Raiders right in the thick of Eastern Conference playoff race to start second half

Photo by Mark Peterson Media/Prince Albert Raiders. Daxon Rudolph (10) of the Prince Albert Raiders skates with the puck while avoiding Red Deer Rebels forward Kalan Lind (13) during WHL action at the Art Hauser Centre on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024

It wasn’t exactly the start to the season that the Prince Albert Raiders envisioned at the start of training camp, but they are right in the thick of the playoff race with the second half of the season about to begin.

Prince Albert started the season with a 2-7-2-0 record through their first 11 games of the season, including dropping all but one game on their B.C. Division road trip back in October. The Raiders have been slowly but surely climbing the standings posting a 13-4-1-0 record since returning home from that trip.

Raider head coach Jeff Truitt says a big reason for the turnaround has been the willingness of the team to buy in.

“I always say it’s the first 15 games of a season to start to find out exactly where you’re at. That was kind of the point where now we got guys in certain spots. We got guys with good line combinations. You take a look at your defensive core. Everything kind of got dissected a little bit and rearranged a little bit at that time. I think we settled down and we’re able to kind of figure things out with the right personnel and I think that was key. The guys bought in and they’ve got a good mood about them. The expectation is higher, there’s no doubt. We’re right in the thick of it and it’s a lot better than being right out of it so the building continues.”

Early in the season, the Raiders had several bodies in and out of the lineup. Several players would spend a handful of games in the Green and Gold before being either reassigned or released by the club. The list of players who spent some time with the Raiders includes Norwin Panocha, Lukas Kral, Cedricson Okitundu and Brandon Osborne.

Several players have appeared in games as affiliate players this season including Liam Myhre, Brock Cripps and Benett Kelly.

Truitt says the Raiders have been able to gel as a team with a more solidified roster.

“We were without some guys and we were just kind of trying to establish things that maybe we couldn’t. I think when the guys came back, we’d be able to sort some things out and get some chemistry going. I think the confidence grew, we were doing small things better and those small things grew into other things. The team became a team and that was important. That just goes to show you that everybody’s pulling the right way that good things are going to happen and we want that to continue.”

One area where the Raiders have seen major improvement from last season has been on the man advantage. After having the 10th best power play in the WHL last season at 23.3%, Prince Albert has become the top power unit in the league so far this season converting a 30.1 % clip through 29 games.

Truitt says the power play is an area of strength for the Raiders and something he wants to see continue in the second half of the season. 

“I think it’s the chemistry end of it. The skill level is there and how they execute with each other. It’s a team within a team, both power plays and penalty kills. It’s a team effort that way, but we’ve got two units that have proven that they can score here. I think with the repetition that’s going on, Ryan (McDonald)’s been really good with these guys on their structure and their responsibilities. I think that it’s grown and again, it’s something we want to keep going.”

Keen observers of the Raider schedule so far will notice one very important fact: Prince Albert has yet to play a game against the archrival Saskatoon Blades this season. The last time the Highway 11 rivals faced each other was in the playoffs last April, when the Blades eliminated the Raiders in five games.

The Blades hold a 17-10-2-2 record and sit in second place in the Eastern Conference, but struggled posting a 3-5-1-1 in their last 10 games going into the break.

Truitt says he expects the rivalry to be close and heated, just like in year’s past.

“Saskatoon is a high flying team. They have got lots of skill and they’re obviously at the top of the conference for a reason here. It’s very similar to last year (with) how they play. With our group, we just need to worry about us and learn from some corrections we’ve made over the first 29 games and hopefully get on the right side of them. We’re looking at six games in nine (days) as soon as we return. There’s not a lot of time to sit and breathe either. We see those guys quite a bit, so I’m sure the rivalry will be heated.”

With a 15-11-3-0 record on the season, the Raiders currently sit in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings. Only six points separate the Medicine Hat Tigers at the top of the conference and the Raiders who hold the eighth and final playoff spot. The Raiders, along with the Brandon Wheat Kings have played the fewest amount of games so far this season.

Truitt says he sees the conference being close all the way to the final game of the regular season and into the playoffs.

“I’ve never seen it from top to bottom that tight right now. Usually a top team or two have already separated themselves and have gone (and) everybody else is kind of in that middle gap. Right now, anything can happen in this Eastern Conference. If you were going to name who’s going to win this conference right now at the Christmas break, I don’t know if you can really say anything because it is tight. You can just draw them out of a hat and maybe that’s the way it’s going to go. It’s going to be an interesting second half.”

THe Raiders begin the second half of the WHL schedule on Friday night when they host the Swift Current Broncos. Puck drops at 7 p.m.

Editor’s Note: The interview with Jeff Truitt for this story was done on Dec. 18 in Calgary, prior to the announcement that Truitt will be taking a medical leave of absence from the team. The Prince Albert Daily Herald wishes Truitt a safe and speedy recovery.

sports@paherald.sk.ca

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