Just months after playing his last game as a Raider, forward Noah Gregor has made the jump to the NHL with the San Jose Sharks. (San Jose Sharks/NHL)

By Trevor Redden

Redden on the Raiders

Redden on the Raiders: Horon joins club, Allan returns, and Gregor relishes life in the big leagues

Nov 15, 2019 | 3:00 PM

Saturday night, the Raiders were on the losing side of an upset, falling 3-2 to the Red Deer Rebels in a game where the home team seemed to run out of gas. Postgame, Head Coach Marc Habscheid acknowledged it was time to get some rest.

“I saw a tired group mentally and physically,” Habscheid said before mentioning that the team had played 11 games over the last 22 days, including a trip to the United States. The club also played four games in five nights last week, with two of them in Alberta.

“That’s a lot of hockey in a short time with a lot of travel involved…Of course you’re upset anytime you lose but considering the circumstances it is what it is. Right now the guys need a little bit of rest and they’re going to get a couple days and get ready for next weekend.”

One week later, the club will be back on the ice this weekend for a divisional showdown in Regina Saturday night, before returning home to host Calgary on Sunday.

Despite a week off from game action, there was no shortage of activity in Prince Albert this week.

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Horon arrives from Seattle

Just over an hour after Saturday’s game against Red Deer concluded, the Raiders announced the acquisition of 2001-born forward from the Seattle Thunderbirds in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft.

Horon has eight points in 14 games as a rookie with the Thunderbirds after leading the Alberta Midget Hockey League in goals and points as a 17-year-old last year.

The forward started the two-day drive to Prince Albert on Sunday, arriving Monday evening ahead of a week of practice with his new team.

“I’m extremely excited to be here, obviously a great team and a great group of guys here. It’s just [a matter of] getting to know systems and getting to know guys, obviously everything’s new but I’m super excited to be here,” Horon said.

As for what the fans can expect from the new addition, Horon said his game is built around speed.

“I’m a fast guy, I like to use my speed. I like to put the puck in the net but at the same time I use my speed on the defensive side too,” Horon said.

Allan returns from Under-17s

While one new player was being welcomed into the room, the Raiders were happy to bring back another familiar face as Nolan Allan returned to the team after representing Canada Red at the World Under-17 Challenge in Swift Current.

Allan’s team lost to Canada White in overtime during the tournament quarterfinal before beating Sweden in the fifth-place game.

“It was so surreal, it was a great experience,” Allan said in reference to the opportunity to don the Maple Leaf for the first time in his young career.

The top 66 players under the age of 17 from across the country were chosen to represent three Canadian teams in the tournament, battling with five international entries for top spot. Playing against the highest level of competition, Allan fit right in.

“It was definitely fast. It’s pretty cool when you get to play against guys from around the world, especially when you’ve never played before, so that was new for me,” he said.

In the end, it was Russia and the United States battling for supremacy, with team White being the lone Canadian representative in the semifinals. Russia dropped the United States 6-2 in the gold medal game thanks in large part to goaltender Valerii Brinkman as the Americans outshot Russia 34-19.

The Under-17 Challenge is the first true best-on-best international competition for young hockey players, as potential candidates for the upcoming Under-18 (Hlinka Gretzky Cup, Under-18 World Championships) and Under-20 (World Junior Championships) teams. Recent participants in the Under-17 Challenge include players Jack Hughes, Andrei Svechnikov, Miro Heiskanen, Auston Matthews, and Connor McDavid.

Now back in Prince Albert, Allan expects the experience to provide a boost to his game.

“I think it will help for sure. I played a bit more over there, so I was getting more ice against the top players my age. It’s a good measuring stick to see where I’m at right now,” Allan said.

Both Allan and Horon are expected to be in the lineup Saturday night in Regina.

Thursday night thriller

Coming into Thursday night, a rare opportunity presented itself in the CIBC Canada Russia Series.

Through five games, the CHL led Russia 7-6 in points, creating the potential for the first-ever tie in the six-game series. If Russia were to win in overtime or in a shootout at the Art Hauser Centre, it would lead to a series-deciding shootout to wrap up the series.

That’s exactly what happened.

In front of a tremendous crowd in Prince Albert, Team WHL and Russia went back-and-forth all night with an entertaining brand of hockey, setting the stage for the dramatic finale.

Kudos to all involved with the event for putting it all together. It was great to see that kind of turnout, and the product on the ice was excellent.

Fonny gets his ring

Cole Fonstad made his return to the Art Hauser Centre Thursday night as a member of Team WHL, suiting up against Russia.

It was a brief but memorable stop for the Estevan native as he will head back to Everett with a little more weight in his baggage than what he came with.

Gregor checks in from San Jose

This week on the overtime podcast, I caught up with Raider alum and current San Jose Sharks forward Noah Gregor.

After registering three points in three games with the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League to start this season, Gregor was called up to the Sharks and has been there ever since. The first month in the big leagues have been memorable for the high-flying forward.

“I think the first game was pretty cool, coming out of the shark head in San Jose into the rink, it’s pretty loud. It might be the loudest rink I’ve played in so far. We played in some Canadian rinks like Toronto and Montreal and I think San Jose is definitely up there in loudness,” Gregor said.

“That was pretty cool, then obviously seeing some high-level players that I grew up idolizing like Patrick Kane, Brad Marchand, Jonathan Toews, seeing those guys and competing against those guys was pretty cool.”

Gregor also identified a couple potential Hall of Famers in his own dressing room like Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, as well as all-stars Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, and Logan Couture as guys he has been able to learn a lot from so far.

While life in the NHL has been good to him, it wasn’t very long ago that he scored two goals and added a key overtime assist in the Raiders’ 3-2 overtime victory in game seven of the WHL Championship over the Vancouver Giants.

Gregor still has a vivid memory of the championship moment.

“Leading up to it, there was probably only a minute and a half left in the first overtime. I just remember getting out and thinking I don’t want to have to wait and get so riled up for another period. The nerves were crazy, so I was thinking I’ve probably got one last shift for the period,” Gregor said.

“I thought I would try to make something happen. Fortunate enough, Nooner was sitting backdoor and I was able to find him for a tap-in. He was going crazy, I think I was still in the offensive zone and I think he was already in the other end… with the fans in the glass. That’s a moment I’ll never forget.”

You can listen to the full conversation below:

The week ahead

The Raiders hit the road to Regina (7 p.m. CKBI) on Saturday before returning home to host the Calgary Hitmen on Sunday (6 p.m., XFM.)

After that, it’s back to Alberta for a three-game swing through Red Deer on Wednesday (8 p.m., CKBI), Lethbridge on Friday (8 p.m., CKBI), and Medicine Hat on Saturday (8 p.m., CKBI.)

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trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden