Raiders GM Hunt discusses Warkentine deal

Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt saw Warkentine’s last game he played with the Broncos, along with Raiders interim director of player personnel Ron Gunville on Tuesday in Humboldt. Hunt said he’s relying a lot on Gunville’s recommendations, as well as advice from former Raiders director of player personnel Dale Derkatch, but does like what he’s seen from Warkentine.

“What I know about him is he’s a player that can play a high skill game, puck possession game,” said Hunt. “He’s got good vision and should be able to excel on a power play. Being a young player, there’s lots of learning to do. I think we could create an environment with [head coach] Marc Habscheid and his coaching staff. He’ll be able to really flourish and excel.”

In 2014-15, Warkentine skated for the Tisdale Trojans in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League where he compiled 36 goals and 30 assists for 66 points in 44 contests.

The six-foot, 185-pound pivot was selected by the Ice in the fifth round, 89th overall, in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft.

In the deal, the Raiders gave up 18-year-old sophomore Dylan Stewart, as well as a conditional fifth round pick. Hunt said the move could mean more ice-time for Stewart on a young Ice team.

“In the end, we’re allowed to give Stewie an opportunity. He wasn’t going to move up and get those power play opportunities, I felt that this might be a good opportunity for him on a team that’s still trying to find themselves an opportunity to play a little bit more,” said Hunt.

The Raiders also announced the reassignment of forward-defenceman Thomas Lenchyshyn to the Selkirk Steelers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. Although Lenchyshyn made the Raiders out of camp this year, he did not appear in any of the Raiders 11 games to start the year.

“Lench hadn’t been playing at all. For us, we really needed to get guys playing,” said Hunt. “For Lench, it was just time to get him goin’.”

The reassignment puts the Raiders down to 13 forwards and 22 players. That doesn’t include Nick McBride, who left the Raiders on Oct. 1 and is awaiting a trade. When asked about how the process on a possible McBride deal was going, Hunt said he was in discussions with other teams but said he wouldn’t pull the trigger until he got “the right deal.”

The Prince Albert Raiders are back in action Friday night the Art Hauser Centre, hosting the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Funds raised from the Pink in the Rink game will support the Canadian Cancer Society.

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by paNOW Staff

Raiders GM Hunt discusses Warkentine deal

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