers acquired all-world defenceman Chris Pronger from the St. Louis Blues. The Oilers proceeded to sign Pronger to a five-year contract worth $31.25-million US.

The Oilers also acquired star defensive centre Michael Peca in a trade with the New York Islanders before the 2005-06 campaign began.

In the era before the salary cap, the Oilers didn’t make these types of moves. When salaries in the NHL really started to escalate in the 1990s, the Oilers weren’t able to keep talented players, if they became too high priced.

When the salary cap came in after the lockout, the Oilers had new freedom to go out and build a winner. The additions of Pronger and Peca and the exciting long run in the 2006 NHL Playoffs brought out optimism for Oilers fans that their team was in for another golden age bringing back reflections of Wayne Gretzky’s and Mark Messier’s era with the club in the 1980s.

The Edmonton Journal front page from June 20, 2006.

On June 23, 2006 just four days after the Oilers lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final to the Hurricanes, Pronger requested a trade through his agent, Pat Morris, from the Edmonton franchise. Then Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe said the request was for personal reasons, while Edmonton media outlets reported that Pronger’s wife, Lauren, was not happy in Edmonton.

Oilers fans did not take that situation well. Pronger was dubbed by many as “Public Enemy No. 1” in Edmonton, and even to this day, a lot of Oilers fans don’t want to recognize he was ever a member of the team.

Pronger was dealt to the Anaheim Ducks on July 3, 2006. In that first season with the Ducks in 2006-07, Pronger joined star right-winger Teemu Selanne, head coach Randy Carlyle and general manager Brian Burke in helping the Anaheim franchise win a first Stanley Cup in team history.

At that point, Pronger became seen as the poster boy case of the NHL player that didn’t want to play in a Canadian market and looked to leverage his way to a team in the United States when his stock was up. That 2005-06 campaign was the only time Pronger played for a Canadian based team in his NHL career.

I remember dealing with a couple of Edmonton sports media colleagues during the 2006-07 campaign who described Pronger as being an asshole. I don’t know if those feelings have faded with time, but Pronger’s departure from Edmonton was a “don’t let the door hit you on the way out” scenario.

No matter what one thought of Pronger, you have to conclude looking back on video of his play in 2005-06 that he was that damn good. Standing 6-foot-6 and weighing 220 pounds, he had the skill of Ray Bourque and the toughness of Dave Manson.

When he was on the ice, Pronger controlled play when he had the puck, and he was presence whether he had the puck or not. He was in his prime, and if he was in his prime in today’s day and age, he would still be one of the top three defencemen in the NHL. Pronger was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015.

Pronger’s departure started the “Decade of Darkness” for the Oilers, who would miss the NHL Playoffs for the next 10 straight seasons.

A Leon Draisaitl hockey card.

Along with Pronger, it seemed like a mass exodus followed of players leaving from the Oilers 2005-06 roster. Peca signed as a free agent with the Maple Leafs on July 18, 2006.

By the time the 2006-07 campaign ended, the Oilers were also without all-time fan favourite and hero in left-winger Ryan Smyth. Smyth was playing through the final campaign of his contract, and the Oilers were trying to sign him to an extension before the NHL’s trade deadline.

Unable to negotiate an extension, the Oilers dealt Smyth to the Islanders on February 27, 2007 in order to not lose him for nothing as a free agent.

Looking back at the history of the 2005-2006 team, one wonders if the Oilers squad in the current day could break up as fast as that squad did. The Oilers posted a 49-27-6 mark in the recently completed 2023-24 campaign.

They went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final falling 2-1 this past Monday to the Florida Panthers at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida. 

Supporting a team that contains superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and longtime star Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the excitement Oilers fans had for this post-season matched and maybe even exceeded the run from 2006.

The Oilers almost pulled off the reverse sweep in the Stanley Cup final. After the Panthers took the first three games of the series, the Oilers took Games 4 to 6 to force a series deciding Game 7. In their three wins, the Oilers outscored the Panthers 18-5, and Oilers fans thought the roll would continue in Game 7.

The Panthers rallied to take Game 7. McDavid claimed the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the NHL Playoffs.

With the Oilers down 2-1 with about seven minutes to play in the third period of Game 7, McDavid looked like he was going to net the equalizer. With Panthers star goalie Sergie Bobrovsky sprawled on the ice, McDavid moved the puck to an open left side of the Florida net and was about to pat the puck into the empty side of the goal.

Panthers defenceman Gustav Forsling reacted to make a critical stick check on McDavid that saw the puck drift into the left corner of the Florida zone and preserved the win for the Panthers.

A Ryan Nugent-Hopkins card.

At the moment, Draisaitl has one year remaining on his contract, and McDavid has two seasons left on his current deal. The Oilers have a number of unrestricted free agents coming up including forwards Connor Brown, Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark, Corey Perry, Warren Foegele and Sam Carrick.

Defenceman Vincent Desharnais also needs a new contract.

With his contract expiring, general manager Ken Holland and Oilers announced on Thursday they were parting ways. CEO of hockey operations Jeff Jackson assumed the role of interim general manager.

Holland, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 2020, is 68-years-old and won four Stanley Cups as an executive with the Detroit Red Wings. If he doesn’t retire and takes another job in hockey, odds are high that could be the last job he holds in the game due to his age.

Is Holland’s departure the first sign the band is breaking up?

Time will tell if the lasting effects of the appearance in the Stanley Cup final in 2024 is as fleeting for the Oilers as the one in 2006.

Tigers roar at NHL Entry Draft, other notes

Cayden Lindstrom (#28) take part in a goal celey in Nov. 2022.

The Medicine Hat Tigers had a banner two days at the NHL Entry Draft.

The legacy major junior franchise didn’t need any luck at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, leading the WHL having four players selected in the drafts seven round that were held on Friday and Saturday. That marked the first time since 2005 the Tigers have had four players selected in the NHL Entry Draft.

That development wasn’t that much of a surprise considering the Tigers had a breakout campaign with a relatively younger roster finishing seventh overall in the WHL with a 37-23-6-3 mark. The NHL Entry Draft selections were deserved.

Tigers 18-year-old centre Cayden Lindstrom was the first player from the WHL to be taken in the draft going fourth overall in the first round to the Columbus Blue Jackets. On June 1, he was named the winner of the CHL Top Draft Prospect award.

In 32 regular season games in 2023-24 with the Tigers, Lindstrom, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 213 pounds, piled up 27 goals and 19 assists to go with a plus-12 rating in the plus-minus department. A disc herniation in his back saw his participation in the regular season come to an end on December 16, 2023.

Lindstrom returned to play in four of the Tigers five games in the 2024 WHL Playoffs recording one goal and one assist after his extend layoff where he was recovering from his injury. The best is still to come from the Chetwynd, B.C., product who has a tremendous upside.

Tigers left-winger Andrew Basha, who will turn 19-years-old in November, went in the second round and 41^st overall to his hometown Calgary Flames. Basha, who stands 6-feet and weighs 187 pounds, recorded 30 goals, 55 assists and a plus-six rating in 63 regular season games with the Tigers. He has a tonne of potential to be a hometown hero with the Flames one day.

Tigers skilled 18-year-old centre Tomas Mrsic was selected in the fourth round and 113^th overall by the St. Louis Blues. Mrsic, who stands 6-feet and weighs 170 pounds, had a solid sophomore season with the Tigers recording 23 goals, 39 assists and an even rating in 63 regular season games.

Andrew Basha was taken by the Flames in the NHL Entry Draft.

The Surrey, B.C., product will likely get to be part of potentially strong Tigers teams over the next two seasons, which will further help him make the jump to the professional ranks.

Tigers 19-year-old left-winger Hunter St. Martin was the last player from Medicine Hat to be selected in the NHL Entry Draft. The Edmonton product went in the sixth round and 193^rd overall to the recently crowned Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

St. Martin, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 175 pounds, had a breakout campaign for the Tigers in 2023-24 posting 24 goals, 28 assists and a plus-14 rating playing in all the club’s 68 regular season contests. St. Martin has all the potential to one day show the Panthers they got a gem with his late in the draft selection.

Prince Albert Raiders star right-winger Ryder Ritchie, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 177 pounds, went in the second round and 45^th overall to the Minnesota Wild. Ritchie was limited to 47 regular season games in 2023-24 after being injured on a knee-on-knee hit by Kelowna Rockets left-winger Max Graham in a Raiders 4-3 loss at home on December 15, 2023.

Ritchie, who will turn 18-years-old in August, still recorded 19 goals, 25 assists and a minus-one rating in those 47 regular season games.

Saskatoon Blades netminder Evan Gardner, who had a breakout rookie season in 2023-24, was picked in the second round and 60^th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets. In 30 appearances in the regular season with the Blades in 2023-24, Gardner posted a 21-5-2 record, a 1.91 goals against average, a .927 save percentage and four shutouts.

In the WHL Playoffs, Gardner, who is 18-years-old, played a key role in helping the Blades make it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Championship Series, where they dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime to the eventual WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors. Gardner appeared in 15 games in the WHL Playoffs posting a 10-4 record, 2.33 goals against average, a .910 save percentage and one shutout.

Hunter St. Martin was picked by the Panthers in the NHL Entry Draft.

Gardner stands 6-feet and weighs 175 pounds, so it was nice to see he wasn’t overlooked due to the fact he wasn’t at least 6-foot-3 in height.

As expected, 18-year-old centre Macklin Celebrini went first overall to the San Jose Sharks. Celebrini played last season as a 17-year-old with the Boston University Terriers in the NCAA Division I ranks.

He had 32 goals, 32 assists and a plus-25 rating in 38 overall games with the Terriers.

Saskatoon product and skilled centre Berkly Catton was chosen in the first round and eighth overall by the Seattle Kraken. The 18-year-old has a sensational campaign in 2023-24 with the Spokane Chiefs.

Catton finished fourth in the WHL regular season scoring with 116 points coming off 54 goals and 62 assists to go with a plus 15 rating appearing in all of the Chiefs 68 games. In 140 career regular season games in the WHL, Catton has posted 78 goals and 97 assists.

He has strong potential to make the Kraken’s roster as an 18-year-old rookie.

• Right-winger Reggie Leach of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1976 and Flyers netminder Ron Hextall in 1987 both won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the NHL Playoffs. Both played on the team that lost the Stanley Cup final. The award presentation was done away from the ice surface for both players. If a player from the team that loses the Stanley Cup final is named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner in the future, they should go back to making that presentation away from the ice surface. That way you don’t get a situation like this past Monday where Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid didn’t come out to accept the award after his team fell 2-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final to the host Florida Panthers.
• Since the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in 1993, Canadian based NHL teams have lost seven straight games when they’ve had the opportunity to win the Stanley Cup. The Vancouver Canucks have been part of three of those losses including one in 1994 and two in 2011. The Calgary Flames had two chances to clinch a Stanley Cup win in 2004. The Oilers dropped a pair of chances to capture the Stanley Cup with one chance coming in 2006 and the other this past Monday.
• Doesn’t it seem that with each passing day the social media line Platform-X, which is formerly known as Twitter, gets more and more toxic? It feels like any time spent on that social media line is wasted time.
• The Kelowna Rockets, who are working in partnership with the City of Kelowna, and Brandon Wheat Kings, who are working in partnership with the Keystone Centre, have declared their intentions to big on the 2026 Memorial Cup, which is the next time the WHL gets to host the CHL championship tournament. The Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL will host the Memorial Cup in 2025.
• The under-18 AAA level of the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League is an under-appreciated circuit. On Sunday at Cairns Field, the Saskatoon Diamondback and Saskatoon Cubs played a fantastic game. Trailing 4-1, the Diamondbacks scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to pull out a 5-4 victory.
• The defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes (4-0) and the Saskatchewan Roughriders (3-0) are the remaining undefeated teams in the CFL. They are slated to meet on Thursday, July 25 in Montreal. One also wonders when excitement for the Roughriders hits high level heights in Saskatchewan, or if a knee injury to quarterback Trevor Harris throws cold water on a possible excitement burst.

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.