Tim Vanstone spent five years with the green and gold, serving as captain for the last two. Now, he's cheering the Raiders on to victory. (Jeff D'Andrea/paNOW Staff)

By Trevor Redden

Alumni on board

Vanstone a proud alum as Raiders chase title

May 9, 2019 | 1:55 PM

After playing 299 games in a Prince Albert Raiders uniform, Tim Vanstone has now transitioned into a fan of the team.

Just two years ago, Vanstone was the captain of a Raider squad that included the likes of current players Zack Hayes, Brayden Pachal, Max Martin, Spencer Moe, Cole Fonstad, Sean Montgomery, Parker Kelly, and Ian Scott. As this year’s team battles for a WHL title, he still feels a strong connection to the group.

“I think it’s a sense of pride for anyone who has put on the green and gold. Especially for me being 20 when lots of the kids in that dressing room were 17. You’re just so proud of those guys, the city, the team, the hockey ops, they all deserve it. That city deserves it and I wish them all the best,” Vanstone said.

Ahead of Friday night’s opening game of the Rogers WHL Championship series, Vanstone made the trip to Prince Albert along with some fellow alumni so that he could be in the building to support his former team.

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Vanstone’s connection with the team started when he was drafted in the third round, 52^nd overall by the Raiders in the 2011 bantam draft. Vanstone joined the club as a 16-year-old in the 2012-13 season. It was a challenging rookie season for him, but he fondly recalls the camaraderie in the room among the team and staff, specifically the antics of athletic therapist Duane ‘Puff’ Bartley.

“I didn’t play a lot when I was 16, and granted I probably shouldn’t have, and I didn’t score a lot either. Every intermission, Puff was trying to do something to my stick, making sure it was ready to go by maybe tapering it here, taper it there. But lots of the time he’d drill a hole in my plug and put an outlet charger into my stick to charge it up hoping that next period my first one would come,” Vanstone remembered with a laugh.

“The camaraderie between Puff and hockey ops, I think the behind the scenes guys are just as important, he’s one of my best friends and he truly deserves this coming into the WHL Championship.”

Over the course of five seasons in Prince Albert, Vanstone became one of the most recognizable players on the team, designated as captain for his last two years.

When he looks back now, he thinks of a city that completely embraced the team in good times and bad.

“You feel so special in that community because it’s close-knit, and you’re going to minor hockey practices, you’re going to read with the Raiders. You’re going out in the community and they know your name and your face even if you don’t have your jersey on,” he said.

“The sense of pride you have in being a Raider in that city is second to none. Early in my career it was a bit of a revolving door, but when I was 18 the concrete came, it was cool to be a Raider, you want to be a Raider. When I was 20 and going out that door for the final time, talking to Dave Manson and Marc Habscheid, you think of that sense of pride that came back to that room.”

Since leaving Prince Albert, Vanstone has been enrolled in business at the University of Calgary, continuing to play hockey with the Dinos men’s hockey program. This year, Vanstone produced 13 points in 27 games played as the Dinos advanced to the Canada West semifinal after beating Lethbridge in round one before falling to the University of Alberta Golden Bears.

Now back home in Swift Current for the summer, Vanstone will continue to keep a close eye on the Raiders as the pursue a title.

Now leading the Vancouver Giants 3-1, the Raiders have an opportunity to earn the franchise’s first WHL Championship since 1985 on Friday night in Langley.

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trevor_redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden