Redden on the Raiders: 500 for Habscheid

Saturday night after the Raiders’ 6-5 victory in Lethbridge, head coach Marc Habscheid secured his 500^th career win in the WHL. Habscheid is just the eighth coach in league history to reach that milestone, joining Don Hay, Ken Hodge, Don Nachbaur, Lorne Molleken, Mike Williamson, Ernie ‘Punch’ McLean, and Pat Ginnell. He’s also projected to reach another milestone on Monday afternoon as he coaches in his 1,000^th career game.

As for the record-setting moment, even he didn’t know it had happened.

“You know what? I had no idea,” Habscheid said.

The coach went into the room to address the players after the win as usual, and as he turned to leave, they asked him where he was going. Cole Fonstad was the previous recipient of the top hat given out by the team to the player of the game each night, and he presented it to Habscheid for reaching the milestone.

Habscheid wore the top hat proudly postgame, and even beyond that according to captain Brayden Pachal.

“We got our group picture, and Marc’s been wearing that top hat ever since and I don’t think he’s going to be giving that up soon,” Pachal said.

After the top hat presentation, Habscheid treated the team to ice cream before hitting the road back home.

Habscheid’s impact

It takes a lot of work from a lot of people to build a winning team. Over the past four seasons, the group led by Habscheid and Curtis Hunt has done a remarkable job of creating the team that we get to see night in and night out this year.

Of course, there are many others that have had huge contributions from athletic therapist Duane Bartley to coaches like Dave Manson, Jeff Truitt, and Dan Gendur, and then the scouting staff that was led for the past few years by Ron Gunville. That’s just a handful of the many names that have gone into building this team up, but in light of his 500^th win, I asked a few people about what Habscheid has meant.

Fonstad is in his third full season in Prince Albert after being drafted fifth overall in 2015. Habscheid is the only head coach he’s had in the WHL.

“He’s been good for me, personally, over my three years here,” Fonstad said. “He’s taught me a lot, I know I definitely wouldn’t be the player I am and wouldn’t have gotten to where I’ve gotten without him. He’s taught me a lot about playing away from the puck and how to get in the right spots without the puck to make yourself successful. And then I think the relationship that he builds with his players is something special.”

Brayden Pachal came to the Raiders from the Victoria Royals in the 2016-17 season and has now blossomed into one of the premier defenders in the league.

“[500 wins] is pretty special for a coach. There’s not many in league history that have done that, so that just shows how great of a coach he is,” Pachal said.

“The big thing with Marc that I’ve never experienced is the care that he has for his players. He’s part of the family, and that’s a big thing. It shows his trust in us and we trust him back. He does things for us that other coaches don’t do, and I think that shows his personal side of the game that really helps our team.”

Assistant coach Jeff Truitt has been beside Habscheid for around 40 per cent of those 500 wins, having served as assistant coach in Kelowna for four successful seasons and now this one in Prince Albert.

“Marc is a world-class teacher, a world-class coach. He’s coached world championships, world juniors, Memorial Cup champions. What more can you say about him?” Truitt said. “He teaches, he cares about the players and cares about our culture and what it stands for. It’s about the team, all the time.”

It’s been a special year so far, and like anybody else that’s been following the team, I’m looking forward to seeing what the postseason brings. The Raiders have a rare combination of coaching experience, high-end skill, depth, and goaltending that teams need as the weather starts to turn. Now it’s just a matter of seeing where the chips fall.

As for what lies ahead beyond this season, we still don’t have any answers. When the subject of staffing for next season was brought up post-deadline with GM Curtis Hunt, he declined comment on his own status or that of the coaching staff, with all contracts set to expire at the end of this year.

As for Habscheid, he wasn’t able to provide any further illumination when asked for an update this week on his status beyond this season.

“No, nothing. Haven’t heard anything so I really don’t know what’s going on. That’s all I can say,” Habscheid said.

The week ahead

Aside from a few milestones this past week, the Raiders continue to pile up the wins as they ride a nine-game winning streak into the weekend.

If the regular season ended right now, this team would have the fifth-highest win total in franchise history with 46, but there are still 13 games to play.

This weekend it’s a home-and-home set against the Brandon Wheat Kings beginning Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre. This is the first meeting between the two teams since Dec. 7. Brandon is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2012-13 as they sit six points back of Calgary for the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference with 15 games to play.

On Monday, the Raiders host Moose Jaw for a 4 p.m. family day affair at the Art Hauser Centre. The Warriors enter the weekend sitting comfortably in third place in the East Division. Moose Jaw is 10 points back of Saskatoon for second, and 13 points up on fourth-place Brandon.

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trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden

by Trevor Redden

Redden on the Raiders: 500 for Habscheid

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