Preseason premonitions

The Raiders head into Friday’s home preseason opener against Saskatoon with 27 players.

Considering there will eventually be two cuts in goal and one among the four overage candidates, barring trades the team is very close to it regular season contingent. 

The first two preseason games this past weekend at the Regina tournament was about giving the youngsters a long look and there are reasons to be positive.

While the youthful defense had difficulty with the pressure applied by the Pats in Friday’s 7-4 loss, puck movement and neutral zone speed improved considerably the following night as there was a much more composed and poised performance.  

The 15-year-olds improved steadily which is what you would expect from the top three picks Cole Fonstad, Carson Miller and Spencer Moe who had a goal and as assist in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the more experienced Calgary Hitmen crew. However defenseman Lane Kirk also left after making a big impression on Raider brass. The 5th round pick from Manitoba selected 97th overall played and played well in all situations. He also bounced back after taking a huge and borderline dirty hit into the end boards from huge 19-year-old Hitmen defenseman Micheal Zipp.

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16 year-old defenseman Ty Prefontaine was among the graduating training camp rookies who struggled on opening night and adjusted nicely to the picked up pace of preseason in game two. Cody Paivarinta who is a year older and a few inches taller had a strong weekend combining size and mobility. The next step for the Vancouver area product is packing on a few muscular pounds and increasing his strength.

Speaking of rearguards, Brennan Riddle had his biggest game in a Raider uniform against the Pats with a goal, two assists and a plus-4 rating and also looked regular season ready on Saturday.  

Luke Coleman sat out against Regina but the 17-year-old who played the final 14 games with the Raiders last season made up for it against the Hitmen. The power forward who had been nursing a training camp game induced charley horse scored an impressive unassisted goal and rung another shot off the cross bar while terrorizing Calgary defensemen all game. That type of effort will make the robust Red Deer area product a fan favorite at the Art Hauser Centre.  

It will likely take at least the next four games to sort out the goaltending situation. Curtis Meger shook off an obvious case of nerves in Friday’s opener in his home town in which he surrendered 6 goals on 15 shots including a couple he would like to have back. The 17-year-old from Regina looked much more comfortable and confident Saturday. 16-year-old Ian Scott also played well enough to at least get further perusal over the next four preseason games and we haven’t even seen incumbents Nick McBride and Rylan Parenteau in game action yet. 

The coaching staff now has a workable number of twenty-seven players to start teaching systems and set protocol while preparing for the regular season. Meanwhile expect to see a more veteran lineup in Friday’s preseason home opener against the Saskatoon Blades. Admission for that game is free.

dwilson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: RaidersVoice