The Raiders are home for the next four games as they move closer to locking down the number one seed. (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Trevor Redden

Redden on the Raiders

Redden on the Raiders: Sharpened focus as playoffs draw near

Feb 22, 2019 | 11:00 AM

With ten games remaining in the 2018-19 WHL season, the Prince Albert Raiders are closing in on clinching first place in the conference and in the league.

To ensure first place overall, and home ice throughout the playoffs, the Raiders need a combination of nine points gained by Prince Albert and/or lost by Everett. Here in the Eastern Conference, that number is just six points gained by the Raiders and/or lost by Saskatoon.

There is still a chance that one of these teams can overtake Prince Albert, but it would require a significant stumble from the team that has led the way all year long.

Given this relative comfort level, I asked head coach Marc Habscheid about how the team approaches the final four weeks, and he said it’s a balance of working on the right things while prioritizing the rest.

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“When in doubt, rest. That’s a motto I have with these guys. They play a lot of hockey, there’s a lot of travel,” Habscheid said. “They are teenagers, but at the same time fatigue does come into play.”

As for sharpening up their game heading into the postseason, he said the video available to the team is good enough that you can handle a lot of the detailed work off the ice. That way, practice time is made more efficient and the players aren’t overloaded with anything they don’t need.

This is uncharted waters for a team that hasn’t finished in first place since 1985, but Habscheid and assistant coach Jeff Truitt have both navigated championship teams and know what it takes at this time of year.

Big night for Gregor

Noah Gregor showed what he’s capable of on Monday afternoon as he exploded for two goals and a pair of assists against the Moose Jaw Warriors in the 4-3 win. This snapped a three-game pointless drought for the San Jose prospect and helped him into eighth place league wide with 77 points on the year.

The forward said it was a much-needed output both personally and for the team.

“Myself, I hadn’t been playing to the best of my abilities the last few games, and the team hadn’t been either,” Gregor said. “It was a huge game for us to have that full effort for the most part. We gave up a few late, but we really liked our team effort.”

Gregor will obviously be a huge part of what happens with this team once the playoffs start, and recent history paints a positive picture. Last spring with Victoria, Gregor was third amongst all Royals with 12 points in 11 playoff games. In first on that team was current Stockton Heat forward Matthew Phillips with 19 points, and second with 14 points was fellow Raider Dante Hannoun.

Winter Games

The Raiders have to be thrilled with what they’ve seen from their prospects at the Canada Winter Games in Red Deer this week.

Through Thursday’s action, third overall pick Nolan Allan had four goals and three assists for six points in five games. Logan Linklater, a sixth round pick out of Kindersley, had four goals of his own. Team Saskatchewan fell 6-3 to Quebec in the semi finals and will now face Saskatchewan in Friday’s bronze medal game.

Saskatchewan also boasts Marek Schneider, Logan Cox [one goal, one assist], Ashton Ferster [two goals, one assist], and Gabriel Klassen [two goals, two assists] from the Prince Albert Mintos.

Raider prospect Tayem Gislason, another sixth-round pick in 2018, suited up for Team Manitoba and has an assist so far as Manitoba wraps up in a placement game Friday.

Second-round pick Tyson Laventure has four goals in five games with Team Alberta heading into Friday’s bronze medal game. Alberta fell 8-4 to Ontario in Thursday night’s semifinal.

It’s rare to see a team at the top of the standings with such a well-stocked prospect pipeline, but that’s what GM Curtis Hunt and company have been able to do over the last few years. With four 2003-born players at the Canada Games and three 2002-born players [Jakob Brook, Kaiden Guhle, Ozzy Wiesblatt] already excelling in the WHL, the future continues to look bright.

Weekend ahead

Friday night will be the 74th and final regular season meeting between the Prince Albert Raiders and the Kootenay ICE with the franchise set to move to Winnipeg at the end of this season. The ICE are in sixth-place in the Central Division, and will be missing the playoffs this year for the fourth straight season after making it in for their first 17 years in Cranbrook. Despite a down year, there is plenty of reason to watch this team with highly-touted NHL draft prospect Peyton Krebs leading the way. The ICE also feature ex-Raider goaltender Curtis Meger, who is as good of a person as there is. Here’s hoping he gets the nod as starter come game time.

On Saturday, it’s the third battle in eight days with the Brandon Wheat Kings. The Wheaties enter the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the WHL having won five straight games, including two over Prince Albert last weekend. Brandon is currently locked in a battle with Calgary and Red Deer for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

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trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden