Have skates, will travel: Jacob Hoffrogge reflects on WHL career

Nathan Reiter
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Have skates, will travel: Jacob Hoffrogge reflects on WHL career

It wasn’t the most conventional junior hockey career for Jacob Hoffrogge, but the graduating defenceman would have had it no other way.

“It was a journey and it was a fun one.” Hoffrogge says. “I got to meet so many new people along the way. I think I helped some people as well so it made me feel good.”

Jacob Hoffrogge was originally selected by the Brandon Wheat Kings in the second round of the 2018 WHL Prospects Draft, 41st overall.

He would break into the WHL ranks during the 2020-21 COVID-19 pandemic bubble season appearing in five games.

Hoffrogge would play a full season in Brandon in the 2021-22 campaign, registering nine assists in 62 games for the Wheat Kings.

Brandon Wheat Kings defenceman Jacob Hoffrogge and Regina Pats forward Cole Carrier battle for the puck in a Western Hockey League game at Westoba Place on Dec. 11 2021. (Photo by The Brandon Sun)

On July 14, 2022, Hoffrogge would be dealt for the first time in his WHL career. He was sent to the Everett Silvertips in exchange for a seventh round pick in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft.

In 23 games as a Silvertip, Hoffrogge would record two goals and two assists before finding himself on the move.

Kristin Ostrowski/Everett Silvertips Jacob Hoffrogge playing with the Everett Silvertips during the 2022-23 WHL season.

On January 9, 2023, Hoffrogge would pack his bags once again as he was dealt to the Edmonton Oil Kings in exchange for a seventh round pick in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft.

He would finish out the remainder of his 19-year-old campaign with the Oil Kings, registering 12 assists in 28 games with Edmonton.

Hoffrogge would return to Edmonton to begin his 20-year-old campaign before he once again was traded.

The Prince Albert Raiders acquired Hoffrogge on October 7, 2023 in exchange for a conditional sixth round draft selection in 2025.

Herald File Photo. Jacob Hoffrogge lines up for a face off across from Sloan Stanick during WHL action at the Art Hauser Centre in October 2023

Hoffrogge says his experience traveling from team-to-team was a positive experience looking back at it all.

“The people I’ve met and just going to new places, seeing what it’s like, I think that helped me a lot as well.”

After arriving in Prince Albert, Hoffrogge would skate in 60 games for the Raiders posting one goal and 17 assists.

Hoffrogge says he was faced with uncertainty entering the season, but he was grateful to land in Prince Albert.

“I came into my 20-year-old year, I didn’t know where I was going to be so it was nice to definitely have a home and I wouldn’t have spent it anywhere else because these guys were amazing.”

One trait that Hoffrogge brought to Prince Albert that didn’t show up on the scoresheet was leadership. During the majority of the season, Hoffrogge was penciled on the Raiders third defensive pairing alongside either Tyrone Sobry or Doogan Pederson, both were in their rookie campaigns in the WHL as 17-year-old players.

Raider head coach Jeff Truitt says Hoffrogge did a tremendous job with taking both players under his wing and being a great teammate as well as on-ice mentor.

“We just talked about that with the young guys, you need an older guy to step up and accept that role and teach these guys how to play. He was partnered up with those guys most of the year. I thought he did a real good job. He brought these guys along. He’s seen a lot of improvements in Pederson and Sobry. That’s a direct credit to him (as a) partner.”

Hoffrogge says he learned a lot about being a mentor during his time with the Raiders.

“I think it actually helped me as much as I helped them. It’s always nice to help the young guys and if they ever need something, you’re there for them and tell them something they can do better.”

During the Raider awards banquet late last month, Truitt spoke about Hoffrogge and the other graduating 20-year-old players.

“(Jacob is) one of the smoothest skaters I’ve seen in a long time, (and) fits right in.” Truitt explained. “He’s a real quiet guy, but we ask all of our players to come in and say good morning or whatever as they enter the ice. He probably never had to do that in his life, but he accepted our culture. The three 20-year-olds coming from different organizations to come in and accept the way we do things, they made an impact.”

As for his future plans, Hoffrogge has indicated that he would like to continue playing hockey at the university level.

sports@paherald.sk.ca

Year at a glance: young Raiders make stride in right direction

Nathan Reiter
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Year at a glance: young Raiders make stride in right direction

The season may not have finished the way the Prince Albert Raiders would have liked, but the year was a positive step in the right direction for the young team.

The Raiders finished eighth place in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a record of 31-32-2-3, good enough for 67 points in the regular season.

Prince Albert won their first playoff game against the Saskatoon Blades, who finished the regular season as the top seed in the Eastern Conference and won the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as top regular season team.

Saskatoon would win the series in five games, but the Raiders would push the Blades hard, including a 4-3 overtime game at the Art Hauser Centre decided by a power play goal from Blade overager Easton Armstrong.

Raider head coach Jeff Truitt says he was proud of how his team represented the logo on the front of the uniform.

“We’d like to push a little bit harder. But then on the other side, we’re really proud of our team and how that developed, getting into the playoffs and getting a game in Saskatoon against a real good team. There’s a lot of pride in our jersey and the way that we play and our identity as a team. I thought that that came through numerous times this year. Just the effort that our guys (brought) was tremendous.”

The Raiders were a younger team featuring seven rookies by season’s end (Luke Moroz, Oli Chenier, Matej Kubiesa, Krzysztof Macias, Tyrone Sobry, Doogan Pederson and Nathan Preston).

After not having a single game head to shootout in the 2022-23 campaign, the Raiders played in nine shootout contests this season, recording a 6-3 record. The last time Prince Albert had played in nine shootout contests in a season was back in the 2012-13 campaign where they went 5-4.

The franchise record for most shootouts in one season was set back in 2005-06 when the Raiders went to 16 shootouts, posting a 6-10 record.

In the month of January, all five Raider home games went to a shootout. Truitt says it wasn’t always easy to watch those contests from behind the bench, but those games provided invaluable experience to a young team.

“I think it was a little bit of a learning process for the younger guys, but they responded real well. It’s a credit to our older group that never showed panic, knew what to say, knew what to execute. It might have been exciting for the fans, it wasn’t so exciting for us behind the bench. Max Hildebrand in the net came up big for us. We got some great performances out of a lot of guys.”

From the start of training camp, the Raiders had their eyes firmly set on returning to the postseason for the first time in two years. A year after the Raiders posted a 2-6-2 start to the season, Prince Albert would get off to a hot start going 6-3-0-1 in their first ten games of the campaign.

Truitt says the season as a whole was an improvement in many areas from the 2022-23 season.

“It was like taking a step. We took the step to qualify for the playoffs. I think it was a huge development year. I think there were 10 or 11 guys that surpassed last year’s point totals. The emergence of Max Hildebrand as our starter. You see the leadership and Eric Johnston, (Justice) Christensen and there’s a lot more others as well. To see this group and how tightly this group bonded, and how well they got along, pulled us through a lot of adversities. Road wins, shootouts wins, whatever it might be. When the chips were down, that goes to show that team mentality is strong.”

It was the second full campaign as head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders for Jeff Truitt, who took over from Marc Habscheid after spending four seasons as an assistant coach.

Truitt has been coaching in either professional or junior hockey since the 1993-94 campaign when he started as an assistant with the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Truitt says the season provided learning opportunities for the coaching staff as well.

“I think a year like this makes you a better coach, we might not have been the most offensively gifted team. We had to work for things. We had to manufacture things. what it made you do is it made you to be creative, to make decisions and firm decisions on personnel, who’s playing with who, strategies, the whole bit. When you get a veteran older group, you put it in place, but then that group takes over. This group here is a little bit of a younger group, where sometimes the leadership group is tremendous. But still as a coach, you have to get them through certain barriers and not too high, not too low type of situation. I think it makes you a better coach to manufacture things. So you’ve got to get creative here a little bit. I’m proud of our group, the way they accepted things this year.”

The Raiders will have plenty of competition heading into training camp next season. Prince Albert made five selections in the top 50 of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft, headlined by first overall pick Daxon Rudolph. Players from that draft class will be eligible to make the Raiders as full time contributors next season.

Truitt says the Raiders are hoping to improve upon the results of this season heading into next.

“We’ve got a younger group coming in very skilled, and we’ve got some speed that way. I think we’ve got good older guys to lead the way. I think it’s going to be a little bit of a blend between older guys and younger guys. I think it’s going to be a good balance. I think that we can take another step next year, and that’s what we want. Talking to the players today, that’s what they want too.”

See future editions of the Daily Herald for feature stories on Jacob Hoffrogge, Sloan Stanick and Turner McMillen.

sports@paherald.sk.ca

Calgary’s Landon DuPont becomes second player in WHL history to receive exceptional status

Nathan Reiter
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Calgary’s Landon DuPont becomes second player in WHL history to receive exceptional status

For only the second time in WHL history, a player has been granted exceptional status.

During a press conference held on Monday afternoon, the WHL announced that Landon DuPont will receive exceptional status for the upcoming 2024-25 season. DuPont is the first defenceman to receive exceptional status in the WHL. Prior to DuPont, Connor Bedard was the only player to ever receive exceptional status in the WHL.

Exceptional status permits a player to play full time as a 15-year-old when they would otherwise have to play full-time for a U18 club team.

Since the exceptional status rule was created in the CHL in 2005, only nine players have been given the designation: John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid, Sean Day, Joe Veleno, Shane Wright, Connor Bedard and Michael Misa.

“It is an honor for me to receive exceptional player status from Hockey Canada and Hockey Alberta.” DuPont said. “(I’m) extremely humbled to have received this. I’d like to thank my family, all of my coaches, trainers, advisors, and teachers, and most of all, my teammates through my entire hockey journey for helping me to get to this point. I’m excited to continue my development in the WHL and will work hard every day to continue to improve.”

In order for DuPont to receive exceptional status, Hockey Alberta alongside a Hockey Canada Special Evaluation Panel reviewed his hockey and academic documents and evaluated DuPont’s maturity level throughout the process.

Scott Salmond, the Senior Vice-President of High Performance and Hockey Operations with Hockey Canada says DuPont was worthy of the distinction.

“The term exceptional is not reserved just for a player. The term exceptional is reserved equally and more importantly for the person. When you watch Landon play, you’re drawn to his skill of skating, his talent, his edge work, his vision on the ice. When you have an opportunity to meet him and to talk to him, to get to know him a little bit, you also understand the idea of exceptional character, exceptional integrity, exceptional maturity, which for a 14-year-old young man and for a 15-year-old next year to play in a league with 20-year-olds is incumbent.”

Last season playing for Edge School U18 Prep, DuPont recorded 62 points in 30 games as a defenceman, adding 16 points in five playoff games.

The Everett Silvertips are expected to select DuPont with the first overall pick in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft on Thursday, May 9. The Prince Albert Raiders select at second and ninth overall in the first round.

sports@paherald.sk.ca

Raider season comes to close with Game 5 loss in Saskatoon

Nathan Reiter
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Raider season comes to close with Game 5 loss in Saskatoon

The 2023-24 season has come to a close for the Prince Albert Raiders as they lost 6-2 to the Saskatoon Blades in Game 5 of their best-of-seven first round playoff series. Saskatoon won the series 4-1.

Raider head coach Jeff Truitt says Prince Albert gave it their all throughout the series.

“You’re up against a tremendously talented team. You always go into every playoff series believing you can win because the slate is clean. As the games go on, you have to tweak and see what they’re doing, what you’re doing.  We played to our capabilities. We win one game, we lose one in overtime. A couple of them were a little bit more distanced. But I won’t fault our guys for anything. They played hard.”

Brandon Lisowsky would open the scoring for Saskatoon at the 3:24 mark of the first period with his first goal of the series, coming unassisted.

Ben Saunderson would double the Saskatoon lead with his first goal of the series at the 5:57 mark of the opening frame. Trevor Wong and Easton Armstrong would assist on the play.

Alexander Suzdalev would increase the Saskatoon lead to three with his second of the playoffs just over a minute later.. Lisowsky and Fraser Minten assisted on the play.

Minten would add a goal of his own at the 12:36 mark with his first of the playoffs. Suzdalev and Charlie Wright assisted on the play.

Despite being down four goals early, the Raiders would not give in.

“The big thing about our club is that they’ll never give up.” Truitt says. “It’s been like that all year long. We’ve come from behind to win games, we’ve stuck to it when we had to defend some shootout games and things like that. We’ve come from behind and we’ve been down three (or) four before this year and have come back. The belief was still there, we knew it was going to be a challenge. Our guys worked and competed right to the end.”

Prince Albert would respond at the 14:13 mark of the opening frame as Niall Crocker would strike from the mouth of the Saskatoon crease during a delayed Saskatoon penalty for his third goal of the series. Easton Kovacs and Ryder Ritchie assisted on the play.

The Raiders drew closer at the 15:06 mark of the third period as Harrison Lodewyk drove to the net and beat Austin Elliott with a backhand shot to bring Prince Albert within two. Jacob Hofrogge had the lone assist.

That would be as close as the Raiders would get as the Blades would add a pair of empty net goals to ice the game.

Blades head coach Brennan Sonne spoke to media following the game and spoke highly of both fanbases in the series.

“The game on the ice itself was very gritty. I really enjoyed the fandom. I loved the crowds we got. I enjoyed even the crowd they had. It felt like a real, true playoff series.  I really enjoyed it. I hope the fans enjoyed it too, because their support was phenomenal in both buildings.”

Saskatoon will advance to face the Red Deer Rebels in the second round. The other Eastern Conference semi-final series features the Swift Current Broncos taking on the Moose Jaw Warriors.

sports@paherald.sk.ca

Cooke Municipal Golf Course hopeful for April opening day

Nathan Reiter
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Cooke Municipal Golf Course hopeful for April opening day

With the frigid temperatures of winter starting to succeed, many golfers are getting the itch to hit the fairway and begin the 2024 golf season.

Cooke Municipal Golf Course in Prince Albert has not yet announced when they will open this year. Head professional Darcy Myers says they are waiting for weather conditions to improve before they decide on a specific date.

“Everybody’s getting excited with this nice weather of late. There’s a lot of factors involved in opening up the course and a lot of it’s just weather-related, the temperature’s got to be above zero overnight. All the snow and ice and water has to be gone and pumped off and dried out a little bit before we can get equipment and our staff back prepping things. We’re just going to play the opening day by ear right now and just monitor the forecast and see what happens here in the next week.”

According to Environment Canada, Prince Albert will see daytime temperatures reach as high as 18 degrees celsius over the next seven days.

Myers says if those temperatures hold, plus some overnight lows of above zero, could lead to the course opening during the month of April.

“We’re all really excited to get going. It’s looking like we potentially could have some April golf, which we haven’t had for a number of years. A little bit longer season would be a nice little bonus for us.”

The game of golf has seen slight growth in recent years, thanks to the sport being one of the only available activities during the pandemic. Myers says Cooke has sold some memberships and the numbers are comparable to last season.

“Right now things seem pretty stable. We’re still a ways away from opening, so I’m sure we’re going to hopefully sell a little bit more. (It) looks very comparable to the last few years, which we’ve seen some growth since COVID and we’re kind of maintaining those numbers. That’s a really good sign going forward.”

Cooke enjoyed a successful season in 2024 hosting the Monday qualifier for PGA Tour Canada’s Elk Ridge Saskatchewan Open as well as the Golf Saskatchewan Senior Mens’ and Women’s Championships.

The 2024 PGA Saskatchewan Zone Championship will be hosted at Cooke Municipal July 29 and 30. It will be the first time the event will be hosted at Cooke in nearly a decade.

Myers says Cooke is hoping to build off the momentum of success the course built last season.

“Last year was a fantastic year. We’re hosting a few events similar to what we did last year. The PGA Tour Canada is here again for the Monday qualifier. We’ve got provincial PGA championships here this summer and a lot of our annual Northern tournaments and other charity fundraiser events are being held here again as well. We’re looking forward to another busy season and hope the success continues.”

Information about an official opening date for Cooke Municipal Golf Course can be found on the course’s social media as it becomes available.

Backs to the wall: Saskatoon captures Game 4 victory

Nathan Reiter
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Backs to the wall: Saskatoon captures Game 4 victory

The Prince Albert Raiders have their backs to the wall after a 4-1 Game 4 defeat against the Saskatoon Blades at the Art Hauser Centre on Wednesday night to take a 3-1 series lead.

Raider head coach Jeff Truitt says Prince Albert didn’t generate many scoring opportunities.

“We didn’t get a lot of quality looks, we had some chances and I think that if we would have capitalized on a few of our chances, it could have been a different story. We got to generate more dangerous opportunities and (get) traffic to the net. It’s tough sledding out there and you’ve got to get pucks and traffic to the net, fight for second opportunities, grind it out.”

Saskatoon held a 36-16 shots on goal advantage on the evening. Truitt says the Raiders will need to do more in the offensive zone to win in game

“I think that they just had the puck in our zone at will. (They) did what they wanted to do and hemmed us in there for quite a while. They’re strong on pucks. And from our standpoint, there’s got to be a little bit more motion in that offensive zone, just not standing still.”

Saskatoon would open the scoring in the dying seconds of the opening frame as Easton Armstrong would jam home a rebound for his fifth goal of the series at the 19:58 mark. Alexander Suzdalev and Charlie Wright assisted on the play.

An unassisted goal from Misha Volotovskii would double the Saskatoon lead just 3:00 into the second period.

After a great scoring chance at the Saskatoon net, the Blades would take the puck the other way and Tanner Molendyk would strike for his first goal of the series. Volotovskii and William James provided the helpers.

A power play goal from Ryder Ritchie would get the Raiders on the board at the 4:02 mark of the third period. Aiden Oiring and Justice Christensen provided the helpers on the play.

Egor Sidorov would ice the game with an empty net tally for the Blades.

In order to force a Game 6 in Prince Albert on Saturday, the Raiders must win in Saskatoon in Game 5 on Friday night.

Truitt says the Raiders aren’t looking far ahead.

“One day at a time, one period at a time and now it’s got to be at our best but we’ve won in that building before and see where it goes.”

Game 5 is on Friday night in Saskatoon. Puck drops at 7 p.m.

sports@paherald.sk.ca

Armstrong hat trick lifts Blades past Raiders in Game 3

Nathan Reiter
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Armstrong hat trick lifts Blades past Raiders in Game 3

The Saskatoon Blades have taken their first lead of the series, thanks to an Easton Armstrong overtime winner as they defeated the Prince Albert Raiders 4-3 at the Art Hauser Centre on Tuesday.

Raider head coach Jeff Truitt says it took a while for Prince Albert to settle into the game.

“It sure looked that way. We want to come up with some energy. We want to come up with a lot of compete. It did show a little bit at the time, but then I thought once we settled in, I thought we were fine and we clawed back, but there were some early nerves, there’s no doubt.”

A strong start would get Saskatoon going as they would take a two goal lead into the dressing room after twenty minutes.

Armstrong would open the scoring for Saskatoon at the 5:53 mark of the opening frame. The Raiders would turn the puck over in the neutral zone and spring the 20-year-old on a partial breakaway and he would make no mistake for his second goal of the series.

Armstrong would be the benefactor of a Raider turnover in the defensive zone at the 9:03 mark with his second of the night.

Shots favored Saskatoon 16-4 after the opening twenty minutes.

The Raiders would spring to life in the second period. Polish import Krzysztof Macias would get Prince Albert on the board with his first goal of the series just 2:51 into the middle frame. Sloan Stanick and Terrell Goldsmith assisted on the play.

A holding penalty against Saskatoon’s Nicholas Andrusiak would give the Raiders a crucial opportunity on the man advantage.

Ryder Ritchie would strike for his second power play tally of the series at the 11:52 mark to knot the score at 2-2. Sloan Stanick and Justice Christensen assisted on the play.

Trevor Wong would restore the Saskatoon lead with an unassisted goal at the 17:13 mark.

After pushing for the equalizer the entire third period, Aiden Oiring would find the back of the net with his second goal of the series at the 14:22 mark sending the Art Hauser Centre faithful into a frenzy. Ryder Ritchie picked up the lone helper.

“They’re loud, it’s a small building, but that just makes it a lot louder.” Oiring said about the crowd in his post-game interview. “They support us so much and they’re amazing.”

Truitt says he saw a lot of positives from the Raiders in the final stanza.

“I thought we were tremendous, we got down and they carried the play at times. But then so did we. I thought that we battled hard. I thought that once we got some shots through from the point, we had a little bit more of a shooting mentality. That’s what we need to do right now, any puck at the net is a good one.”

A Raider penalty would carry over into the overtime frame and Armstrong would secure the win for Saskatoon with his third goal of the night just twenty three seconds into the overtime frame.

So far through three games, the Raiders have hung right with the Blades, who finished as the top regular season team in the WHL.

Truitt says the Raiders are far from out of the series.

“Game one, we got our power play goals. Hilty was outstanding. Game two, their power play was good and both goaltenders were fine, but the defining moment (was) on their power plays. Tonight, they get up and it’s a little bit of a different scenario where we showed our character and coming back, we never quit.”

Saskatoon leads the best-of-seven series two games to one. Game 4 is on Wednesday night at the Art Hauser Centre. Puck drops at 7 p.m.

sports@paherald.sk.ca

Carlton LB Adamko commits to Saskatoon Hilltops

Nathan Reiter
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Carlton LB Adamko commits to Saskatoon Hilltops

The linebacking core for the Saskatoon Hilltops will welcome a Prince Albert product into their ranks this coming fall.

Scott Adamko has committed to the Hilltops program this coming fall after being an impact player in his high school football career for the Carlton Crusaders as both a running back and linebacker.

Adamko says he is looking forward to contributing once he arrives in the Bridge City.

“They’ve always been such a prestigious program. They have 23 national championships and all that. They’re always a good winning team, which is always fun.”

Scott won’t be the first member of his family to don the Hilltop uniform. His older brother Ryan and cousin Justin have both played for the team in the past.

Adamko says he is looking forward to following in the footsteps of his family..

“It’s awesome. Our family is going to be all over the place and it’ll be cool.”

The Hilltops are the defending Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) champions after they defeated the Westshore Rebels 17-10 in the Canadian Bowl last season.

Saskatoon has won 10 of the last 13 Canadian Bowl titles dating back to 2010.

Adamko says he is looking forward to contributing to the Hilltops push for a second consecutive championship this fall.

“It just gives you another reason to want to work harder to get on the field and just win. It’s just, you want to be back to back (champions), everyone wants that title. Just got to stay in the gym, keep up the hard work, and just never give up.”

The Hilltops open their 2024 campaign on August 11 when they take on the Edmonton Huskies.

sports@paherald.sk.ca

Doan Smith named head coach of Prince Albert Mintos

Nathan Reiter
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Doan Smith named head coach of Prince Albert Mintos

There will be a new bench boss for the Prince Albert Mintos next season.

The team announced on Thursday night that Doan Smith has been hired as the team’s new head coach, taking over the position from Tim Leonard who retired at the end of the season.

Smith says he is chomping at the bit to get started with his duties as head coach.

“I’m excited, ready to get going. There’s lots to do just based on me having to get caught up with the process of where they’re at. It’s that time of year with spring camps going up and recruitment wise, so busy right away, kind of thrown into it. There is great support staff here. From GM to scouts to the board members to the coaches that were there last year, they’ve set me up for success right away, and ultimately I’m excited to get rolling.”

Smith will put a lot of miles on the recruitment trail during his first summer as the Minto head coach. Prince Albert graduates several players from last year’s team and will need to solidify the lineup heading into next season.

Smith says the Minto scouting staff has done a phenomenal job and he is looking forward to evaluating several players during the offseason.

“There’s a great prospect pool that they’ve been in communication with over the year and we have a handful of spots that we need to figure out to solidify our lineup before next season. It’s just getting in the process of helping out and watching some players and with camp coming next week being hands-on there and going from there. For me, it’s just getting eyes on kids and being a soundboard for the scouts that already know them better than most and worked with them to see what our team needs and fit it all together.”

Smith is no stranger to U18 AAA hockey having served as an assistant coach with the Prince Albert Northern Bears in the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League (SFU18AAAHL) last season. During his day job, Smith also serves as the Saskatchewan Area Manager for the Global Sports Academy and the STIX hockey program.

Smith says he enjoyed his time with the Northern Bears program and taking that role inspired him to apply for the opening with the Mintos.

“I can’t say enough positive things about my experience with the Bears program on the female side and working with that high school group of athletes. I owe a lot to those girls and those staff members for allowing me that opportunity this season. I’m fortunate enough to work with student athletes on a daily basis in my full-time job. I think a big reason for why I wanted to do this and throughout this process is it’s not about me, it’s about them.”

The Mintos have not formally announced assistant coaches for next season.

sports@paherald.sk.ca

“We’re ecstatic”: Raiders win draft lottery for second year in a row

Nathan Reiter
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“We’re ecstatic”: Raiders win draft lottery for second year in a row

For the second consecutive season, the lottery balls fell in favor of the Prince Albert Raiders.

Prince Albert will pick second overall in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft thanks to winning the draft lottery. If they hadn’t won the lottery, the Raiders would have picked at fourth overall. The Raiders acquired the pick in a trade last season with the Seattle Thunderbirds that sent star defenseman Nolan Allan to the Pacific Northwest.

The Raiders also jumped from fourth to second overall in last year’s WHL Prospects Draft thanks to a lottery win.

Bruno Zarrillo, the director of player personnel for the Raiders, says he was surprised when he heard the results of the lottery.

“It was a shock really. To win once is crazy, and to win a second time is out of this world. We’re ecstatic to have the opportunity to move up in the draft, and to get the second player is excellent for the Raiders.”

The Everett Silvertips will pick first overall in the upcoming WHL Prospects Draft after they acquired Kamloops’ 2024 first round pick in the blockbuster Ryan Hofer/Olen Zellweger trade last season.

Defenceman Landon DuPont is widely expected to be the first overall pick after a standout campaign with Edge School U18 Prep, where he posted 62 points in 30 games as a 14-year-old. DuPont is expected to become the second player ever to receive exceptional status in the WHL according to Elliotte Friedman. Exceptional status allows a 15-year-old player to play full-time in the WHL. To date, Connor Bedard is the only player to be granted exceptional status in the WHL.

Zarrillo says there is plenty of work still left for the Raider scouting staff ahead of the draft.

“The consensus is Landon DuPont will be the first pick. After that, there’s always a lot of good players. It’s a bit of a mix of forwards and defenseman. There’s some players we’re looking at and we’re talking about and talking to and doing our homework. Then we’ll filter it down and try to make the best decision for the Raiders going forward.”

It will be another season of multiple selections in the top 10 for the Prince Albert Raiders. The Raiders will also select at ninth overall after the club secured the eighth and final playoff spot in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.
Last season, Prince Albert selected first overall (Daxon Rudolph), second overall (Riley Boychuk) and seventh overall (Ty Meunier).

Zarrillo says the Raiders will get an opportunity to add two more highly talented players to the organization in the coming draft.

“This year, everyone knew who number one was. Last year was a little different and people would have had a little more difference of opinion than this year. When you’re picking as high as we’re picking, you’re getting a very good player. We’re really excited with the guys we got last year, and they all had great seasons, they’re all skating with us now, and they’re all fine young men, which is the most important.”

The Raiders will have several picks near the top of the draft board. Prince Albert will also select 31st overall in the second round and currently possess three third round selections at 48th, 53rd and 56th overall.

Prince Albert acquired the 48th overall pick in the Nolan Allan trade with Seattle and picked up the 56th overall selection as part of the Carson Latimer/Aiden Oiring trade with the Winnipeg ICE (now known as the Wenatchee Wild) last season.

Zarrillo says the scouting staff is excited about the potential the draft presents for the team.

“Curtis (Hunt) has done a great job giving us an opportunity to restock the shelves and to build another championship.”

With the Raiders having made several high picks in recent years, there will be major competition for roster spots amongst the younger players during training camp next fall.

“You’re dealing with a good problem.” Zarrillo says. “These are young men and it’s not like you are picking a player that’s already matured. You really have to forecast and predict. The kids, they tell you by the work they put in and they show us who wants to be a Raider.”

The 2024 WHL Prospect Draft is scheduled for Thursday, May 7.

sports@paherald.sk.ca

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