If Prince Albert hockey fans are looking for a team to cheer for in the WHL playoffs, former Raiders like Carson Latimer might lead them to a rooting interest. (submitted photo/Mark Peterson Media)

By Rob Mahon

Prince Albert Connections

WHL final four brings rooting interests for Prince Albert fans

Apr 26, 2023 | 2:00 PM

Though the Prince Albert Raiders are not part of the 2023 WHL playoffs, fans of the team and residents of the city can still find plenty of rooting interests in the final push for the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

The final four teams in the WHL playoffs are set. The Winnipeg ICE will face the Saskatoon Blades just up the road from Prince Albert to determine the winner of the Eastern Conference. Out west, it’s a matchup of two powerhouses in the Memorial Cup host Kamloops Blazers and Seattle Thunderbirds.

Through both connections to the Raiders and to the city of Prince Albert, these teams present a reason for fans in Hockey Town North to get invested in the series besides the calibre of hockey.

While they’re the geographically furthest team from the Raiders of the four, the Thunderbirds have one of the most direct connections to the franchise. Former Raiders’ captain Nolan Allan, traded to Seattle in November of 2022, patrols the blueline in Seattle. He’s posted six points in eight playoff games for the T-Birds so far, and they haven’t lost a game in the postseason yet.

Also undefeated in the postseason are the Blazers, and alone of all the teams left they know, regardless of what happens in their series, they’ll be playing well into May at the Memorial Cup. That means two Prince Albert-born and trained players will be involved in the Memorial Cup as well.

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Ashton Ferster, acquired in the offseason from the Medicine Hat Tigers, has played in all eight playoff games so far for the Blazers, posting a goal and three assists. The hard-hitting forward is a product of Prince Albert Minor Hockey, playing his AA for the Raiders U15 team and his AAA with the Mintos for two full seasons.

Another former Minto, this one more recently with the team, is with Kamloops as well. Ashton Tait, a Pirates AA alumni who spent the last two seasons with the Mintos, was called up to join Kamloops for the remainder of their season and the Memorial Cup run after the Mintos were eliminated.

Many Raiders fans will tell you they root against Saskatoon no matter what, but they have two more direct reasons to cheer for the Winnipeg ICE. Former Raiders Carson Latimer and Vladislav Shilo are both with Winnipeg. Shilo has picked a good time to find his offensive touch with eight points in 10 playoff games so far.

Latimer, meanwhile, has fought injuries but has managed to get back into the lineup lately, playing in five playoff games so far. An immensely popular player in his time in Prince Albert, Latimer started the season as an assistant captain with the Raiders before his trade to Winnipeg.

Ironically, though they are the closest team in the WHL to Prince Albert geographically, the Saskatoon Blades don’t have as many connections to the Raiders or the city as the other teams do, but they do have one such connection: 20-year-old forward Josh Pillar was a member of the Prince Albert Mintos for the 2017-18 season and was called up to play two games for them the previous year.

The third round of the WHL playoffs begins on Saturday, April 29. Both series begin that night.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP