The Prince Albert Raiders set up shop here for their prospects draft, and came away with 11 picks. (Submitted Photo/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Rob Mahon

Raiders Draft Recap

Five picks in top-50, 11 total for Raiders in impressive prospects draft

May 12, 2023 | 3:00 PM

The dust has settled on one of the biggest days of the year in the WHL, and the Prince Albert Raiders can take a moment to pat themselves on the back.

The team made 11 selections during the WHL Prospects Draft, three of them in the top seven and five in the top 50. And they believe, with good reason, that they’ve found value throughout the draft.

“The guys did a tremendous job this year of getting to know the players beyond what you may see on the ice,” said Raiders GM Curtis Hunt. “We dug in probably a little deeper than we ever had. We had some options at times to maybe move picks or move around, but in the end I’m just thrilled with our first round.”

There’s a reason why Hunt is so thrilled with that first round in particular. With the first overall pick, they selected Daxon Rudolph, the consensus number one defenseman in the draft and reigning defenseman of the year in the U15 Prep ranks. They then selected the two top scorers from the Alberta U15 AAA ranks in Riley Boychuk and Ty Meunier with picks two and seven respectively.

“You talk about championship building, you build from the back end,” Hunt said. “The year we won, we had a group of older, mature defensemen that grew together. So that’s a key player. The other two players, I don’t think you can get the puck away from those guys the way they play with it.”

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The picks rolled in a little faster after the first round wrapped up, with the Raiders going back to the Alberta AAA ranks to pick defenseman Bennett Kelly, who Hunt described as a utility knife type of player. They then picked their first goaltender of the draft at 49^th overall, with RHA’s Steele Bass going off the board.

Every draft class has its potential steals as players rise and fall, and the Raiders may have found one such steal in the fourth round, 71^st overall. Jonah Sivertson, the leading scorer in the Saskatchewan AA ranks who stands 6-foot-2 and scored at will this season with 53 goals in just 29 games.

“What was great when I talked to Jonah today was how thrilled he was,” said Hunt. “He told me Prince Albert was a team he was hoping to get an opportunity maybe to come here. It’s always nice to hear that.”

Into the later stages of the draft, the Raiders stuck with Saskatchewan, claiming defenseman Eric Grandberg out of Saskatoon and forward Aiden Mohan from Weyburn. Rounding out the day was another NAX defenseman in Darius Hordal, a forward from Brandon in Jonah Lemoine, and defenseman Ty Krooshoop in round ten from the Alberta AA circuit.

“Exciting day for us,” said Hunt. “Tip of the hat to our scouts, to the work they did and Bruno Zarrillo throughout the year.”

In addition to standout skill, one thing a lot of these players had in common was big-game experience. NAX’s prep team, featuring Rudolph and Hordal, won the western championships in the CSSHL while the Airdrie Xtreme, which included Boychuk Kelly, were Alberta’s provincial champions.

“You’ve got to be in those experiences,” Hunt said. “It’s where the players learn. Boychuk beat Meunier in his final and Airdrie beats Rink, and that’s Steele Bass of course. We’ve got guys who played in some of those key games and in important minutes. It’s not the be-all end-all, but certainly it’s experience and it’s experience they can bring and share with others in the group.”

The 2008-born players won’t be eligible for full-time WHL duty in the 2023-24 season but will be eligible to attend camp.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP