It was another strong showing for Brett Leason on a national stage Wednesday.
Just two days after he was ranked 17th among North American Skaters by NHL Central Scouting, the Prince Albert Raiders forward had a goal for Team Orr in their dramatic 5-4 win over Team Cherry at the 2019 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Red Deer.
With his team trailing 4-1 in the third period, Leason helped to get the comeback started by recording an assist on a goal by Jakob Pelletier of the Moncton Wildcats at the 4:42 mark of the final frame.
After Ottawa 67’s defenceman Nikita Okhotyuk scored with 4:01 to go, Leason tied the game up 46 seconds later as he took advantage of a bouncing puck, dangled around Edmonton Oil Kings defender Matthew Robertson and put a backhander past Taylor Gauthier of the Prince George Cougars.
London Knights forward Connor McMichael would find the back of the net 26 seconds after Leason’s goal to complete the comeback for Team Orr, which featured Raiders bench boss Marc Habscheid as an assistant coach.
67’s forward Graeme Clarke matched Leason’s showing for the victors with a goal and an assist each, while Nick Robertson of the Peterborough Petes and Arthur Kaliyev of the Hamilton Bulldogs both had three-point nights for Team Cherry.
Leason and Habscheid will now rejoin the Raiders, who are back in action tomorrow night against the Vancouver Giants in a game that will be broadcast nationally on Sportsnet at 9:30 p.m.
Bader Leaves Raiders
One of the players the Prince Albert Raiders acquired at the Jan. 10 trade deadline is no longer with the club.
The team announced Wednesday afternoon that 17-year-old Bryce Bader, who was picked up in a trade with the Calgary Hitmen, elected to not rejoin the team for personal reasons after flying to Calgary on Sunday, Jan. 13 to write a final exam.
Bader, a second round pick in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft, never played for the Raiders after scoring four goals in 10 games with the Hitmen this season.
In the trade, which also saw the teams swap conditional sixth round draft choices, the Hitmen also acquired the rights to forward Quinn Olson.
A sixth round pick in 2016, the 17-year-old forward has recorded 102 points in 99 games with the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers over the last two seasons.
In addition to committing to the NCAA’s Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, Olson is also ranked 154th in North American Skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
