(Submitted photo/Chris Mast)

By Rob Mahon

Raiders Acquire Goaltender

Raiders acquire goaltender in prospect swap with Tri-City

Sep 21, 2021 | 1:54 PM

For the second time this preseason, the Prince Albert Raiders have made a move to solidify their goaltending. This time, they swung a deal for a 2004-born goaltender with the Tri-City Americans.

Ronin Geraghty is the newest member of the Raiders as the team acquired him in exchange for 2005-born forward Ivan Kedrov. Geraghty played last season with the Burnaby Winter Club Prep team, where he got into just two games but posted a sterling .951 save percentage and 2.01 goals against average.

“He’s a very athletic goaltender,” said Raiders GM Curtis Hunt. “His ex-coach described him as a gamer, which to me is rising to that moment. We had the guys watch him on video the best we could. Athletic, doesn’t quit on anything, young so there’s always improvement to be made with strength and flexibility and some of the smaller details.”

Geraghty also played five games for the Americans in the 2019-20 season, but while the numbers don’t look stellar, those games came at a time when he had not yet turned 16 years old. He was thrown into the lion’s den right away, as Tri-City was up against powerhouse teams like Everett and Portland during those games.

“What I like is he gave up seven or eight in a game and his battle level was fantastic,” Hunt said. “I don’t profess to be a goalie guru, but certainly we can see what battle and compete is. A young guy, you’ve got to start somewhere and most everybody starts at the bottom and works their way up. I think it’s a great opportunity for him.”

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Hunt expects Geraghty to be available for practice on Thursday, and the Raiders will need him to be ready. Carter Serhyenko is still away at camp with the Calgary Flames, Belarussian import draft pick Tikhon Chayka is still dealing with immigration, and recently acquired netminder Jackson Berry appears to be going to Junior A. As such, goaltender Max Hildebrand is the only netminder with the team at the moment. He started both games this past weekend against Regina.

“We hope we can find some time for him to get into a game right away,” Hunt said. “With our group, with Carter being away at pro camp and possibly going to the main camp and with Chayka still hanging in the Canadian immigration system, we needed to protect the club and provide more depth and support.”

Hunt added because of a surplus of 2005-born forwards, they felt Kedrov might have more of an opportunity to get ice time with the Americans.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP