Weekend Preview: Raiders finish preseason with divisional rivalries

Three of those Raiders, Michal Orsulak, Brandon Gorzynski, and Benett Kelly, will be heading to Detroit where the Red Wings are hosting a rookie showcase tournament with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, and Pittsburgh Penguins starting on Saturday, Sept. 12 until Tuesday, Sept. 15. Orsulak and Gorzynski were both drafted, but Kelly earned an invitation to join the Penguins.

Jonah Sivertson will also head to camp with the team he was drafted to – the Vegas Golden Knights. They play in a rookie faceoff Sept. 12-15 in San Jose against the likes of the Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche, LA Kings, and Utah Mammoth.

Finally, Riley Boychuk has also earned an invite to Calgary Flames camp, who have only announced one rookie showcase game against the Edmonton Oilers on Sept. 14.

Leading the Raiders in scoring so far in the preseason is Brandon Gorzynski 1G-2A-3P all coming in his only preseason game so far. Ben Harvey has two points in one game, while Carsyn Dyck, Darius Hordal, and Liam Myhre are all tied with two points in two games.

Brock Cripps is the lone Raider skater who has not played in a preseason game yet, while Orsulak is the lone goaltender who has yet to make a preseason appearance. Chase Kettles has made an appearance between the pipes in all three games the Raiders have played so far, while Brady Holtvogt and Steele Bass have both played half a game each.

Thursday vs. Saskatoon

As mentioned earlier, the Blades have met the Raiders twice in the preseason already. The Saskatoon squad has also played the Swift Current Broncos. They won 7-2. T

After tonight’s action, the Blades will play one final preseason game against the Regina Pats on Friday.

The Blades will be missing three players for the preseason. Last year’s second-leading scorer for the Blades, Cooper Williams, is gone to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and their top defenceman Brayden Klimpke is away with the Montreal Canadiens.

The final Blade missing this weekend is 18-year-old Czech goaltender Martin Psohlavec, who the Blades selected in this year’s CHL Import Draft. He’ll be attending camp with the Philadelphia Flyers.

With Williams gone, the Blades leading scorer in the preseason so far has been Ben Bowtell with 2G-2A-4P after playing in two games. Kazden Mathies, Christian Lee, and Wesley Truax all have three points in one game, Konstantin Hutzinger has three points in two games, and Kain Martinuik has three points in three games.

Four players are still looking for their first shift on the ice during the preseason: forwards Yegor Gusev and Trevin Vargo, and defencemen Issac Poll and Luke Dumas.

Also missing from the Blades roster is returning 19-year-old German forward David Lewandowski. There have been reports that he will be joining the Blades this season and if that is the case, the team will need to cut one of their current European players: Russian forward Konstantin Hutzinger, Austrian forward Yegor Gusev, or Czech goaltender Martin Psohlavec.

The Raiders and Blades drop the puck against each other at the Art Hauser Centre at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Friday @ Regina

The final game of the preseason sees the Raiders sail to Regina’s mighty shores to take on the Pats, who have already played five preseason games and will play two more.

The Pats are 5-0 in the preseason so far with 3-2 wins over Swift Current and Moose Jaw, 6-3 and 6-4 over Brandon, and most recently 7-3 over Moose Jaw.

After Friday, the Pats play a seventh and final preseason game against the Saskatoon Blades.

The Pats have two players away at NHL camps for their final two preseason games. Zach Lansard, who finished third in team scoring last year, will be away with the Carolina Hurricanes, while U.S. born newcomer Parker Trottier is in Montreal with the Canadiens.

Returning Ellis Mieyette leads the Pats preseason scoring with 4G-2A-6P in three games. After that, Zach Lansard, Matt Paranych, Connor Bear, Jace Egland, Zach Moore, and Aiden Wagner are all tied with four points.

Still yet to appear in a preseason game for the Pats is former Raider Dayce Derkatch, as well as forward Paull Mathis.

The Pats still have some decisions to make regarding their 20-year-olds as they have five on the roster, all of which are returning players. Forwards Keets Fawcett, Zach Moore, and Ellis Mieyette, defenceman Kolten Bridgeman, and goaltender Marek Schlenker are all competing for three 20-year-old spots.

The Raiders head to Regina to take on the Pats to finish the preseason on Friday.

Both Raider games this weekend will be broadcast on 900 CKBI.

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nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com

by Nick Nielsen

Weekend Preview: Raiders finish preseason with divisional rivalries

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