Accompanied by former teammates Craig Anderson, Chris Neil, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Chris Phillips sends his number to the rafters in Ottawa. (Canadian Press)

By Trevor Redden

Redden on the Raiders

Redden on the Raiders: Phillips honoured in Ottawa, Kelly gaining traction in Belleville

Feb 21, 2020 | 5:00 PM

It was a proud week for the Prince Albert Raider organization as alumnus Chris Phillips had his number retired in a ceremony on Tuesday night by the Ottawa Senators.

After his first year in Prince Albert, Phillips was drafted first overall by the Senators in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, but would be sent back to junior for one more season. He started the year in Prince Albert and made it midway through the season before being dealt to the eventual champion Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Two seasons ago, Phillips was inducted into the Raiders Wall of Honour, and recalled then what it was like to make his first trip to Prince Albert for rookie camp in the fall of 1993.

“It was a long drive [from Fort McMurray], and really kind of surreal at that time,” Phillips said. “Walking into the dressing room of a WHL team was a huge deal when you’re 14 or 15. Some of the guys that had been drafted were around…guys like [Shayne] Toporowski and some of those guys were back skating. Seeing them got me excited to come back and be a part of it.”

As a 16-year-old, Phillips didn’t come to Prince Albert as he chose to stay home in Fort McMurray and play with the Oil Barons of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. He wanted to stay home to be close to his parents who were dealing with health issues at the time.

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Then at 17, he finally got the chance to become a full-time WHL player.

“It didn’t disappoint. It was a great group of guys that made it fun to be around, on the bus, on the road, in the dressing room. When you’re comfortable and having fun, it makes the whole experience more rewarding.”

That first season, Phillips put up 40 points in 61 regular season games and was a key part of the team’s run to the East Division final.

After beating Medicine Hat 4-1 in round one, the Raiders defeated the Regina Pats in seven games in the East semifinal, earning a matchup with the Brandon Wheat Kings who finished the regular season ranked number one.

The run then came to an end with Brandon winning the series in six games before dropping Spokane in five to represent the WHL at the 1996 Memorial Cup in Peterborough.

Returning to Prince Albert as an 18-year-old, Phillips played in 32 games before being dealt to Lethbridge where he helped the Hurricanes win the first WHL Championship in franchise history. They would advance all the way to the Memorial Cup final before falling to Hull by a 5-1 score.

From there, Phillips made the jump to the pros and never looked back, playing 18 seasons in Ottawa and becoming the Senators all-time leader in games played.

On Tuesday, he joined Daniel Alfredsson and Frank Finnigan as the only three players to have their numbers retired.

Congratulations to the Big Rig.

Kelly finding his role in Belleville

This week on the CKBI Overtime Podcast, I caught up with Raider alumnus Parker Kelly, who is enjoying a strong rookie season with the Belleville Senators.

So far, Kelly has 12 points in 48 games for the North Division leading Senators.

Early in the season, he found himself in and out of the lineup and struggled to find a consistent role, but he acknowledged that he’s been able to find a bit more of a rhythm over the last couple months.

“When you’re in and out of the lineup you don’t really want to be taking penalties, so I think my game defaulted to being a bit more cautious to start,” Kelly said.

“Now with some injuries and some guys being recalled to Ottawa, I’ve had a chance to play a bit more and bring more of that tenacious, playing on the edge style. I’ll always have that, but there’s other things that will help me get to the NHL. Stick detail, defensive zone, penalty kill, all that kind of stuff.”

Five of Kelly’s eight goals on the season have been scored in the last 17 games played.

Weekend trip

Just one game on the schedule for the Raiders this weekend, a Saturday night clash in Brandon against the Wheat Kings.

Prince Albert enters the weekend holding onto top spot in the East Division with a two-point cushion on Winnipeg and six points on Brandon.

This is the third meeting of the year between Prince Albert and Brandon, with the Raiders winning twice on home ice and the Wheat Kings winning their lone game at Westoba Place. The last showdown was on Saturday, a 4-1 Raider victory at the Art Hauser Centre.

Brandon plays three games in three days this weekend, with the Raider game sandwiched between a Friday home date against Edmonton and a Sunday trip to Regina.

As for second-place Winnipeg, the ICE have the weekend off before starting a three-game Alberta road trip on Tuesday.

Saturday’s game will be available on Great Canadian Oil Change Raider Radio on CKBI with pre-game signing on at 7 p.m.

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trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden