It has been an eventful week for Prince Albert Raiders defenseman Landon Kosior as the 20-year-old was named the WHL player of the week for his efforts on the Raiders’ BC Division Road trip.
For the week of Jan. 29 – Feb.5, Kosior recorded 8 points in only four games, including a four-point effort in Victoria, two points against the Vancouver Giants and recording a goal and an assist in Kamloops.
Kosior says he gives a lot of credit to his teammates for the success he has found recently.
“It’s always nice to get recognized for sure. But, you know, it all comes down to our team. We had a great week there in B.C. and all the boys are playing good and helping me out, so, I got to give a lot of credit to them.”
Last week’s trip was the first time the Raiders have made a trek to the Western Conference since October of 2019 when the Raiders took on the U.S Division.
In that 2019 U.S Division road trip, the Raiders posted a 2-2-1-0 record with victories over Tri-City and Spokane, an overtime loss in Everett and regulation losses to Seattle and Portland.
Kosior says he was glad to be able to make a trip out west to B.C after the WHL has not had interconference play since 2019-2020, Kosior’s rookie season.
“I’m 20 years old. That was my first time in B.C., so it was nice to be able to see those rinks and get to play against some players that I haven’t played against since I was 17. It’s always nice to compare yourself against the competition out there.”
So far this season, Kosior has posted 42 points in only 41 games played. He has tied his career high with 27 assists, which was set last season. He is also only three points away from matching his career high in points, 45, which took him a full 68 game schedule to achieve last season.
Kosior was originally listed by the Raiders in 2019, going undrafted in the WHL Prospects Draft. The 20-year-old rearguard says it was a strong support network around him that has led him to the success he is achieving today.
“It’s definitely been a long path, a lot of hard nights and a lot of hard work, but yeah, I got to give a lot of credit to my coaches, my parents and all my teammates just for helping me out and believing in me.”
As happy as he is for the individual recognition, Kosior has his sights firmly set on the Raiders upcoming home-and-home series with the Swift Current Broncos this weekend.
Swift Current currently holds a record of 23-21-1-2 and sits one point back of the Medicine Hat Tigers for the eighth and final playoff spot at the time of publishing.
Prince Albert sits eight points behind Swift Current with a record of 19-27-3-0 on the season.
Kosior says the team is feeling a new wind of confidence after a B.C trip that saw the Raiders post a 3-2-0-0 record.
“I think we’re really confident coming off a great trip. We know that they’re ahead of us, but that means we can catch them if we have two good wins here, so I think we’re all really excited for this weekend.”
The Raiders return to action on Friday night at the InnovationPlex in Swift Current. Puck drops at 7 p.m.
