‘Dream come true’ for P.A.’s Ironside, four more signings, Berry good trade

On Wednesday, Ironside learned that his hard work had paid off. Ironside was one of five Raiders that were signed, and Ironside was one of five signings and six roster moves the Raiders made on Wednesday. They also signed four other forwards in 2002-born Cale Sanders, 2004-born Alex Mack, 2004-born Bryce Warkentine, and 2005-born Zachary Wilson.

“Honestly, it’s a dream come true. I’ve worked so hard and I’ve looked up to the Raiders all my life. The day came and I took it. I couldn’t be happy enough in myself for doing what I did,” Ironside said. “I put in a lot of work and effort to get to this point. I never knew I could get this shot, but when I did, I took it. I worked harder than ever — than I ever did in my life.”

Growing up, Ironside loved going to Raider games and getting caught up in the excitement of the crowd. He idolized the players, wishing one day he could suit up for the Green and Gold. Former Raider Leon Draisaitl, the Deutschland Dangler himself who’s gone on to score over 100 points twice with the Edmonton Oilers, was a big influence on Ironside.

“It was just the atmosphere of the fans — it was crazy. I loved going to games,” Ironside said. “I actually got to interact with Draisaitl when he was here, which was a pretty big thing for myself — looking up to him. I thought that was amazing for that to happen.”

Ironside certainly took the scenic route to get to the WHL. He was originally drafted by the Kamloops Blazers in the eighth round of the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft, but never signed with the team. Instead he went to the Saskatoon Blazers in the 2017-18 season, scoring four goals and eight points in 29 games.

He then got a chance to move back home and play with the Prince Albert Mintos where he scored 10 goals and 19 points in 27 games, and also totaled 103 penalty minutes.

Ironside joined the Nipawin Hawks in the 2019-20 season, the team that drafted him in the SJHL Bantam Draft in 2017. But Ironside only played in five games before leaving the team due to “personal reasons,” he said. In last year’s COVID-shortened campaign, Ironside got in just one game with the Kindersley Klippers of the SJHL before the season was shut down.

But now as he’s heading into his 19-year-old season, Ironside is glad the journey to the WHL is over and he can finally look forward to getting back on the ice.

“It was a long process, lots of ice work and off-ice work. I couldn’t be happier to come back,” Ironside said.

Anybody that has played a shift against Ironside knows he loves to hit, be physical, and an absolute problem for the opposition.

“I love to be gritty, and the energy will definitely be there. I like to provide a lot of energy for the team. You’ll see a lot of physical play, and I like to put the puck in the net,” Ironside said.

Berry Good Trade

To bolster up their goaltender depth, the Raiders acquired 2002-born Jackson Berry from the Seattle Thunderbirds. The T-Birds received a conditional eighth-round pick in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft in return.

Berry was 4-8-0-1 last year in Seattle with a 3.59 goals-against average and 0.878 save percentage.

“Jackson went into Seattle last year and we thought performed very well in a tough circumstance,” Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt said in a release. “We’re excited to add him to our roster and give him the opportunity to compete for a roster position.”

Berry was originally drafted by the Moose Jaw Warriors in the sixth round of the 2017 WHL Prospects Draft. He made his WHL debut in the 2019-20 season with the Warriors, playing in five games.

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Jeff.dandrea@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW

by Jeff D’Andrea

‘Dream come true’ for P.A.’s Ironside, four more signings, Berry good trade

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