Ilya Usau enjoys himself during an outdoor practice at Crescent Acres on Wednesday. (Jeff D’Andrea/paNOW Staff)

By Jeff D'Andrea

Usau

Raiders’ Usau always looking forward

Jan 22, 2020 | 4:56 PM

Hockey players face a ton of pressure from a bunch of different places. Coaches have demands that need to be met in effort and execution. Fans are looking for results. Scouts are looking for all the above.

But nobody puts as much pressure on Prince Albert Raiders forward Ilya Usau than Ilya himself.

Anytime you’d ask him about anything positive, he’ll shut it down. You could ask him about a two-goal, three-point night in a defeat, he’ll say he needed to produce even more to help his team win. So you ask him after a win, but then he’ll talk about all he needs is to clean up some things defensively.

Usau is always looking to improve, even if that means being hard on himself.

“It’s just how it’s always been, my whole life,” Usau said before Wednesday’s outdoor practice at Crescent Acres. “My dad and my coaches are helping me to do that, and I think it’s how it’s supposed to be. It’s the right thing to do.”

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And make no mistake, there’s lots that looks good with Usau so far halfway through his first WHL season, including this highlight reel goal on Saturday in Red Deer against the Rebels in a 4-3 shootout defeat.

Usau is currently fourth in WHL rookie scoring race with 34 points (15 goals) in 39 games with the Raiders. He plays a key role on the Raiders in their top two lines and runs the point on the team’s top power play unit. He represented his native country of Belarus at the Division 1A World Juniors in his original hometown of Minsk, Belarus.

He also skyrocketed up in the NHL Central Scouting midterm rankings, shooting up to 63 after being rated a ‘C’ rated prospect in the preliminary rankings.

“It’s good to see, but right now we’re just focusing on the team,” Usau said. “It’s before the playoff stretch, things are getting tough and teams are catching up. We’re just trying to play for the team, get as many points as we can for the playoffs, and go from there. The midterm rankings are not a top priority right now.”

Outdoors

Usau and the rest of the Raiders skated outdoors for a change. They got back to their ODR roots at Crescent Acres for their Wednesday practice.

The Raiders are taking on the two best teams in the WHL Central Division this week, the first place Edmonton Oil Kings (30-7-6-3) and the second place Medicine Hat Tigers (29-13-1-1). Both games will be at the Art Hauser Centre, with puck drops slated for shortly after 7 p.m.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW