Raiders general manager shares thoughts on trade deadline changes

For Raiders General Manager Curtis Hunt, he’s happy with the players he’s kept and the one’s he’s acquired, believing that what has made this Raiders squad successful so far this year remains strong while adding some grit into the lineup.

“We wanted to keep our identity, we wanted to keep that culture intact in terms of our older players. I think there’s a clear message to our players in our room that we believe in you guys and we brought in what I think are guys that can supplement our group and maybe assist us in some areas with grit, physical play, tempo, scoring, especially in Kovacevic up front and hopefully Kostiuk gets the pace quickly and we can supplement our offense with those guys and they’re grit and tenacity, I think, will help our group overall.”

Looking at each trade, the one that caused the biggest splash in the lineup is the addition of Rilen Kovacevic from Moose Jaw. Knowing how well liked Macias and Moroz were as part of the Raiders team can make trades like this difficult, but any fears about the kind of person coming in were quickly put to rest by a teammate he’s reunited with.

“All situation player…he joins teammate Dimitri Fortin and when I saw ‘Forts’ after we made the deal, big smile and he says ‘this is just a terrific teammate’, and that’s always reassuring because you just never really know the kids intimately until, of course, we get to know them.”

Hunt continued, “What I like about him is he is a hard nosed player that’s got great experience, a league champion, he can contribute in a lot of ways, whether it’s offensively, whether it’s penalty kill, whether it’s last minute, whether it’s the intimidation game, you know, I think he can move up and down the line up. Again, a small sample size for our fans who maybe watched him the other night, but as he gets acclimated and more comfortable with our group and the coaches decide how we’re going to proceed with lines and combinations, I think he’s going to be a fan favorite and I think the fans at home are going to be really excited for him.”

The trade the Raiders have seen the biggest impact on the ice from already has been the addition of Matteo Fabrizi. The 6’5″, 235 lbs defenceman has brought a noticeable shift to the Raiders defence, using his size to cause turnovers easily in his own zone.

“First off, great veteran presence, second of all in a series against I want to say Lethbridge last year, an upset, so great experience there and then leadership and there’s a guy that can stop the cycle. I think recently we’ve seen him paired with Dragicevic. I’d say Dragicevic represents a little bit of a rover in this game and now he’s got a guy to really stay home and a guy who can reach both the sides of the boards with his stick in terms of defending, again, stopping the cycle, penalty killing those hard minutes, protecting leads. I think he’s just the perfect soldier for a group and then on top of that, what a great person. Just getting to know him in the last little while, I think he fits really well with our group in his personality.”

Along with the addition of Linden Burrett, who was traded from the Calgary Hitmen to the Seattle Thunderbirds and then to the Raiders in the span of 24 hours, the Raiders defensive core is one now that you never have to worry about who is on the ice at any given time.

“Now I think our coaches are comfortable in the fact that it doesn’t matter if guys are tired or fatigued or at the end of special teams, they can throw out the next pair, the next guy up and we can play against anybody. We have a short small sample size (regarding Burrett), but what I think of him is he moves really well on his feet, he’s got good vision. I think he’s only had the small sample size in our single game, but we’re going to see him get better as he gets acclimated to our style of play, to how and what we expect of him as a defender, and again, another really good kid that we’re excited to join the fold.”

In the final move of the trade deadline, the Raiders acquired Jackson Kostiuk from the Steinbach Pistons of the MJHL. Kostiuk is second in team scoring with 11G-23A-34P on the year, only behind Connor Paronuzzi who leads the league with 54 points, and he’s been a big part of the Pistons team that currently leads the entire MJHL.

While the move to bring him into the Raiders lineup has only been made recently, the scouting staff of the Raiders has had their eye on Kostiuk for a number of months now.

“For those that don’t know the Manitoba League, Paul Dyck is their coach and he’s a tremendous coach, comes from pro hockey and he’s done a great job with their program. For us, and give this credit to our scouts, we listed Jackson before Christmas. We had an opportunity to see him play in the Manitoba, Saskatchewan game in preparation for the World Junior A Challenge which was held in Camrose just a couple of weeks ago, and Jackson was a big part of that team. As a matter of fact, he started probably deep in the lineup and he finished in their top group and I saw him play three different times including the Junior A Challenge against a loaded Sweden team and a loaded U.S. team. He was a guy that could could get the puck through the neutral zone, he could make plays. He seemed to be always in and around the play and I think a guy who can be a game changer. We’re excited to get him, we think he can jump in the second or the third line in the middle. I think with the addition of Smith as well, who we didn’t mention in the Peardon deal, we have a lot of centremen, which is really important I think Jack’s going to jump in and be able to complement our group extremely well.”

Overall, the speed and forechecking attack of the Raiders will continue as the veterans of this squad continue to mentor the young guns still in their first year of the WHL. With the Raiders in the middle of a tight race in the Eastern Conference standings and the squad that will take the Raiders through the rest of the season, the table is set for an exciting second half of the season.

“The other part is really for our fans. I think once they get to see our group, when we get rolling like we can, and we saw spurts of it two nights ago in Medicine Hat, I think it’s an exciting group. I think we can play any way you want to play, and now it’s up to the guys to grab the ball, understand that it’s not going to be easy, you’re going to have to earn it every night, but the rewards are generous in front of us.”

The Raiders are in the midst of a three game road swing through Alberta with two games left to play; Friday in Edmonton against the Oil Kings, and then finishing on Saturday with a battle against the Red Deer Rebels.

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nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com

by Nick Nielsen

Raiders general manager shares thoughts on trade deadline changes

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