It was a successful campaign both on and off the ice for Prince Albert product Jayden Kraus.
The former Prince Albert Minto posted career best numbers in goal for the Victoria Royals and was awarded with the team’s Community Service Award.
“It’s super something that’s super important to me, and not just me, but my family, my parents.” Kraus explained in an interview with the Daily Herald. “I think being an athlete or in a position where you can spread your voice, I think it’s super important that you use your platform in a positive way. I think there’s so much more hockey than just the on ice stuff. I’m super proud that I got the award. But for me, it’s not about the recognition. It’s just about the actual work and helping as many people as I can.”
In partnership with the Victoria Royals Foundation, Kraus helped raise $1,596.25 for the Canadian Mental Association. Kraus was one of six finalists for the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy, which is presented to the WHL’s Humanitarian of the Year Award.
Part of the reason that Kraus started raising funds for mental health is because of the influence of Tim Leonard, who coached Kraus when he was playing for the Mintos.
“I think as an athlete, there’s obviously a lot of pressure that comes with it.” Kraus explained. “I think just to have that support, it’s super important. I also think it’s kind of something that’s been stigmatized in the past, and I know it’s talked about a lot, but I really think it’s something not to be embarrassed about. I just wanted to kind of change that opinion that people have on mental health topics.”
On the ice, it was a successful season for Kraus and the Royals. Victoria finished atop the B.C. Division standings with a 40-17-4-7 record, good enough for 91 points and third overall in the Western Conference.
It was Victoria’s first division banner since the 2015-16 campaign when the Royals fell to Kelowna in seven games in the second round.
Kraus says the team success for the Royals is something that Victoria has been waiting on for quite a long time.
“It’s huge. I think our organization was a spot where we hadn’t had a winning team in a number of years. It’s really exciting to bring some winning hockey back to the fan base and get some more fans in the building. I think that’s really big for the organization. I think even with the year that we had, we didn’t finish the end goal that we wanted, but I just think it’s such a good step in the right direction for the coming years. The job’s not done and we’re going to be better next September.”
Individually, it was a breakout season for Kraus who appeared in 46 games in the Victoria crease posting a 25-8-4-5 record, a .908 save percentage, a 2.86 Goals Against Average along with his first career WHL shutout.
All of those numbers were career bests for Kraus in his second full WHL campaign. He appeared in 20 more games then in his rookie season in 2023-24.
“It’s always important as a goalie that you play.” Kraus says. “I think that’s always the goal that goaltenders want to have. You don’t want to be sitting on the bench. Just the season I had last year, I wasn’t too satisfied with it. Coming into camp, performing the way I did and having a chance to help my team get some wins and ultimately contribute to the BC Division championship in all the ways I could means the world to me. When I grew up watching the WHL, I didn’t dream of being a backup goalie, I dreamed of being a starter. This year was really good, but next year I just have to take it up to another level.”
In the playoffs, Kraus and the Royals were eliminated in six games by the Spokane Chiefs in the second round. Andrew Cristall scored the double overtime winner in Game 6 to send the Chiefs to the conference final.
Despite falling short of the ultimate goal of winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup, the Royals are in prime position to make another deep playoff run next season.
With the likes of Kraus, projected first round NHL draft pick Cole Reschny and Rookie of the Year finalist Keaton Verhoeff amongst others set to return to Vancouver Island, Victoria is an early favorite to repeat as B.C. Division champions in 2025-26.
Kraus says the Royals are hoping to build off the success from this seasons moving forward.
“I think our management and our coaching staff has done a great job of selecting our team and drafting guys and bringing guys in via trades and all that. All of us have confidence in what the upper management is doing. What they did this year is showing us that we should have that trust in them through and through. We have some top notch players coming back and I truly do believe that we have the ability to do something special coming up here and make an even farther push than we did this previous year.”
sports@paherald.sk.ca
