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Redden on the Raiders: Scott scores, Montgomery hits milestone

Nov 23, 2018 | 8:35 AM

Six straight weeks at number one in the Kia CHL Top 10 rankings, 14 straight victories, a perfect 12-0 record on home ice, and an incredible +71 goal differential through 22 games.

Things continue to hum along for the Prince Albert Raiders after a perfect 3-0 week, and the green and gold now load the bus and head west for a four-game swing through the Central Division to take on Medicine Hat, Kootenay, Red Deer, and Edmonton.

Here’s what jumped out to me this week.

Montgomery’s 300th

Congratulations to Sean Montgomery on becoming the fourth Raider to ever play 300 games with the organization, reaching the milestone Tuesday night against Lethbridge.

The Calgary native is currently on a 123-game ironman streak, the longest active streak on the team.

For some illustration of what Montgomery means to the Raider organization, Marc Habscheid shared a story live on the CKBI postgame show on Tuesday night, which was also chronicled by paNOW’s Jeff D’Andrea. 

Habscheid joined the Raiders in November of the 2014-15 season, which was also Montgomery’s rookie season in Prince Albert. With the Raiders finishing seven points out of a playoff spot, the final weekend meant nothing to the team other than pride. In a 5-1 victory over the Regina Pats in the final game of the year on Mar. 21, 2015, Habscheid saw something from Montgomery that would set the tone for the coming years.

“We threw him on the penalty kill and I think it was the last kill of the game. It went D-to-D and I remember it like yesterday. The guy took a one-timer and it hit Monty, it almost hit him in the face. And he wanted to, he was doing everything he could to block that,” Habscheid said. “[Dave Manson and I] just looked at each other and said ‘we’re going to be okay, because we’re going to have him until his 20-year-old year.”

“With the attitude like that and the ability to do what it takes to win, we knew we’d be in good hands with Monty on our squad.”

Montgomery may have established himself as a defence-first forward with a reliable presence in the face off circle and the penalty kill, but he’s emerged as a premier offensive threat this year with 25 points in 22 games played. Of course, he hasn’t sacrificed anything in his game to get those points either.

Of the 64 WHL players that have taken at least 200 draws as of Nov. 22, Montgomery is second with a 61.8% win percentage, second only to Regina’s Jake Leschyshyn who has won 64.5% of face offs.

Montgomery is also a key member of the efficient Raider penalty kill, which has successfully killed 94 of 101 penalties this season, scoring an absurd 14 shorthanded goals while allowing just 7 power play goals against.

Spotlight on Scott

This was awesome.

 

Congratulations to Ian on earning CHL Goaltender of the Week Honours. There was no doubt about this one.

19 games played, 18 wins, 1.37 goals against per game, 0.951 save percentage, and four shutouts. And the first goalie goal in Raider history.

What a year it’s been so far for the Maple Leafs prospect.

Pachal’s stock on the rise

While Brett Leason and his 22-game point streak and Ian Scott with his outlandish numbers are getting the lion’s share of the headlines, a lot of other Raiders are quietly having outstanding seasons.

One that has caught my eye lately is captain Brayden Pachal.

Raider fans know that he plays with an edge, and that was on full display Tuesday night as he was in the face of the Hurricanes all night, including a hit on captain Jordy Bellerive late in the game that got him kicked out for interference. Despite the major, Pachal will not be getting suspended which is in line with what Habscheid had to say about the play the next day.

“We looked at the tape after and it was kind of a bang-bang play and it seemed like he got the shoulder in his chest so we don’t think there’s too much there but we’re not the ones making the decisions,” said Habscheid.

“As far as Pachal is concerned all I know is I’m glad I’m retired and not having to play against that guy because he is absolutely no fun to play against if you’re an opposing player. He’s difficult to play against, he plays the body, he’s in your face, he’s just a real difficult guy to play against, that’s the nicest way I can describe it. We’re just glad we have him on our team.”

After registering two points in the first ten games of the year, Pachal has cranked up the offence with three goals and 11 assists for 14 points in the last 12 outings.

Prospect watch

The top two Raider picks of the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft have been outstanding so far this year with their respective teams.

Taken third overall by Prince Albert, Davidson’s Nolan Allan has produced 18 points in 21 games as a rookie with the Saskatoon Blazers in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League. That number puts him second league-wide in defensive scoring behind teammate Max Gudnason. Allan has also appeared in four games as a call-up with the Raiders, earning some valuable WHL experience.

The next pick after Allan was Lloydminster’s Tyson Laventure, selected 31st overall. Laventure is playing with OHA Edmonton in the Canadian School Sport Hockey League and has scored 14 goals and 36 points in 17 games played. The rookie Laventure is tied for sixth in league scoring, behind four third-year players and super-prospect Matthew Savoie who is picked by many to go first overall in the upcoming bantam draft.

This year’s Raiders have the fanbase excited, and for good reason, but there is still a lot to look forward to in the coming years.

—With files from Jeff D’Andrea

 

trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden