Heart, soul, and knuckles of the Raiders

“It’s tough, especially when you see the 20-year-olds go through and they’re leaving and they never want to step out the door and leave for that final time as a player here. Now, for me to do it, it’s the same way. It’s hard, it’s very, very surreal, but why it’s so hard is because of the special group here and the community in PA that makes it so special.”

In four seasons with the Raiders, Christensen missed a total of nine games: four during the early months of his rookie season while fighting to prove he deserved a spot, four this past season while attending Detroit Red Wings camp, and a fifth one this season to make sure he was healthy for the playoffs.

In total, Christensen finished his WHL career with a total of 61G-107A-168P in 272 games, and every minute of it was in Raiders colours; most of those games were spent with a letter on his sweater.

Christensen provided a ton of memories for Raiders fans to talk about in the future, many of which came from his patented ‘Juice Bomb’ onetimer that had him chasing the Raiders all time defensive scoring lead in 2024-25.

From the many big hits, including one that sent Rebels defenceman Aleksei Chichkin into the bench during the playoffs, ten fights in his career, including three against Blades captain Tyler Parr, and enough blocked shots to donate hundreds of litres of juice to local charities, there’s no shortage of big moments from Christensen’s career as a Raider.

As the voice of the Raiders play-by-play, a personal favourite has to be Christensen’s overtime winner on Nov. 9, 2024 against the Brandon Wheat Kings, when he stepped into the rush and batted the puck out of the air to send the Raiders home with the win.

Justice Christesnsen joins the rush during 3-on-3 overtime and bats a pass out of the air from Krzysztof Macias into the net for the overtime winner.

Christensen’s biggest performance as a Raider happened during his final regular-season game against the Saskatoon Blades. In that match, Christensen dropped the gloves with Blades captain Tyler Parr less than a minute in, added an assist in the first period, scored on a ‘Juice Bomb’ in the second to complete the Gordie Howe hat trick, and added another goal in the third.

After playing his final game as a Raider, Christensen got to reminisce with some Raider fans about his time in Hockey Town North.

“I talked to a lot of fans and lots of them had some very nice things to say, and a couple remember when I came up when I was 16 and I was wearing a little bow tie sitting in the booth watching one of the games. Then they said where I’ve come from at that point, kind of being more of a boy at that point, and then to where I’ve come now where I feel like I am a young man and took some big steps in my life too. All that is because of the community here, the involvement from the fans, everything, how the organization is run right from the top down, the coaches through the players. That’s a culture that will always be here.”

His story of hard work and earning opportunities is not over yet. While also being passed over in the NHL Draft, Christensen earned a spot at Detroit Red Wings camp and played two preseason games at the start of the 2025-26 season, and has impressed enough to earn a spot with their AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins. Christensen will be joining the Griffins in their playoff run.

“It is a very good opportunity for me to be able to go there and continue in the playoffs and help them out in any way I can. So yeah, I’m not sure what the time frame is for me going there, but it looks like I’ll be heading there soon.”

From fights, to hits, to blocked shots, to goals, to anything else his team needed of him, Justice Christensen was the ultimate warrior on the ice and connected with fans off the ice. He will always be thankful that Prince Albert was the place that gave him a shot.

“Just thank you. Right from the start when I came here, you guys are awesome, and the support for the team and the Raiders is unmatched, and that’s what makes playing here so fun. So thank you.”

Once a Raider, always a Raider.

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nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com

by Nick Nielsen

Heart, soul, and knuckles of the Raiders

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