(File photo/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Jeff D’Andrea

Raider Hockey

Four players set to make their debuts for the Raiders this weekend

Oct 22, 2021 | 12:10 PM

This could be the weekend where we start to see what the Prince Albert Raiders roster will look like, as they head into Medicine Hat to take on the Tigers Friday night, and jet over to Lethbridge to take on the Hurricanes on Saturday.

They finally have the services of their two Belarusian imports in goaltender Tikhon Chaika and forward Vladislav Shilo. The Raiders acquired Ross Stanley from the Edmonton Oil Kings after last weekend’s games, he’s set to make his Raider debut on the blueline.

And Tyson Laventure is making his season debut, after recovering from an upper-body injury suffered in the preseason.

Even though he hasn’t played a competitive hockey game since the Regina bubble in the spring, Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid has high hopes for Laventure. When asked about what he expects out of Laventure in his first game back, Habscheid started his response with “five goals,” in his dry and blunt delivery.

“No, Lav is a good man. He had a good summer and trained well. He came back and you could see he was ready to go,” Habscheid said. “I think I was sadder for him than he was with that injury because he was going and really putting his game back together.”

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With the Belarusians, Habscheid said he’s only seen them play a few practices this week and is excited to see what they are like in-game situations. But with what he has seen, Habscheid said he won’t have to worry about them not being motivated to play.

“They’re very nice young men. They’re very appreciative to be here, eyes wide open and excited to play. Their teammates seem to really like them. They’re always smiling, and happy, and for me, that’s the biggest part of it,” Habscheid said. “What they do on the ice is a work in progress, but we’ll see how they do today. Even today is not fair, first time over here, jetlag, new teammates, all those types of things. For them, you have to give them some room to make mistakes and get adjusted to the on-ice product.”

The Raiders (2-5) defeated the (3-3-1) Tigers 3-2 in a shootout last Saturday at the Art Hauser Centre. The Raiders have yet to face the Hurricanes this season.

-With files from Rob Mahon

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Jeff.dandrea@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW