Raiders Dir. of Player Personnel excited after camp and rookie showcase

“I thought we started a little nervous, which is what you expect. We had to come here to Saskatoon and for the kids, it’s a big building, first game ever in a Raider jersey, and I thought the first period was probably our worst. Then our second I saw them starting to come, and then the third I thought we actually played to our potential and we ended up finding a way to win the game.”

While most of the rookies have now returned to their minor teams for the season, the focus now changes to putting the regular season roster together.

Right now, the competition is fierce for the open opportunities on the Raiders roster. Zarillo expects that roster picture to get a little clearer with this weekend’s upcoming preseason games.

“I think what happens in camp is the better players get better as the days pass. I think when you start at the beginning, everyone’s a little closer together because the conditioning and the sharpness and the execution, but every day the players, they separate from each other. I think that’s what we’ll find here over the next two weeks. We have some opportunity on defence, we have some opportunity at forward. We’ll see who is able to separate from the competition.”

At the time of publication, the roster for the Raiders’ preseason had not yet been released, but is expected by the end of the day.

The roster will include all 13 returning Raiders from last season, including Michal Orsulak who is returning to the Raiders this week after taking part in the U20 5 Nations Cup with Team Czechia.

Still, that means there are at least seven spots to fill with new players this year just for the opening night roster.

While some of those spots will be filled by players the Raiders have drafted, there are still a few players from Junior A programs as well as American players still with a chance to make the team. While there are many drawbacks to the NCAA poaching players into their own ranks, Zarillo said that situations like this are where scouting staffs can make the best of it.

“I think in the last year with the changing in the college rules now where our players are allowed to play in college hockey, and then now adding also an extra Euro, that has definitely opened the pool and it’s given kids that normally would have maybe have just chosen the college path an opportunity now to come to our league at 18, 19. I think that’s the way it’s going to be.”

The Raiders play their next game on Friday when they host the Moose Jaw Warriors.

5 Nations Cup

As a side note, Michal Orsulak was a part of Team Czechia at the 5 Nations Cup in Espoo, Finland at the end of August, and helped Czechia to a 3-1 record.

The tournament does not play a final, it’s simply a five team round robin bracket with teams from Czechia, Finland, Slovakia, Sweden, and Switzerland.

In two games at the tournament, Orsulak was in goal for a 2-1 loss to start the tournament against Sweden, but was in goal for a 9-3 win over Slovakia. Orsulak posted a 0.889 save percentage, and a 2.53 goals against average.

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nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com

by Nick Nielsen

Raiders Dir. of Player Personnel excited after camp and rookie showcase

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