Last season was a year of transition for the Prince Albert Raiders.
General manager Curtis Hunt made moves to add younger players to the organization and traded away several 2003-born players including Carson Latimer, Nolan Allan, Tayem Gislason and Vladislav Shilo.
Aiden Oiring was acquired in a New Year’s Eve trade from the Winnipeg ICE along with two draft picks in exchange for Carson Latimer.
Oiring blossomed in Prince Albert after the trade, posting 23 points in 31 games. Prior to the trade, Oiring had eight points in 26 games for Winnipeg.
Oiring says he is enjoying full training camp with the Raiders.
“It’s definitely fun seeing how they do it up here. A lot of young guys, so it’s fun to see all the prospects that they brought in from around Canada and some from the US.”
Last season was Oiring’s first full season in the WHL. Oiring was originally selected in the third round of the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft by Winnipeg and spent the 2021-2022 season with the Southern Alberta Hockey Academy (SAHA) U18 Prep team posting 50 points in 32 games.
Oiring says there was some difficulty adapting to Prince Albert at first after the trade, but he felt comfortable in the lineup by the end of the season.
“It was definitely hard getting right into it. It’s all different but couple of games in and practices and they kind of started coming to me a little bit and near the end of the season I was at full stride.”
Last season, the Raiders got off to a slow start only picking up one win in their first five games of the season. Oiring says the team has a goal of getting off to a strong start.
“It’s huge knowing all these systems from day one and hopefully the team gets a better start from the start of the season. That’s our goal so far. So hopefully we get to it.”
Another player looking to contribute in his first full season in Prince Albert is Brayden Dube.
The Roblin, Manitoba product was acquired by the Raiders in the November 2022 blockbuster deal that saw former Raider captain Nolan Allan shipped to the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Dube says he was excited when he got the news that he was heading to Prince Albert.
“I was really excited. I knew I’d have more opportunities to play. I know that this is a young team and we’re going to be a good team this year and I’m very excited for the upcoming season.”
Dube, like Oiring, was also in his rookie campaign in the WHL. He was originally selected by Seattle in the second round of the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft and spent the 2021-22 campaign with the Dauphin Kings of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) posting 46 points in 49 games.
Prior to the trade, Dube had posted four points in 14 games as a Thunderbird. After the trade, Dube posted nine points in 43 games for the Raiders.
Dube says he found the transition to Prince Albert to be smooth.
“It wasn’t too bad. Teammates told me lots and the coaches went over lots to make sure I knew the systems and they made it really easy to get into.”
Heading into his second WHL campaign, Dube says he is ready to face the challenge head on.
“(I’m) feeling very confident but there’s pressure on me to really perform up there when I need to. So (I’m) ready to go.”
The Raiders open the 2022-23 regular season on Friday, Sept. 22 when they welcome the Moose Jaw Warriors to the Art Hauser Centre. Puck drops at 7 p.m.
sports@paherald.sk.ca @NathanReiter14
