By Jeff D'Andrea

‘Pesky’ Parker produces in preseason; GM Hunt on trade

Sep 15, 2016 | 9:48 PM

When Parker Kelly made the Prince Albert Raiders last season as a 16-year-old, he overcame several obstacles—the fact he was a seventh round pick and his small, wiry frame.

But his sights are set much higher this year than simply making team—he wants to be a key contributor.

Kelly certainly has been this preseason, as he leads the Raiders in preseason scoring with seven points and in three contests. He added two goals and an assist to his stats in Thursday’s 6-3 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors at the Art Hauser Centre.

“One of the goals I had coming into the preseason was try to build my confidence and get on the scoresheet a few times,” Kelly said. “Now with the NHL guys gone [at rookie camps], it’s brought more opportunity for guys that were lower in the lineup last year. I’m just trying to take advantage of that right now and build up for the regular season and fight for a spot on the second or third lines.”

Kelly, who had 19 points in 68 games last year in his rookie season, already earned the respect of his coaching staff last year. He’s only increased it now in his second go.

Golden in Finland

Ritchie, Canada beats United States 6-4 to win under-18 men's world hockey championship

May 05, 2024

Red Dress Day

P.A. comes together to mark Red Dress Day

May 05, 2024

TOP CHEFS

P.A. firefighters show off their best cooking skills and win big

May 05, 2024

“He played pretty good for us last year as a 16-year-old,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said. “He’s a guy that’s quick, he’s on the puck, he’s a pain in the rear end to play against. He’s got a lot going for him. He’s small, but he has a big heart.”

Last year’s captain Tim Vanstone, who’s one of five overagers on the Raiders’ roster and one of two currently with the team, is tied with Kelly in preseason points with seven. He scored five of them on Thursday, a goal and four assists, and was named the game’s first star.

Although he had a monster night, Vanstone was quick to dismiss it.

“It’s all hot air, it doesn’t count anyways,” Vanstone smiled. “It was nice to get a couple in the back of the net, but it doesn’t count. It’s a nice confidence booster.”

Josh Maser, Sean Montgomery and Carson Miller also added goals for the Raiders.

Raiders goaltender Curtis Meger made 21 saves on 22 shots during the second half of the game. Habscheid said it was the best he’s seen Meger play as a Raider. Ian Scott stopped 18 of 20 in the first half of the game.

The Warriors got their goals from Luka Burzan, Jayden Halbgewachs and Tristin Langan.

Suspended sophomore

The Raiders were without the services of Raiders sophomore Drew Warkentine Thursday, who was serving his first of a three-game suspension. He received the ban for a crosschecking major during a preseason game against the Saskatoon Blades Sept. 10 in Warman. Warkentine will also miss the Raiders’ final preseason game Friday in Swift Current, and their first regular season contest Sept. 23 on the road against the Regina Pats.

Striking deals

Prior to Thursday’s contest, the Raiders acquired Nic Holowko on Thursday from the Seattle Thunderbirds, in exchange for Layne Bensmiller and a conditional pick in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft.

A big factor in making the deal for Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt was Holowko’s size and speed.

“Bigger and faster, in both cases. This is a guy, to me, that can provide us with a little more size, I know a lot more speed. He’s a good forechecker, a penalty killer and probably an all-situation guy,” Hunt said of Holowko, who had 20 points in 72 games with the Thunderbirds last year. “When I look at teams in our division, they’ve got some size component to them. We do have a lot of smaller players, so I thought it was a real good fit.”

Bensmiller originally came to Prince Albert thanks to a deadline last season from the Calgary Hitmen, but his offensive production did not follow. He had 24 points in 48 games in Calgary, but just six in 30 games in Prince Albert and just one assist in five playoff games.

“That was the tough part, because Layne was a good Raider,” Hunt said. “You can’t disagree that if you look at his numbers, he had a little more success in Calgary but with that being said, our number one centre [Austin Glover] was out for the majority of the time Benny was here last year. Did they ever get the opportunity to create any chemistry?

“To get something, you have to give something up. We say goodbye to Benny, we appreciate what he did and he’ll always be a Raider somewhere inside.”

The Raiders will wrap up their preseason Friday in Swift Current.

jdandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea