Ty Meunier (Submitted photo)

By Nolan Kowal

Top prospect

Prospect watch: Meunier enjoying stellar season ahead of major junior career

Feb 7, 2024 | 1:00 PM

It won’t be long before Ty Meunier trades in his St. Albert Raiders jersey for a Prince Albert Raiders jersey.

The talented forward is currently enjoying a stellar season in his home province of Alberta with the U18 AAA St. Albert Raiders, notching 45 points in 29 games.

“Our team’s rolling right now, my linemates have helped me out a ton,” said Meunier, who was drafted by the P.A. Raiders in the first round of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft. “I think I’ve played well the whole year but I think I stepped it up another level since coming back from P.A. [training camp] actually, just kind of seeing how fast those guys play and think the game, so that’s really helped me.”

The 15-year-old prospect said he’s a very cerebral player.

“I think I have really good hockey IQ, make the right play, but I think I can also shoot the puck pretty well and put some pucks in the net,” said the St. Albert native. “But a lot of my game revolves around making the right play and knowing where guys are around the ice.”

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“Being not a super tall guy, I need to make sure I’m strong and can battle against the older and bigger guys in the corners. In season and especially during the off-season, just getting in the gym and really putting in the work, and focusing on small details,” said Meunier, who stands 5-8.

Meunier said he follows the Raiders very closely, watching just about every game online. He’s also watched the Raiders in-person each time they’ve played in Edmonton this year.

“They’re doing good right now, they had a huge win over Medicine Hat the other night,” he said. “I text the guys a lot, they’ve let me in and made me part of their team almost. I’m talking to players and the coaching staff pretty well every week.”

Meunier is part of a deep Raiders prospects pool that also includes fellow first round draft picks Daxon Rudolph and Riley Boychuk.

“I’ve actually played with Daxon since maybe even younger than 10 [years-old]. He’s always been really good, steady, really calm D-man, so it’ll be awesome to get to know him even more and play with him,” Meunier said.

“And Riley Boychuk I’ve played against a lot. He’s never fun to play against I will admit that,” Meunier continued. “He’s really smart too, so yeah I’ve really created good relationships with those guys.”

Finally, Meunier said he’s looking forward to being a part of a talented group of players in Prince Albert in the near future.

“Oli [Chenier] and Luke [Moroz] there are playing really well so it’d be fun to get to know them a little bit more,” he said. “I have a lot of work to put in until I can make the team still, but when I can it will be fun playing with those other guys and being part of the team with them.”

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nolan.kowal@pattisonmedia.com