Lockout, shmockout; there’s tons of great hockey right here

Regardless of what happens with the NHL lockout, hockey fans in Prince Albert will still have plenty of good hockey to watch in the second half of this season.

Not only is there hockey teams to watch here, but teams that have proven themselves as contenders after the first half.

The Raiders

The Prince Albert Raiders are gunning for their first division pennant since the 1998-1999 season and have a 10 point lead over the next best team in the WHL East Division.

Why you should be excited

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If you’re not excited about the Raiders, there’s not much hope for you. It looks like the team has finally is a legitimate contender, for not only this year but next year as well.

Player to look for

Dylan Busenius—The Raiders power play is currently ranked third last in the WHL at 15.2 per cent. Before joining the Raiders on New Year’s, Busenius anchored the Medicine Hat Tigers power play, which is fourth at 22.3 per cent. He’s 10th in scoring among WHL defencemen with 27 points in 38 games, so he should be able to help the Raiders on the PP. They’re the third best team in even-strength situations at +33, so if they can get their PP clicking… watch out. He’s also been in three playoff runs with the Tigers, getting to the conference final in 2010-2011, so he can provide some leadership during the playoffs.

The Mintos

The Prince Albert Mintos are currently first in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League, trying to make it the third consecutive year they’ve finished first in the regular season.

Why you should be excited

It took the Mintos until the second half last year to show their true colours, where they went 16-1-1-1 after the holiday break to improve to from fifth to first place. This year, the Mintos are already clicking much like they did in the second half last year, going 19-5-2 and went the entire month of November without a loss. Truthfully, the Mac’s couldn’t have gone any worse, going 0-3-1 with a flu ridden and having equipment manager Dan ‘Cobra’ Taylor suffer a stroke, but flus go away and Taylor is stable in hospital.

Player to look for

Lance Yaremchuk—Forget the fact he’s a Raiders draft pick (6th round in 2011) and that he’s from P.A., this kid can flat out play. He was one of the fastest skaters in the SMAAAHL last year as a 15-year-old, and looks twice as fast this season. He’s currently tied for the league lead in goals with 23 in 26 games, and is third in the league with 38 points. It’s not just the Yaremchuk show either, three other Mintos are in the top 10 in scoring as well (Jason Duret, 34 points, fifth; Kylar Hope, 32 points, eighth; Justin Boyer, 31 points, 10th.)

‘Da’ Bears

The Prince Albert A&W Bears are in second place in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League and had a semifinal berth to the Mac’s Midget AAA Tournament in Calgary over the Christmas holidays.

Why you should be excited

The Bears haven’t finished second of higher since the 2009-2010 season, but did so in the first half of this season. They’re only going to get better as they have a lot of very young talent, including 13-year-old D Brooke Hobson, who probably could have made the team last year as a 12-year-old. Hobson leads all Bears’ D in scoring with 10 points in 16 games, and scored in her only game last year as a 12-year-old AP. Goaltender Jessica Vance is in her third year as a goalie despite being only 15, has a .937 save percentage and 1.77 goals against average.

Player to look for

Kelly Regnier- She’s on a goal-per-game pace with 15 so far this year, good for first in the league. Earlier this season, Regnier previously broke the Bears franchise goals record of 40. The 17-year-old third year player from St. Louis already has 42 with half a season left to play.

I don’t have enough space to review every team in P.A. or the area that’s doing well. Tell us how your team is doing this season in the comment section below.