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Voice of the Raiders

With another WHL season about to begin excitement should be building, but is it?

Season ticket sales are down from last season by about 100 subscribers which may not sound like much. However, approximately $45,000 is significant for one of the only four community-owned teams left in the WHL, one of the smallest market teams in the league playing in one of the smallest venues operating under one of the smallest and most austere budgets. The team isn’t complaining, this is reality. So is the fact the Raiders are certain to announce an operating loss for 2013-14 at the upcoming annual general meeting.

Hockey fans regardless of their levels of passion have the right to spend wherever they see fit and the Raiders have to compete for the entertainment dollar and they have been and will be entertaining again this season.

It is a fact Leon Draisaitl will start the season with the Edmonton Oilers. The rumor he could be sent to a team in Europe if he doesn’t stick with the Oilers is absolutely false. He can only play in the NHL or WHL. Josh Morrissey is also certain to start the season with the Winnipeg Jets although his return to the Raiders in the near future is more likely.

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As good as they are, to suggest the Raiders without Draisaitl and Morrissey are not worth the price of admission is ridiculous. 

The preseason performances of returning 17-year-old’s Nick McBride, Brendan Guhle and Matteo Gennaro suggests this is a team that will be able to compete. McBride was 2-0-0-1 with a goals against average of around 1.30 and save percentage of .951. Gennaro averaged a point a game while Guhle feasted on the Pats with 3 goals and 1 assist in the preseason wrapping home and home series.

The veteran core around them is excellent. 18-year-old winger Reid Gardiner and overage defenseman Sawyer Lange are coming off breakout seasons. Twenty-year-old winger Dakota Conroy hit the 30 goal mark. Defenseman Mackenze Stewart is the most improved player and poised to emerge as a top four back liner while fellow 19-year-old D-man Hunter Warner, signed in the off season from the USHL, will provide more stay at home presence and defensive depth. 

The off-season acquisition of centreman Jordan Tkatch gives the Raiders a solid two-way 19-year-old centreman who is an excellent candidate to come back next season while 17-year-old import Simon Stransky has the potential to be a potent point producer in seasons to come. 

Don’t forget Leon Draisaitl and Josh Morrissey were promising young players not too long ago. I’m not suggesting any of the young Raiders will be the next Leon Draisaitls or Josh Morrisseys, but it will be fun to watch them carve out their own futures.

Raider staff have been creative in giving fans several seasons ticket or flex-pack options while upgrading the fan experience in the rink which will begin with Friday’s 900 CKBI home opener against the Saskatoon Blades at the Art Hauser Centre. 

It should at the very least be a very interesting season.

dwilson@panow.com

On Twitter: @RaidersVoice