By Jeff D'Andrea

Raiders’ Guhle added to Top Prospects Game; other notes

Jan 19, 2015 | 3:32 PM

Thanks to Monday’s announcement, the Prince Albert Raiders will be represented twice at the BMO Top Prospects Game Jan. 22 in St. Catharine’s, Ont.

Raiders defenceman Brendan Guhle added to Team Cherry on Monday, replacing the injured Mitchell Vande Sompell of the Oshawa Generals. Guhle has 15 points in 45 games with the Raiders this season. He was ranked 38^th overall in the latest TSN Craig’s List prospects list, being ranked as high as 29^th on that list this year.

Guhle joins goaltender Nick McBride, who was originally announced as a participant in the game. He’s on Team Orr, so the Raiders teammates will be playing against each other in the game.

Also added to the game this year are Glenn Gawdin of the Swift Current Broncos and Michael McNiven of the Owen Sound Attack.

The Top Prospects Game features 40 of the top CHL players, who are eligible for this year’s NHL Entry Draft.

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Top line needs to carry Raiders

In the Raiders two losses this weekend, their top-line consisting of Reid Gardiner, Jordan Tkatch and Craig Leverton were all held scoreless.

But in the Raiders previous three-game winning streak from Jan. 7- Jan. 10, the top-line was in form. They combined for five goals and six assists, with Gardiner and Leverton scored a pair of goals each.

Getting production from the ‘All Sask All-Star line’ is going to be crucial for the Raiders as they will fight for a playoff spot in the final two months of the season. Gardiner leads the team in scoring with 21 goals and 38 points. Tkatch and Leverton are ranked third and fourth in Raiders scoring with 33 and 32 points, respectively.

The Raiders have gotten some excellent offensive contributions from elsewhere in their lineup in recent games, specifically from their second and third lines, but as the saying goes, your best players need to be your best players.

Reunited Rockets rolling

When he arrived in the Josh Morrissey blockbuster from the Kelowna Rockets, Austin Glover was just getting his legs back under him.   Before his tenure with the Raiders started, Glover had only played in one game after missing the previous 12 from Nov. 8- Dec. 10 with an upper body injury.

Glover registered two assists in his first eight games, while also playing on the third line.

But Glover’s offensive production has grown dramatically since the Raiders acquired his former linemate in Kelowna, Kris Schmidli, in the Leon Draisaitl deal. 

Since being reunited with Schmidli for the last five games, Glover has three goals and four points, a huge uptick in production for him. All of those goals opened the scoring for the Raiders in the previous four games.

Schmidli himself has absolutely gone off as well, scoring three goals and eight points in his five games with the Raiders, while earning a +6 rating.

Shooting blanks

The Raiders are ranked dead last in WHL shooting percentage, scoring on just 8.731 per cent of their shots. After Saturday’s game, the Raiders fell slightly below the Seattle Thunderbirds, who are at 8.739 per cent. The Raiders do shoot quite a bit, averaging over 33 shots per game and have outshot their opponents 27 times this season, but haven’t been rewarded for it.

Road warrior Raiders

Six of the Raiders next seven games are on the road, with their lone home game in that span in a Jan. 28 contest against the Saskatoon Blades. The Raiders will play away matches against the Brandon Wheat Kings Jan. 23, Jan. 25 against the Blades, Jan. 30 against the Calgary Hitmen, Jan. 31 against the Red Deer Rebels, ending with a two-game southern Saskatchewan trip Feb. 3-4 against the Regina Pats and Moose Jaw Warriors.

jdandrea@panow.com

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea