Raiders excited and focused ahead of championship series

“But that’s not going to be the case against Vancouver because we’re in the league final now. You could just tell [Tuesday] morning the energy, the focus, the excitement, they’re ready to go.”

Among players, none have been around longer than forward Sean Montgomery who set a franchise record this season with 345 career games played in a Raider uniform. After five seasons in Prince Albert, Montgomery is relishing the opportunity to make a run for the title.

“It’s kind of surreal right now. Obviously junior is probably the best time of your life so you never want it to end, but if you’ve got to go out at the end of your last year you may as well go out with a chance to win it in the final so we’re pretty excited about that,” Montgomery said.

Among the 21 players on the Raider playoff roster, none have made it this far in the post-season, making this uncharted water for all involved just like it is for the Giants. However, the Raiders have some championship experience behind the bench between Habscheid and Assistant Coach Jeff Truitt.

Habscheid has been to the final round twice, once with the Kamloops Blazers in 1999 and once with the Kelowna Rockets in 2003, both times as a head coach. The Blazers lost to the Calgary Hitmen in 1999, while the Rockets defeated Red Deer in 2003 before falling to Hull in the Memorial Cup semifinal. The Rockets won a Memorial Cup under Habscheid as hosts in 2004 after falling to Everett in the Western Conference Championship.

As for Truitt, he served as an assistant coach under Habscheid from 2000-2004, earning the league title in 2003 and the Memorial Cup Championship the next year. After Habscheid’s departure, Truitt led the Rockets to another league championship in 2005 before bowing out in the Memorial Cup. In 2016, Truitt was an associate coach with the Red Deer Rebels who fell in the Eastern Conference Championship before hosting the Memorial Cup.

On top of that, both have experience in the international and professional spheres, providing the team with a wealth of experience to draw on.

“I just think experience is the greatest teacher,” Habscheid said.

“Everything gets focused on, this is a league final and a chance to go to a Memorial Cup, it’s one of the hardest trophies to win in sports because you only have five years as a player to win it at the most, 60 teams [across the country], but in the end it’s what you do on the ice and if you take care of that then it gives you the best chance of raising that trophy at the end.”

For the first time since 2015, the top seeds from the east and the west will meet in the championship series. Four years ago, it was the Brandon Wheat Kings and the Kelowna Rockets battling for the title with Kelowna winning in four games. This season, it’s the Scotty Munro Trophy-winning Raiders coming off a 112-point season, good for second-best in franchise history, taking on the top team in the west in the Vancouver Giants who finished 11 points back of Prince Albert.

The Raiders have taken 16 games to advance through three rounds, beating Red Deer in four, Saskatoon in six, and Edmonton in six. Vancouver took one less game to get here after a six-game opening round against Seattle, a four-game sweep of west coast rival Victoria, and a five-game finish of Spokane in round three.

There is no question that these are two teams that deserve to be here.

“They’re a good team. Obviously they were right there with us in the season and they beat us the only time we played. They have good depth, they play a heavy game, a structured game, and work hard, and they have good players so that’s why they’ve had their success,” Habscheid said.

Here in Prince Albert, the fan support continues to reach new levels with residents waiting in line for tickets, packing the Art Hauser Centre for home games, and staying up all hours to welcome the team home from victory in Saskatoon and Edmonton.

“It’s incredible. The city has completely gotten behind us, and I think it would be pretty special to win one for the city of Prince Albert. It’s been unreal all five years even when we weren’t doing so well, they’ve still been there. Now we’re having a run for the city and it’s been unreal,” Montgomery said.

Much like Montgomery, Habscheid saw some lean years in his time in Prince Albert, and was blown away by the reaction of the community this year.

“It’s really quite something. You see people camping out the night before at 8 p.m., you see an ice shack put up and people sleeping out there to get tickets, so it’s great for the city it really is. It’s great for the franchise, it’s been since 1985 so it just rejuvenates the interest in our team,” Habscheid said.

Busy week ahead

Before the championship opens up this weekend, all 22 teams across the league will be busy in the coming days beginning with the 2019 WHL Awards luncheon in Red Deer on Wednesday.

The Raiders have four finalists this year:

Goaltender Ian Scott is the Eastern Conference nominee for the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as WHL Goaltender of the Year. His counterpart is Everett Silvertips netminder Dustin Wolf.

Rookie forward Jakob Brook was named as the Eastern Conference Scholastic Player of the Year, and will also be up against Wolf for the Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Memorial Trophy as WHL Scholastic Player of the Year.

Head Coach Marc Habscheid is one of two finalists for the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy as the WHL Coach of the Year. Fittingly, the Western Conference nominee is Michael Dyck of the Vancouver Giants. Habscheid previously won the award in 2003 with the Kelowna Rockets.

Finally, general manager Curtis Hunt is in the running for the Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy as WHL Executive of the Year. The other finalist is Silvertips’ general manager Garry Davidson.

The awards will be streamed live beginning at 12:15 p.m.

On Thursday, the focus is on the future as the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft takes place in Red Deer.

After finishing first overall in the regular season, the Raiders’ first pick will be the last selection of the first round, 22nd overall.

Raider coverage on CKBI and paNOW

The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group will continue to provide extensive coverage of the Rogers WHL Championship Series in Prince Albert and in Langley.

Starting with games one and two at the Art Hauser Centre this weekend, you can catch all the action on CKBI with pre-game coverage beginning one hour before puck drop. Colour commentator Martin Ring and I will be handling the play-by-play coverage, joined by guests during pre-game and intermission features.

On paNOW, sports reporter Jeff D’Andrea will continue with daily coverage including game day previews, recaps, highlights, pictures, and much more.

When the series shifts to the Langley Events Centre, Marty, Jeff, and I will all be there with the team, keeping you up to date on the series.

It all gets started with game one on Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre. Puck drop is at 7 p.m., pre-game coverage begins on CKBI at 6.

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trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden

by Trevor Redden

Raiders excited and focused ahead of championship series

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