Is it a sign?

When Prince Albert’s ball dropped in Wednesday’s bingo style draft lottery giving the Raiders the first overall pick in May’s WHL bantam draft, it could be interpreted as a sign the fortunes for the franchise are turning around.

General manager Curtis Hunt and player personnel director Ron Gunville have a chance to select the player they feel will be the best fit for their short and long term goals. Many scouts will tell you that player is Kaiden Guhle, the younger brother of former Raider first round pick Brendan Guhle who looks destined for a career with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres.

The younger offspring of the Guhle household is already 6’1″ and 165 lbs. More importantly the skilled defenseman put up impressive numbers, namely 17 goals and 23 assists in 30 regular season games with OHA Edmonton prep. Big brother Brendan had nine goals and 15 assists in 32 bantam AAA games with Sherwood Park in the 2011-12 season. Don’t be surprised if Kaiden becomes the second Guhle to join the Raider family. The Raiders also have the option of taking Kelowna’s first round pick, 17th overall on May 4.

The foundation for the future is already solid with goaltender Ian Scott, defensemen Zack Hayes, Max Martin, Brayden Pachal, and last year’s first round draft choice Rhett Rhinehart. The forward core group includes last season’s offensively emerging 17-year-old assistant captain Parker Kelly whose pesky and pugnacious persona preceded his pace setting point production. Not to be forgotten are the soon to be 17-year-old sophomores Cole Fonstad, Carson Miller and Spencer Moe.

Hunt’s compilation of collected picks stemming from his copious amounts of trades in the first three rounds of the next two bantam drafts, allows the opportunity to continue the building and restocking process while also making trades targeted at taking the team into contention when the time is right.

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The organization is on the right track and if this past season is any indication, Hunt is developing into a very shrewd dealer on the WHL trade front.

But will the fans respond?

Casual fans bailed on this team in November and missed some memorable moments in the second half. The team won more than it lost in the final 25 games with a record of 13-10-2. At home, they were 6-3-0-1 in the final ten Art Hauser Centre appearances.

The final game against Saskatoon drew almost 3,000 fans producing a loud, raucous Art Hauser Centre experience which helped spur the Raiders on to a 5-1 victory. However, considering the Raiders were playing their best hockey of the season and capable of beating any team with a style that was fast, physical and entertaining, it should have been a total sellout at 3,366.      

Average attendance in 2016-17 was 2,133, a decrease of 236 from the season before. Fan support has dropped off steadily since spiking at an average of 2,674 in 2012-13. The fan support from this past season simply won’t cut it financially in today’s WHL. There is little doubt this team is improving and needs the fan support to reflect that.

dwilson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: RaidersVoice