Darren Steinke
Stanks On Sports
It appears the early growing pains have dogged the Prince Albert Raiders longer than expected.
After starting the 2024-25 campaign with a loss and a win, the Raiders proceeded to go winless over their next six outings with an overtime setback and five regulation losses. In all but one of those games in that skid, the Raiders, who are 1-5-2 entering play on Tuesday, have been one or two plays away from gaining victory.
The Prince Albert Raiders celebrate a goal during their home opener against the Regina Pats.
They kind of mirror what the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders went through earlier this year, when the ’Riders went through a seven game winless skid where they were one or two plays away from victory in most of those outings. Saskatchewan’s CFL side currently rides a four game winning streak and has clinched the right to host a home playoff game.
For the Raiders, you look over their game footage, and you have to conclude a solid effort is there every night. The wins just aren’t coming. They are going through the growing pains and mistakes that come with hitting the ice with a younger roster.
Also, the Raiders changed things up a bit with trades in the off-season, and it seems like the team is searching for an identity early on in the campaign.
When the 2023-24 campaign concluded with a first round post-season elimination to the Saskatoon Blades, the Raiders graduated star left-winger Sloan Stanick. He had been a major part of the team for three full seasons, so his departure left big shoes to fill.
Centre Turner McMillen and defenceman Jacob Hoffrogge were just with the Raiders for their 20-year-old campaigns in 2023-24, but they carved out their niches with the team. The Raiders dealt away star right-winger Ryder Ritchie, shutdown-defenceman Terrell Goldsmith, captain Eric Johnston and rearguard Easton Kovacs. Johnston and Kovacs were entering their respective 20-year-old seasons.
Stanick, Ritchie, Goldsmith, Johnston and Kovacs had all been with the Raiders for at least the bulk of two seasons. They made up a big part of the club’s core in 2023-24.
The major additions included 19-year-old offensive-defenceman Lukas Dragicevic, 18-year-old centre Tomas Mrsic, via trades along with 2023 WHL Prospects Draft selections in Daxon Rudolph, Riley Boychuk, Ty Meunier and Jonah Sivertson. Rudolph, Boychuk and Meunier went first, second and seventh overall respectively in the 2023 Prospects Draft. Sivertson was a fourth round selection.
On October 7, the Raiders acquired veteran import defenceman Vojtech Vochvest, who will turn 19-years-old on October 20, from the Prince George Cougars in exchange for an eighth round selection in the 2027 Prospects Draft. The Raiders released 19-year-old import defenceman Norwin Panocha, who was added to the roster of the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers on Tuesday.
The Raiders recently got back 20-year-old Polish import left-winger Krzysztof Macias, who attended rookie camp with the NHL’s Florida Panthers and training camp with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Entering play Tuesday, Macias had only been able to play one game for the Raiders after sitting out a two-game suspension that carried over from the 2024 WHL Playoffs.
The Raiders still have good returnees in netminder Max Hildebrand, Niall Crocker, Aiden Oiring, captain Justice Christensen and younger players in Cole Peardon, Oli Chener, Luke Moroz, Doogan Pederson and Tyrone Sobry. The younger returnees are getting more ice time than they did a season ago.
Still, the Raiders are still dealing with hiccups with their deck being shuffled. The identity of the team hasn’t totally materialized.
With that noted, the work ethic is there, so now you see how quickly the improvement comes and an upward trend occurs.
Returnees shake up WHL landscape
Business has picked up in the WHL with the return of some elite level players to various teams.
The Moose Jaw Warriors got a boost when 19-year-old centre Brayden Yager was returned by the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. In his first four games with the Warriors, Yager, who is the Warriors captain, has piled up four goals and three assists to go with a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department. With Yager’s presence, the Warriors, who won the WHL championship last season, look remarkably better on the ice.
The Prince George Cougars got a shot in the arm when 19-year-old centre Riley Heidt was returned by the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. Heidt, who is the Cougars captain, has recorded four goals and seven assists in his first seven games back with the Prince George side. Last Saturday, Heidt had a hat trick in his team’s 5-4 victory over the visiting Raiders.
Life in Kelowna is all of a sudden better as the NHL’s Washington Capitals sent right-winger Andrew Cristall back to the Rockets. Cristall recorded two goals, five assists and a plus-five rating in his first two games back with the Rockets. That included posting one goal and two assists in the Rockets 7-5 victory over the visiting Raiders on Monday.
The Rockets, who opened with five straight losses, look a tonne better now having won three straight.
Out in “The Bridge City,” the Saskatoon Blades got 19-year-old defenceman Tanner Molendyk back from the NHL’s Nashville Predators and 20-year-old left-winger Brandon Lisowsky returned from the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. Lisowsky spent time in camp with the Leafs AHL affiliate in the Toronto Marlies before being assigned to the Blades.
Molendyk has a goal in his first two games with the Blades, while Lisowsky has an assist in his first two outings with “The Bridge City Bunch.” It felt like there was a good chance Molendyk would be back in Saskatoon, but it wouldn’t be a surprise had he stuck with the Predators. Lisowsky’s return can be tabbed as a total surprise.
As a 20-year-old, the Leafs can assign him to any of their minor affiliates. Lisowsky’s return to Saskatoon gives the Blades a big increase in offensive power.
He has scored 33 or more goals in each of his past three seasons with the Blades. In 229 career regular season games entering play on Tuesday, Lisowsky has 121 goals and 105 assists for 226 points.
Entering play on Tuesday, the Blades lead the WHL’s East Division with a 6-1-1 mark. Going into the 2024-25 campaign, the Blades were expected to be in a reloading season after topping the WHL regular season standings in 2023-24 with a 50-13-2-3 mark and falling in an epic WHL Eastern Conference Championship series in seven games to the Warriors.
With Molendyk and Lisowsky back, are the Blades in position to make another run at things in 2024-25? Again, a bigger sample size of games is needed, but it is looking like the Blades are going to be strong again.
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.
