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Fonstad back with Raiders

Sep 14, 2018 | 6:57 PM

The Raider offence has received a boost heading into the final weekend of pre-season as Cole Fonstad has returned to the team after attending rookie camp with the Montreal Canadiens.

Fonstad arrived back in Prince Albert Tuesday evening in time to join his teammates at practice Wednesday afternoon.

Reflecting on last weekend’s rookie games against the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs rookies, he felt privileged to have the opportunity.

“It was pretty cool when you put the jersey on and look down and see that it’s real,” said the 2018 NHL draft pick. “Playing in a real game against another NHL team is pretty cool, there were a lot of people there. It was pretty awesome.”

Following a breakout 73 point campaign with the Raiders last season, Fonstad was selected in the fifth round, 128th overall by the Habs. This summer, he attended development camp in Montreal and spent a couple weeks in La Belle Province, working out with fellow Canadiens prospects and taking French classes.

The result of those classes?

“Not good. Not good at all.”

While the language is still a work in progress, the Estevan native felt he did a good job of showing off his abilities with one goal in two games.

“I think I showed my skill and hockey sense. Obviously, those guys are pretty strong up there so you’re playing against men. You always know that, but you don’t fully understand it until you get to experience it.”

“I know what I need to work on this year and that’s just getting stronger and faster.”

Taking part in a mini-tournament in Laval against Senators rookies and Maple Leafs rookies, Fonstad was able to face off against fellow Raider Parker Kelly and alum Jordy Stallard with Ottawa, and Ian Scott with Toronto, who didn’t dress in the game against Montreal.

“I thought Kells was going to give me a couple spears or something, but I didn’t get anything from him,” he joked.

Off the ice, the Canadiens rookies were taken down to the 21,288 seat Bell Centre in downtown Montreal for a tour of the team’s facilities. Fonstad found the tour to be eye-opening to see what kind of amenities the players are afforded at the NHL level.

“It’s a pretty cool building, it’s actually unreal to see all the facilities they have at both the practice rink and at the Bell Centre.”

While the focus was on rookie camp, there were a number of veteran players around the rink that the prospects were able to rub shoulders with, including agitator Andrew Shaw.

“He’s a really funny guy and he makes all the young guys feel welcome. Even when I was there in the summer he was around,” said Fonstad. “He’d be the first guy to come up in the summer and ask how it’s going and kind of joke around a little bit, so that was pretty cool.”

Now back in the Raider locker room, Fonstad will be expected to take on a large offensive role this season as the top returning point producer from last year. When asked about the team’s potential, the forward became animated.

“Last night when the plane landed, and on the way back to PA, I was just thinking about how excited we all are for this year and how we have such high expectations coming into this year. I think if we all buy in and be as close as we were at the end of the year last year, we’re going to have a pretty good team here.”

Still to come

With Fonstad back in town, the Raiders are still without Scott, Kelly, defenceman Brayden Pachal who is with the Calgary Flames, and forward Noah Gregor who remains with the San Jose Sharks.

The Raiders will complete the pre-season this weekend with a trip to Regina tonight before a home showdown with Saskatoon on Saturday.

 

trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden