(File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By paNOW Staff

WELCOME TO THE RAIDERS

Raiders select Polish and Czech players in 2023 Import Draft

Jul 5, 2023 | 12:00 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders are about to welcome their newest additions from Europe following Wednesday’s CHL Import Draft.

The Raiders had the 15th overall selection in the draft, which they used to select Polish player Krzysztof Macias from Vitkovice Ostrave Jr.

The 19-year-old suited up in 44 games with Vitkovice and tallied 52 points (28G-24A). During the 2021-22 season, Macias played in 48 games, scoring 14 times and picking up 22 assists.

He also represented Team Poland at the 2023 Division 1, Group B World Junior Championship, where he had seven goals and three assists.

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We’re adding a mature player, one who can play in all situations,” Raiders’ general manager Curtis Hunt said. “He’s a bigger, stronger guy. He’s a balanced scorer and he can play on both sides of the ice. We’re excited about that. I think he can add some scoring depth to our team, and we’re really excited to be adding him to the fold.”

With their second-round selection, the Raiders took Czech forward Matej Kubiesa.

The 16-year-old played in two different countries last season, suiting up for the Malmo Redhawks J18 program in Sweden, where he had 15 points (8G-7A) in 17 games. He also played for the HC Ocelari Trinec in Czechia where he had 16 points, adding 13 goals and 10 assists in the 2023 playoffs.

“He’s a younger player with tremendous speed and one on one skill,” Hunt said. “He plays with energy and has a physical presence. We think he will fit in nicely with our group this year and beyond. Matej shows the ability to play with compete and physicality, and the fans are going to be pretty excited to see him play.”

The Raiders had great success in previous import drafts including 2012 when they drafted Leon Draisaital and 20178 when they picked Aliaksei Protas.

The last time the Raiders selected in the Import Draft was in 2021 when they picked goaltender Tikhon Chaika from Belarus.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @princealbertnow