Forward Vladislav Shilo is one of ten players playing with the Prince Albert Raiders now who weren't available to them when the season began. (Jeff D’Andrea/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Raiders Still Optimistic

Despite tough start, Raiders’ GM foresees success for squad

Oct 27, 2021 | 5:00 PM

Hockey is a results-oriented business, and the results so far this season for the Prince Albert Raiders have not been good. While their 2-7 record paints a bleak picture, however, a recent stretch of games has given them some optimism.

Between potting their first two wins of the season and playing much better in their recent loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes, the team brass is starting to see their vision take shape. It took far longer than usual this year because so many players were missing through the season’s opening act.

“We didn’t have our big leaders in the lineup,” said Raiders GM Curtis Hunt. “When guys did get back, for example you think about Vitelli and Wiesblatt coming back from pro camp, we have people in our room they’ve never met before. It takes time to create relationships and it takes time to create trust.”

Wiesblatt and Vitelli were the first wave of reinforcements, arriving just in time for an Oct. 2 game against Regina, but the Raiders have slowly but steadily added more.

Defensemen Nolan Allan and Kaiden Guhle have made their way back from NHL camps, and through trade, injury recovery, and immigration, more new players have come in, and it showed in an impressive effort in Lethbridge.

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“In terms of our game, I thought it was one of our best team games in Lethbridge,” said Hunt. “It really shows that the further we move along here, the closer we get as a group and the more predictable it becomes within the group.”

That game in Lethbridge really was the closest the team has been to fully intact all season, though 2002-born forward Keaton Sorenson was still left out of that game with an injury. Forwards Tyson Laventure and Vladislav Shilo played their second games of the season, with Laventure pitching in a goal and an assist, while forward Sloan Stanick returned after a suspension and was a fixture on both the power play and the penalty kill.

“I really believe we’re still a playoff team,” said Hunt. “We have ten new faces in the lineup from that first weekend. Obviously, that makes a huge difference and there’s a little bit of an adjustment there.”

For Hunt, the start to this season has been unlike any other in his tenure as GM. Not only were multiple players away in the NHL, but the pandemic meant a host of new guidelines and a later start to the season than usual. Immigration issues, meanwhile, delayed the arrival of the team’s two import draft picks from Belarus in Shilo and goaltender Tikhon Chayka.

“There were a lot of factors in this year that were certainly unique,” said Hunt. “I give the kids credit because the kids that came and competed now populate the Raider roster. There was a little bit of adversity there and a lot of unknown, and I think they’ve managed it very well.”

Hunt added that their 16-year-olds Zach Wilson, Harrison Lodewyk, and Terrell Goldsmith have adapted wonderfully to the challenges in front of them. He called Lodewyk one of the pleasant surprises of the season so far thanks to his speed and determination.

The Raiders host the Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday night. Since they last faced Brandon, they’ve added Allen, Guhle, Stanick, Laventure, Shilo, Chayka, Ross Stanley and recently acquired 20-year-old forward Carter Massier to the lineup.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP