Raider fans will get to watch their beloved team once again, but it will be through a screen this year. File photo/paNOW Staff

By Jeff D’Andrea

Time to play boys

Raiders’ GM: ‘Today was a fantastic day to be able to tell them we’re going to play’

Feb 12, 2021 | 4:55 PM

For the past 11 months, Prince Albert Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt has talked to his players on a weekly basis about anything and everything. He said he does his best to support his team mentally and emotionally through all the uncertainty and the impatient waiting games.

But no matter what subject Hunt wanted to address, it always came back to one topic.

“Really, all they wanted to know is — ‘can we play?’” Hunt said.

On Friday, Hunt finally had an answer to that question.

After the Government of Saskatchewan’s public health officials gave their approval, the WHL East Division is set to restart on March 12 in a hub centre in Regina. That’s when the Raiders, as well as the Saskatoon Blades, Moose Jaw Warriors, Swift Current Broncos, Brandon Wheat Kings, Winnipeg ICE and the hosting Regina Pats will start to play.

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“Today was a fantastic day to be able to tell them ‘we’re going to play.’ I was happy to give them that message today,” Hunt said. “Of course, there’s lots of questions about what’s ahead. There’s work to do, but we’re really excited, really excited just to tell them, ‘time to play.’”

Due to the weird circumstances, the Raiders won’t be able to have a huge week-long training camp like they normally do. With safety being the obvious top priority for the Raiders and the rest of the WHL, the Raiders are going to keep their training camp group as small as they can.

“Basically, we’re going to bring in what we believe is our roster, and because of the quarantine times to get in, we’ll have some extras, but that will be our team,” Hunt said. “It just changes the way we think.”

What will be an obstacle for many teams will be getting their European players to come over and report to their WHL teams — especially in the Raiders’ case.

Three of their players are in Belarus. Two of their players, Belarus’ Aliaksei Protas and American Ilya Usau (originally from Belarus) are playing with HC Dinamo Minsk in the KHL. Their newly drafted import, Uladzislau Shyla (pronounced like Vladislav Shilo), who’s played for U18 Team Belarus in the country’s second division this season.

Having those three players abandon the seasons they’re already in, and fly halfway across the world to report to the Raiders will be difficult.

“We’re going to do what we can to get them,” Hunt said. “It’s their time too, the two 19-year-olds and the young Shyla, so the fact the two are them are playing pro is a good thing. If they can’t make it, I feel good about that for their own development. But we are going to do what we can on all three. If we can get one, two or three, it will be fantastic.”

The Raiders also have two players from the American Hockey League. Ozzy Wiesblatt played two games for the San Jose Barracuda, after their parent team, the San Jose Sharks, drafted Wiesblatt in the first round of this past NHL Entry Draft. Kaiden Guhle, also a Raiders’ first-rounder, has skated with the Montreal Canadiens AHL affiliates, the Laval Rocket, who have yet to play a game this year.

Hunt said getting both Guhle and Wiesblatt to report will be much easier. Since both have been tested each day under NHL protocol, that will make their transition to the Regina bubble a lot smoother.

“The great thing for those kids is to get to camp, to have an opportunity to start, it gives them a focus, but more importantly, I think from a Raider perspective, those kids can bring back what they’ve learned and support the bigger group.”

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW