The Prince Albert Raiders would love to relive the Dante Hannoun trade and the moments that came in the months after it.
Way back on January 3, 2019, the Raiders sat on top of the entire WHL standings and were looking for a way to slightly tweak their roster without throwing any wrenches into the chemistry that had been built. On that day, they acquired 20-year-old centre Dante Hannoun, a fourth round pick and an eighth round selection in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft from the Victoria Royals in exchange for 20-year-old centre Kody McDonald, 18-year-old centre Carson Miller and a third round selection in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft. The deal came seven days before that season’s WHL trade deadline.
Hannoun, who stands 5-foot-6 and weighs 160 pounds, had been a high-scoring career WHL member of the Royals until coming to “Hockey Town North.” In just a little over five months as a member of the Raiders before exhausting his WHL eligibility, Hannoun appeared in 28 regular season games with the club posting 10 goals, 21 assists and a plus-16 rating in the plus-minus department. Prince Albert topped the WHL’s overall standings with a 54-10-2-2 record.
Hannoun skated in all 23 contests the Raiders played in the 2019 WHL Playoffs recording 14 goals, 10 assists and a plus-11 rating. He tied for the team high in game-winning goals at four with Brett Leason and Noah Gregor, but everyone who lives in Prince Albert knows one of Hannoun’s winners overshadowed all the others.
On May 13, 2019, the Raiders hosted Game 7 of the WHL Championship Series against the Vancouver Giants in front of a sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the storied and historic 2,580-seat Art Hauser Centre. Locked in a 2-2 with 1:35 remaining in overtime, Hannoun tapped home a backdoor feed at the right side of the Giants net that came from Gregor to deliver the Raiders to a 3-2 victory in the game and a 4-3 win in the series.
The Raiders became WHL champions for the second time in team history capturing the Ed Chynoweth Cup. Hannoun became one of the all-time heroes in the history of the franchise scoring what is still the most memorable goal in the history of the Hauser. While he was in Prince Albert for a relatively short time in his WHL career, it can be argued that Hannoun is most remembered for being a member of the Raiders over being a member of the Royals.
On top of fitting in on the ice, the Delta, B.C., product fit in well inside the Raiders dressing room and into the community of Prince Albert and surrounding area. It felt like he had been a career member of the Raiders, and he only spent a relatively short amount of time in Prince Albert.
In the current 2025-26 campaign, the Raiders top the WHL’s East Division with a 27-5-4 mark and sit third overall in the league. The top four teams in the WHL are tightly packed together with the Everett Silvertips leading the way with a 29-5-2-1 mark. They sit two points ahead of the Medicine Hat Tigers (27-6-3-2), three points up on the Raiders and five points in front of the Edmonton Oil Kings (26-7-3-1).
In the latest CHL Top 10 Rankings that were released on Tuesday, the Silvertips were rated second, while the Raiders were third, the Oil Kings were sixth and the Tigers came in at eighth.
It feels like the Raiders have really good chemistry again this season. If they could find someone that brought the on ice package and all the intangibles like Hannoun did in the 2018-19 campaign, that could be the add that pushes them on to some special things.
There are those out there that believe that teams near the top of the WHL standings need to make multiple moves to push their team to new heights. A lot of times, the quality of making one good move is better than making three or four moves.
Of course, it is hard to go out to find and make a deal to get all-around quality guys like Hannoun. It is possible the Raiders might have already done that.
In December, they made deals to acquire left-winger Maddix McCagherty and Brandon Gorzynski from the Wenatchee Wild and Calgary Hitmen respectively. McCagherty, who is 19-years-old, has recorded five goals, 10 assists and a plus-12 rating in 12 games in his new surroundings with the Raiders. That has been by far the best 12-game stretch in his WHL career.
Gorzynski, who is 18-years-old, has recorded four goals, seven assists and a plus-five rating in his first six games with the Raiders. He is building off a solid 17-year-old season in 2024-25 with the Hitmen where he appeared in all the team’s 68 regular season contests posting 17 goals, 25 assists and a plus-27 rating.
Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt has always been good at getting deals done in the months leading up to the WHL trade deadline. WHL general managers are always smarter to do things in that manner, because the price to acquire good players gets that much more steep the closer you get to the trade deadline.
The WHL trade deadline is slated for Thursday at 7 p.m. Saskatchewan time. The Raiders are sitting in a good place, but if they can find maybe one more piece that adds to the mix they have, it would make for a sweet development.
McKenna debate heats up after world juniors, other notes
He got 14 points and was a plus-seven in seven games at world juniors, but the debate about if Gavin McKenna will go first overall in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft is still up in the air.
After Canada fell 6-4 to Czechia in a semifinal on Sunday in Saint Paul, Minnesota, I wrote a post on various social media platforms that said, “Gavin McKenna is a good player. He was an outstanding player when he was coached by Willie Desjardins and played for the Medicine Hat Tigers. I know this may hurt some feelings, but sorry, not sorry.”
Watching broadcasts of games at world juniors up to that point, it felt like McKenna proved his media critics that watched the skilled left-winger play the first half of the 2025-26 campaign with the NCAA’s Penn State University Nittany Lions right. That played out sharply in the loss to Czechia, where McKenna had one assist and took some bad penalties inside the last six minutes of the third period.
On the eye test, McKenna didn’t look good during five-on-five play and made business decisions bowing away from spots where he had to compete and battle for the puck. The fact he lost his cool after Czechia’s empty-net goal inside the final 30 seconds of that game where he got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a 10-minute misconduct didn’t help things.
There were media staffers in Canada and lots of people chiming in on various social media lines basically echoing what media staffers that cover NCAA hockey have been saying for about the last two month-and-a-half months. Again, ESPN reported last July that McKenna’s Name Image and Likeness money for attending Penn State is “in the ballpark” of US$700,000. That development makes him full game for criticism as he is basically a professional at this point, because the money says he is.
With that said, there are visible above and beyond prospects like a Macklin Celebrini or a Connor Bedard in this coming NHL Entry Draft to be held this coming June 26 to 27 at a location to be determined. McKenna, who turned 18-years-old on December 20, 2025, might still be the first overall pick based on the potential of his incredible offensive skill.
Keaton Verhoeff, who plays for the NCAA’s University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks, is a 17-year-old defenceman that is phenomenal on the back end and has been viewed as someone who can overtake McKenna as the first overall pick. Verhoeff played for Canada at world juniors, and it felt like the Canadian coaches gave him minutes of a young guy they were trying to protect before letting him play more as the event went on. He collected four assists and a plus-four rating at world juniors.
Ivar Stenberg, who is a skilled 18-year-old forward, played a key role in helping Sweden win gold at world juniors with a 7-0 record. In seven games, Stenberg collected four goals, six assists and a plus-five rating. He had two assists and the empty-net goal in Sweden’s 4-2 gold medal game win over Czechia on Monday in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Stenberg has been tabbed as potentially being a first overall selection. He made gains with his play especially in the gold medal game to help increase the debate of the first overall pick.
One also wonders if McKenna heard the noise. In Canada’s 6-3 bronze medal win over Finland on Monday in Saint Paul, he looked a lot more dialed in when it came to playing a strong game at both ends of the ice. He finished with one goal and three assists to be named the game MVP for Canada.
When he rejoins the Nittany Lions, the question becomes will we see the McKenna from the first half of the current campaign or the McKenna that was outstanding for the Tigers playing under the team’s legendary head coach and general manager in Desjardins?
It feels like McKenna will ultimately be like Mitch Marner being a solid point a game player in the NHL, but he will not be a bus driver like Connor McDavid, Raiders alum Leon Draisaitl, Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin that wills a team to victory.
It looks like NHL scouting staffs are going to engage in some lively debates over the next six months.
- On Tuesday, the Portland Winterhawks dealt 20-year-old defenceman Carter Sotheran to the Oil Kings for 20-year-old defenceman Niko Tsakumis, a first round pick in the 2027 WHL Prospects Draft and a fourth round selection in the 2028 Prospects Draft. Sotheran, who is a long time star offensive-defenceman, has six goals and 31 assists in 37 games with the Winterhawks this season.
- On Tuesday, the Memorial Cup hosting Kelowna Rockets dealt 18-year-old defenceman William Sharpe to the Vancouver Giants for centre and team captain Ty Halaburda and second and fourth round selections in the 2028 Prospects Draft. Sharpe is a solid defender, while Halaburda can put up points as a forward.
- On Tuesday, the Oil Kings shipped 19-year-old defenceman Parker Alcos, a third round pick in the 2026 Prospects Draft and a seventh round selection in the 2028 Prospects draft to the Rockets for a first round pick in the 2026 CHL Import Draft, a third round pick in the 2026 Prospects Draft and a second round selection in the 2027 Prospects Draft. Alcos, who was drafted in 2024 by the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, has been a solid defensive defenceman.
Darren Steinke is a Saskatoon-based freelance sportswriter and photographer with more than 20 years of experience covering the WHL. He blogs frequently at stankssermon.blogspot.com.
