The 2020-21 season was a roller coaster one for all involved with the Prince Albert Raiders, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused numerous changes to the Western Hockey League’s schedule
In the end, the Raiders joined the Brandon Wheat Kings, Moose Jaw Warriors, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades, Swift Current Broncos and Winnipeg Ice at the Brandt Centre in Regina for a 24-game hub schedule that lasted through March and April.
“I think we’re all pretty proud of the fact that we were able to give our kids an opportunity to develop and showcase their skills,”
Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt said.
“It was also fantastic that we had no positive cases in the hub, which was very important for us as teams had injuries to deal with and the loss of players to the World Under-18’s. As we brought kids in we followed all the protocols that were put in place by the health authorities and the provincial government, and I think it’s a really big positive for everyone that we were able to go through things safely.”
On the ice, the Raiders finished in fourth place in the East Division standings with a 9-11-3-1 record and earned points in seven of their last ten contests.
“We had a real good start but then we ran into some injury issues,” Hunt said. “Whenever you lose your captain and a player of Kaiden Guhle’s ability (to a season ending hand injury) that’s going to affect your backend. Plus, we lost (goaltender) Max (Paddock) for a week and we also went through some suspensions.
“We went through some hiccups, but a good thing that came out of that was that we saw players like Remy Aquilon, Eric Pearce and Reece Vitelli all step up their games. Those guys really brought our kids along as well, as we had such a young group, especially on the backend.
“We had a great finish to the year and our coaches did a really good job of managing things in that short bubble. If you look at who was our of our lineup, not a lot of people gave us much hope, so I’m really proud of how our team played and how they finished.”
Hunt was also pleased with the performance of the team’s young players, including the trio of Dallyn Peekeekoot, Tre Fouquette and Terrell Goldsmith, who were added to the Raiders roster during the season.
“I think the nice thing for those kids is that there were very little distractions for them,” Hunt said. “They were able to come into our system and the structure that we had in placed help to protect them, even as they were thrown to the wolves.
“I think the experience that all of our rookies had should make for a great camp this fall. We’re continuing to send our players tools to help them improve their game and we’re excited to see what lies ahead for them.”
The biggest news for the Raiders as of late has been the announcement of their pre-season schedule and their 2021-22 home opener, which will take place on Friday, Oct. 1 against the Regina Pats.
“We had such terrific support from our fans through the hub, especially with the amount of views on the CHL’s streaming service for our games,” Hunt said. “There’s a lot of excitement about being able to come back to the Art Hauser Centre and with the recent news about Saskatchewan opening back up (on July 11), which is a sign that things are starting to get back to normal.
“It’s an exciting time and I think a lot of people are going to have our home opener circled on the calendar, especially with the buzz around (Pats star forward) Connor Bedard.”
