Defending champs open regular season tonight

Year of Adjustments

On Wednesday, Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid spoke at the annual Prince Albert Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Among other topics covered, he discussed how this season especially early on will be a year of adjustments.

Firstly, for young players it’s an adjustment to come into a new culture and a new city. They will learn what the Raiders are all about, how to train, how to treat people, and how to become a team. He acknowledged this adjustment will be made much easier by the hardware sitting in the room, making players want to buy in to a winning culture.

Second, he talked about the adjustment to new roles for returning players. On opening night, all four players who wore a letter last season will not be here, as Sean Montgomery as aged out while Brayden Pachal, Zack Hayes, and Parker Kelly remain with their respective NHL clubs. With that, there will be new roles to be filled on the ice and in the room.

I think there is a lot to be excited about this year, with a strong core of returning blueliners like Max Martin, Jeremy Masella, and Kaiden Guhle in the lineup on opening night even without Pachal and Hayes. Up front, there’s a lot to like with Cole Fonstad, Spencer Moe, Justin Nachbaur, Aliaksei Protas, Eric Pearce, Ozzy Wiesblatt, and Jakob Brook all coming back to the team. Between the pipes, I believe Boston Bilous has everything it takes to be an outstanding starting goaltender in this league. Don’t forget that last fall he was on NHL Central Scouting’s radar, and he will have every opportunity to run with the position.

Having said that, there are a lot of question marks heading into the season as well when you’re looking at players stepping into new roles, rookies adjusting to a new league, and uncertainty with regard to the three overage spots as Pachal and Hayes remain at the professional level for the time being.

Campers

Speaking of those away at NHL camps, I believe that Pachal and Hayes are the only two that you could expect to potentially come back to the team at this point. But even that isn’t guaranteed as by all accounts they’ve left an impression in Vegas and Anaheim respectively.

Aliaksei Protas made an impact on Monday night with a goal and two assists in his NHL exhibition debut with the Capitals. On Wednesday he was penciled in to play on the wing, but due to an injury that kept Lars Eller out of the lineup for the game Protas slid to centre. While he didn’t show up on the scoresheet, the Capitals radio announcers were singing his praises toward the end of the game as they were impressed with everything he brought to the table. He was released back to Prince Albert on Thursday, one day ahead of the opener.

Also in D.C., Brett Leason made his NHL debut in some impressive company on Wednesday, picking up an assist on a line with Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin. A memorable start to say the least. All indications are that Leason will stay in the Capitals organization this year, likely starting out with the AHL’s Hershey Bears.

In our nation’s capital, Parker Kelly is doing what he does. A quick Twitter search after Tuesday’s game against the Maple Leafs in St. John’s turned up no less than 30 tweets from fans of both teams either praising or disapproving of his pesky behaviour on the ice. Just as he did in Prince Albert, he’s quickly made a name for himself in Ottawa and he’ll be given an opportunity to make an impact at the AHL level right off the bat.

Ian Scott attended camp with Toronto for the third straight year and has been re-assigned to the Marlies this week along with Sergei Sapego. The expectation coming in, as far as I could tell, was that Scott and Joseph Woll would be battling for an opportunity in the AHL. Woll has missed camp due to a broken finger, so Scott will have a chance to establish a foothold in the meantime. Don’t expect either Scott or Sapego to be back in the junior ranks this year.

You can also keep an eye on a couple of Raider alumni as Noah Gregor battles for a spot in San Jose, and Dante Hannoun looks for opportunity in the Bruins organization.

Rivalry weekend

What better way to kick off the season than a home-and-home set with the Saskatoon Blades?

The Blades were ranked third overall in the pre-season edition of the Kia CHL Top 10 rankings, top among all WHL teams, and carry high expectations into this season. Saskatoon has surely had this weekend circled since the schedule came out as a chance to get some form of revenge on the Raiders after last season’s second-round matchup.

While the Blades are built to win this year with the likes of goaltender Nolan Maier, overage defencemen Scott Walford and Nolan Kneen, and forwards like Ryan Hughes, Eric Florchuk, and Kyle Crnkovic, there remain a couple question marks.

The biggest one is star forward Kirby Dach, the third-overall selection by the Chicago Blackhawks in June’s NHL Entry Draft. Dach is currently with the Blackhawks, though he is in concussion protocol and hasn’t been able to suit up for a pre-season game yet. The Blades will be patiently waiting to see if the centre is returned to the Bridge City, or if he finds a permanent home in Chicago this year.

Elsewhere, captain Chase Wouters remains in camp with the Anaheim Ducks after being invited to rookie camp. As a 19-year-old, Wouters would not be eligible to play in the AHL so it is almost certain he will be back in the WHL sooner or later. When he gets sent back remains to be determined.

Back on the air

As always, we’ll have all the action live on CKBI all season long, with pre-game hitting the air 30 minutes before puck drop.

You can also listen in to this week’s edition of the brand new Overtime podcast, with GM Curtis Hunt sitting in the studio this week.

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trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden

by Trevor Redden

Defending champs open regular season tonight

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