The Prince Albert Raiders made one pick in the 2026 CHL Import Draft and they used it to bolster their defence corps.
The Raiders selected 17-year-old Latvian Oskars Luks, who scored four goals and added 20 assists in 39 games last season with the Jukurit U18 club in Finland.
“Oskars is a big, mobile defenceman,” Raiders GM Curtis Hunt said in a press release. “He has great mobility, great reach and attention to detail.”
The 6’5 and 209 pound Luks represented Latvia at the 2026 U18 World Hockey Championship in Slovakia. He picked up a goal and an assist in seven games, with both points coming in an 8-1 win over Norway.
“We feel he can step right in and support the group we have,” Hunt said. “We’re excited to see him get to Prince Albert and watch his game grow.”
The Raiders had three imports last season: defenceman Matyas Man, forward Alisher Sarkenov, and goaltender Michal Orsulak, who was drafted 79th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the recent NHL Entry Draft.
Raiders announce 2026-27 regular season schedule
The Prince Albert Raiders won’t have to wait long for another crack at the Everett Silvertips.
The Silvertips will travel to Prince Albert a little over a month into the new season for a rematch of last season’s WHL Final. The Silvertips will make the trip to PA on Friday, Oct. 23 according to the WHL schedule, which was officially released on Tuesday.
The other American WHL clubs making the trip to Hockeytown North are the Seattle Thunderbirds (Oct. 30), Wenatchee Wild (Nov. 17), the Portland Winterhawks (No. 20), the Tri-City Americans (Jan. 6), and the Spokane Chiefs (Jan. 13).
The Raiders will make their own road trip out west to face the B.C. Division at the end of January. It begins with a stop in Kelowna on Jan. 29, followed by games against Penticton (Jan. 30), Victoria (Feb. 2), Vancouver (Feb. 3), Kamloops (Feb. 5), and Prince George (Feb. 6).
The Raiders open the regular season with a home-and-home against the Regina Pats on Sept. 18 and 19. They’ll end it with a home-and-home against the Saskatoon Blades on March 26 and 27.
