By Trevor Redden

Redden on the Raiders: Accolade week in P.A.

Oct 19, 2018 | 2:00 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders seem to be having a lot of fun these days.

And how could you not?

Take for example Brett Leason, the 19-year-old forward from Calgary who has burst onto the scene with 26 points in his first 12 games of the season. On Monday, Leason was named the WHL On The Run Player of the Week. On Tuesday, he produced two goals and two assists in the 8-4 victory over Calgary, picking up the league’s first star of the night. On Wednesday, he was one of three Raiders named to Team WHL for this year’s CIBC Canada Russia Challenge, joining Parker Kelly and Ian Scott.

As I got set to interview Brett on Wednesday after the announcement, I quipped that he needs to stop receiving all these accolades, so I don’t have to come interview him every day. Without missing a beat, he smiled and cracked back that it was my choice to come to the rink and he would be happy to take the day off from my questioning.

Despite the banter, he’s been great with the added media spotlight and nothing seems to bother the happy-go-lucky forward.

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That’s the way it’s been so far for the top-seeded Raiders.

Off to New Brunswick

What a great opportunity for Kaiden Guhle and Ozzy Wiesblatt to head to New Brunswick at the end of the month for the U17 Hockey Challenge.

The annual tournament pits three versions of Team Canada (Red, White, and Black) against the top under-17 talent from Sweden, Finland, Russia, the United States, and the Czech Republic.

The selection of Guhle should come as no surprise, as the Raider rookie was the first overall selection in the 2017 bantam draft and has been in the spotlight for some time. Nonetheless, he said he felt a sense of relief when the announcement was made.

“It was a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders, I’ve been thinking about that the last couple days, so it was awesome to get the call,” Guhle said.

As for Wiesblatt, he comes in a little more unheralded as a second-round pick in that same 2017 draft, but he has burst onto the scene this year with two goals and two assists already.

“Putting on the maple leaf for the first time is going to be pretty surreal, I’m just really excited to get things going,” Wiesblatt said.

Worth noting as well is the sentiment shared by Head Coach Marc Habscheid, who feels that Jakob Brook should be heading east as well with the way he’s performed this year.

The future continues to look bright in Prince Albert.

Team WHL

For the first time since 2004, three Raiders will represent Team WHL at the CIBC Canada Russia Challenge.

Back then, it was Rejean Beauchemin, Kyle Chipchura, and Jeremy Colliton taking part in the event. This year, it’s Parker Kelly, Leason, and Ian Scott taking three of the 20 spots afforded to the top under-20 players in the league.

For Scott, it’s a bit of a changing of the guard in the WHL as he’s been overshadowed at times by ’98 goaltenders like Carter Hart and Stuart Skinner. With those two moved on to the professional ranks, he has a chance to take the mantle as top dog in the league, and his performance so far has been exceptional.

As for Kelly, nothing has come easy for the fourth-year Raider forward. A seventh-round pick in the WHL, he played his way onto the team as a 16-year-old. After going undrafted in the NHL draft, he converted a rookie camp invite into an entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators. While it’s taken him a while to get some recognition amongst the best the league has to offer, his time has now come.

Leason, he’s a whole other story. On Oct. 25 of last year, the Raiders acquired him for a third-round pick from the Tri-City Americans. At that point, Leason produced 19 points in 81 games in the WHL. With the Raiders, Leason found his groove with 32 points in 54 games last season, including an eight-game point streak late in the season.

Despite going undrafted the last two years, Leason is no longer under the radar as TSN’s Craig Button indicated on twitter this week that he’ll be listed in his next top 75 list of prospects for the 2019 NHL Draft.

The week ahead

There’s just one game on tap this weekend as the Raiders welcome the Spokane Chiefs to the Art Hauser Centre on Saturday night, but it promises to be a great matchup.

The Chiefs were my pre-season choice to come out of the Western Conference, and boast an impressive lineup including New Jersey Devils first-round pick Ty Smith on the blueline, 2018 draft prospect with local roots Luke Toporowski, and standout 16-year-old Jack Finley. Despite this being the final game of a gruelling six-game trip through the East Division, the Chiefs will be raring to go against the red-hot Raiders.

Next week, it’s another US foe as the Everett Silvertips come to town. The ‘Tips include three 2018 NHL draft picks in Connor Dewar [Minnesota], Riley Sutter [Washington], and Wyatte Wylie [Philadelphia], as well as draft-eligible Dustin Wolf in net.

On Wednesday, the Raiders head to Moose Jaw for their second matchup this year against the Warriors, who have picked up points in their last six games heading into the weekend.

See you at the rink!

trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden