Earlier this week, Prince Albert Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt sat down with Nathan Reiter of the Prince Albert Daily Herald for a full Q and A interview. For the purposes of this story, NR stands for the question being asked by Nathan Reiter. CH will be the response from Curtis Hunt. Please note that some portions of the article have been edited for clarity.
NR: Let’s talk about the preseason, a 3-1-1 record, a couple of tight games with Saskatoon this past weekend. What did you think of the preseason performance from this club as a whole?
CH: What you expect. The coaches are trying to squeeze in a few short practices, a lot of system and structure. You have guys overthinking at times, which takes away from the creativity and natural flow and doesn’t allow them to free up. I think our younger guys were fantastic through camp and through our exhibition season. Guys played how they play. We have grittier players, we have scorers, we have skill, we have puck moving defenseman, we have stay-at-home- defenseman that move pucks. I’m really happy with the camp and how it was run, the practices and certainly the exhibition games. You always want to win every night, but good on us scoring late, good on us getting empty netter. We had some hard lessons through the preseason as well which will serve our club well moving forward.
NR: Last season, the goal for this club was simple: to make the playoffs. What do you think is the next step for the Raiders this year? Is it getting home ice in the first round? Is it winning a playoff round? What do you think is the next step for this team?
CH: I think you nailed it there. I think for us, we want to have a top four finish. We know it’s going to be a very tough division. Moose Jaw will be strong, just a confident group. We know that Brandon is going to be a very good club. We know Calgary is going to be a good club. Medicine Hat is going to be a good club. It’s tough to go into any building in our league, so we certainly have a hill to climb. We know that, but we’d like to finish in the top four. Once you get into (the playoffs), anything can happen I do believe that. We just want to strive to go as far as we can. If there’s an opportunity to get all the way, it would be fantastic.
NR: Two major trades this offseason for Lukas Dragicevic from Tri-City and Tomas Mrsic from Medicine Hat. Just talk about why you felt those moves were beneficial for this team?
CH: One of the things we thought with our club last year was our play without the puck was exceptional. We defended well, our goals against was in the top half of the league and where we probably struggled was creating offense. We brought in two guys that can create offense. We brought in two guys that have proven they can create offense in our league. I know it cost us a very skilled goal scorer for Tomas, but he provides us some more flexibility. He’s a natural centre, he can play the wing as well. He’s an all-situation player as well as provide us with that offense. What we saw in camp, anyone was around (saw his) tremendous speed and ability to transport the puck through the neutral zone with control and speed. That was the main focus there. I think we really reshaped our whole back end adding (Norwin) Panocha and now with Pederson and Sobry, those guys have a great opportunity to step up and go from in and out the lineup last year, to being everyday players and contributing in a positive way every single night.
NR: Krzysztof Macias returns as a 20-year-old, which you don’t see all the time with import players, but after a successful second half of last season and a good run at Worlds with Poland, what are you expecting from him this season?
CH: The first year for import players is difficult, the culture shock, the time change, the food, the language, the language of the game, the style of the game, the size of the rink, it’s a big adjustment. I thought Krzysztof managed it cautiously through the first half of the season, he’s a guy obviously being an invite (to Florida Panthers camp) and at the world level against the best in every country and thriving. Not just surviving, but thriving. The coaches did a good job of getting his head around the type of game he has to play if he wants to be a pro and I think he took advantage of those conversations. I think he became that true power forward that he can be, he used his size, his strength and he’s got a great release. He’s a big strong man. To come back in his second year understanding the coaches, understanding the structure, understanding the game and certainly the great experience going to Florida because they’re a championship team, he’ll just absorb it just being there. The energy, excitement and the work. My expectation of him is to come back and build on a good first year and put himself in a position to get signed by the end of the year by being consistent every night and using his strengths and ability to the best of his advantage.
NR: Norwin Panocha is a 19-year-old defenseman joining the team after spending last year in Quebec with Chicoutimi. For fans unfamiliar with his game, what is this team getting with him?
CH: A big lone defenseman, he’s 6’3, a terrific skater. He can move the puck quickly and can skate out of trouble. I think for him, he’s in Buffalo’s camp when we are doing this interview. He’s planned to earn himself a contract. Our expectation of him is a good first pass, support the offense with speed, play nifty not risky and really be a solid defender. It’s that first pass and the ability to be a solid defender will give him the best opportunity to move up and get himself a contract or to the American Hockey League because he can always go back and play pro in Germany. I think he’s got all that ability.
NR: Lots of buzz in this city around Daxon Rudolph, a former first overall pick. It can be tough to transition into the WHL as a defenseman, what do you think fans should expect from him as a 16-year-old this season?
CH: He’ll have some growing pains. We know that there will be a speed adjustment for him. Defense is a tough position transition to because you face such tremendous speed with the teams in our division and really throughout the league. You’ll notice Dax will make plays with incredible pose. His vision is second to none and when get those opportunities to create the offense he can create, he’s been a game breaker his entire growth as a hockey player. Wer would expect, like I said, he’s going to have some tough nights. They all do when they’re young but he’s doing to be a terrific player. It’s going to be fun to watch just because of the decisions he makes, his escape ability, the people he finds with his passes and plays. It has such an ease about him. He’s a fun player to watch.
NR: Captain Eric Johnston was moved in the offseason, assistant captain Sloan Stanick has aged out. Who stands out to you in terms of a guy who can step in and fill that void in the leadership group this year?
CH: I think the two guys we traded for can provide leadership in terms of their on-ice play and how they play and how they compete every single day. Internally, from the back end, you’ve got Justice Christensen, who came off a terrific year last year, looking to build on that yera and really is the veteran guy back there now with the moves. Up front, Aiden Oiring was our number one centre last year. He probably led our team in minutes most nights. He’s an all-situation guy. He plays with a big heart. As a matter of fact, him and Juice (Justice Christensen) are both incredible heart and soul players. I look to (Harrison) Lodewyk to be a guy to provide that leadership as well as Niall Crocker who rounds out our 20-year-olds. They don’t wear letters, but certainly the growth and development of Hilty (Max Hildebrand) in goal over the years, that calming effect and just a few good words and positive and poise. That’ll be the core of our leadership group. Some of the 18-year-olds need to come along with that group as well. Some of the guys who are quieter players will be included in that bigger leadership group as well.
NR: You’ve made five first round picks over the past two drafts. That’s quite a lot of talent coming through the pipeline here. Having that talent coming in, would that make you more open to possibly moving a high draft pick in a trade to improve the current club?
CH: Anything is possible in any year. It isn’t so much of where we’ve been, it’s kind of where we’re going. I think we’ve got a young group this year. I think there’s some big expectations on this group from within their room and from our offices and our fans are excited. I think if I have an opportunity to make our team better, I think my record has shown I haven’t been reluctant to trade away high picks or players who some think are elite players if I thought at the end of the day the Prince Albert Raiders would be better for it. That’s the short answer is we’ll do whatever deems necessary for both short and long term success of the club.
NR: I know there was a lot of position battles up in camp this season and lots of guys fighting for different roster spots. How happy were you to see the compete from this group throughout training camp and preseason here?
CH: I like the compete. I think that reflects on the leadership, this is the standard that it takes. You’re working in an inverse funnel that the longer we go, the better the competition. You’ll see Friday with Regina, the game will be a lot more intense and a lot faster than the two games against Saskatoon, which were fantastic pace, I thought, from both clubs. It’s good that our veterans were able to start setting that cultural identity of who we are, how we play, how we practice with that competition. It serves all of us well, not just their peers, but certainly the younger players that go back to their own clubs we ask to be leaders at the U18 level or junior A level.
NR: Another thing I wanted to touch on was the commitment announced by Braxton Whitehead in Regina to Arizona State. Currently WHL players cannot attend NCAA schools with the current rules. If that were to change in the near future, how do you think it would affect the Prince Albert Raiders and the Western Hockey League as a whole?
CH: I think that’s a very complicated question, because as we listen to all the speculators, which is all I would be doing today, you’re going to get a variety of different kinds of answers. I think for the player, our track record is the best developmental league in the world, that’s our reputation. For those players that would come through our league at 21, like Braxton will be next year, but the opportunity to pursue not just Canadian college, but a US college as well, it’s a great option for the players at that point in time. There’s a lot of things to happen before that commitment even gets honored. Certainly the landscape is changing, and it’s certainly interesting, and we’re right in the middle of it. It’s going to be fun to watch how it all plays out.
sports@paherald.sk.ca
