By Jeff D'Andrea

Raiders ready to Import in draft on Tuesday

Jun 29, 2015 | 6:08 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders will hope the CHL Import Draft will continue to be a source of important talent. The Raiders hold the 17th overall pick in the 2015 CHL Import Draft, to be held on Tuesday.

With that pick, the Raiders should be high enough to select a player that can make an impact as they drafted Simon Stransky 24th overall last year. In 2013 the Raiders picked defenceman Tomas Andrlik Two years ago, they picked a franchise player in Leon Draisaitl with the second overall selection.

“We’ve got a pretty good system going here which is pretty evident from the last couple years,” said Dale Derkatch, the Raiders director of player personnel. “We’ve picked some pretty good players in Draisaitl and Stransky.”

This year, the Raiders have their eyes on a group of players and believe they can make a substantial impact to the team.

“If we can get one of those players, I think we can get a ’97 or ‘98 defenceman that would come in and play in our top four, maybe not initially, but as time goes maybe (he) could be a top-two guy and play on the power play down the line and fit in with our young players for the next player,” said Derkatch. “If it’s not a ’97 or ’98 D, then there are ’97 or ’98 forwards. Right now, we’re looking at a couple guys, one of them is a big forward, very big that could be more of a power guy but could play in your second line as a scorer, then another guy that’s a scorer that could play in your top-six.

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“At 17, we should be getting a player not unlike something like a forward like Stransky or a puck moving D-man.”

Czech Connection

Since the CHL Import Draft was introduced in 1992, players from the Czech Republic have dominated the draft. A total of 411 Czech players have been selected, 138 more than runners up from Russia (273).

The last two selections the Raiders have taken in the Import Draft have been from the Czech Republic, as they selected Simon Stransky 24th overall last year, and Tomas Andrlik in 2013. The Raiders have taken eight Czechs in their history of the Import Draft.

Their most successful Czech they drafted so far was Milan Kraft, who they picked 43rd overall in 1996. He went on to play four years in the NHL.

jdandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea