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Dayce Derkatch (left) and Ethan Bibeau (right) are the latest two Raiders' prospects to sign with the team. (submitted photo/Prince Albert Raiders)
Raiders Sign Two

Derkatch, Bibeau latest Raiders draft picks to sign with team

Sep 12, 2022 | 11:04 AM

The winning goal for the Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday, September 10, came off the stick of one of their two third round picks in the most recent prospects draft. Today, they announced he and another draft pick had officially signed with the team.

This morning, the Raiders announced they signed forwards Dayce Derkatch and Ethan Bibeau to WHL standard player agreements. Both young men were in the lineup for Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Regina Pats, and Derkatch provided the dramatic winning goal with just 1:37 left on the clock, completing a comeback victory.

Derkatch’s goal may have brought a certain feeling of nostalgia for long-time fans of the Regina Pats. His father Dale is the team’s all-time leading scorer with 491 points in his career. He was also head coach of the Pats for one season, but spent far longer on the Raiders staff. He was a skills coach and director of player personnel for Prince Albert from 2009 to 2015.

As for the younger Derkatch, he was the 64th overall pick in the 2022 prospects draft after a stellar season with the Regina Aces in which he posted 84 points in just 31 games. He also suited up with the Regina Pats Canadians for his first six games in the U18 AAA circuit. He’ll play with the Pats Canadians again this season.

Bibeau, meanwhile, was a sixth round pick, 120th overall, in the same draft as Derkatch. He spent last season with Rink Hockey Academy in his hometown of Winnipeg. He posted 36 points in 30 games. He was also in the lineup for the Raiders’ road victory on Saturday night.

Bibeau and Derkatch are now the fifth and sixth members of the 2022 prospects draft class to sign with the Raiders. The others are first round pick forward Luke Moroz, second round pick defenceman Ryan Gower, third round pick forward Oli Chenier, and tenth round pick goaltender Cooper Anderson. All six were in the lineup for the win over Regina. This leaves nearly half of the Raiders’s 13 picks from that draft signed.

The next pre-season action for the Raiders comes on Friday, September 16 when they host the Saskatoon Blades at the Art Hauser Centre. Puck drop will be 7:00 p.m.

rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP