The Raider Way is the right way on and off the ice for the St. Albert midget AAA hockey team.
Year 3 of restoring the legacy of the Raiders by changing the culture continues to pay dividends under the direction of head coach Jack Redlick.
“We were eligible to return 14 guys and we have only two back and the rest of them look like they’re going to be starting the year in junior,” said Redlick, who trimmed the list of training camp hopefuls down to 30 after Thursday’s practice. “It’s right up there with what our game plan is. We always say we like to develop players. If we can turn over a 20-man roster each year and the guys are ready and they’re going to get the opportunity at the next level it’s all part of the plan and that plan kind of came into fruition. The guys are getting the opportunity now. It's a new start and they know that. Their headspace is good. I’ve touched base with all of them. They know it’s an opportunity, so they’ve got to keep working."
Erik Boers and Carson Henry, a pair of forwards, are the returnees from the second-place Raiders (18-12-5, 97 GF/73 GA) in the north division.
“Both of them are quality individuals and good leaders,” Redlick said. “If you’re going to have the foundation to carry over what our groups have built over the last couple of years, those are two good bodies to have back here; and they’ve done a great job in regards to showing the other players coming in what the expectations are, the Raider Way, I guess you could say.”
The Raider Way includes managing the school and hockey cycle while participating in the community with the end goal of becoming contributing members of society.
“From the feedback we’re getting, when we ask what three things that we should alter or change, almost every single player says to continue to do the life lessons stuff and continue to do the helping out in the community, so we do,” Redlick said. “If they’re raking a senior’s lawn or shovelling a senior’s sidewalk they have fun with it. It’s good life lessons, a good team builder and they’re giving back to the community.”
It’s been arrows up for the Raiders after the 2015-16 team finished 13 points short of a playoff spot.
“We’ve kind of had a fresh start and rebuild here. The players have done well in regards of handling it, especially the first half of that first year. A lot of work went into those guys and they did a ton of work that first half. There was a lot of bumping heads, and then it was kind of pulling them in the right direction and then the leadership group started taking over,” Redlick said. “This last year we kind of built on that and I think this year will be a good year in regards to building on that foundation.”
The last two seasons the Raiders were seeded second in the north playoffs and in the division semifinals, and were eliminated twice by the Leduc Oil Kings.
“In regards to our style of play we're going to have this year, I think we’ll be a bigger team than we were last year, but at the same time we play a speed game, we play a very north/south game, and that speed kind of comes from the skating and transition,” Redlick said. “We didn’t sacrifice any of our skating but we’ve got a couple of bigger, larger bodies, so we should be good to have a lot of wall work.”
Tonight’s pre-season game against the Grande Prairie Storm at 7:30 p.m. at Bill Hunter Arena is the team’s fourth after Monday’s 4-3 win against the KC Pats, Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to the Sherwood Park Knights and Friday’s score against the Maple Leafs was unavailable at press time.
“So far they’re playing the right way. They’re embracing the concepts that we’re already giving them, and in the two games we outshot the other team tremendously. Even (Wednesday) night we outshot Sherwood Park 43 to 15. We’re getting lots of O-zone time so hopefully with that the chances come and the goals go up,” said Redlick, noting the last goal by the Knights was an empty-netter. “Even against KC in the third period we spent probably 80 per cent of the time in the offensive zone.
“Once they settle in a little bit they wouldn’t be clutching their sticks as much but they’re implementing our concepts, which is giving them the looks and the opportunities.”
The last exhibition is at 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday against Leduc at Akinsdale Arena.
Home-opener
The pre-game ceremony for the Sept. 29 home-opener against Leduc will honour the St. Albert Raiders Hockey Club alumni who played for the Humboldt Broncos with the raising of the Humboldt Strong banner and memorial unveiling.Smitty Kingston, a.k.a. Jay Smith of Kingston, Ont., will also perform his Humboldt Broncos’ tribute song Leave a Stick by the Door.
Game time is 8 p.m.
“It’s important for us as a community to get together and celebrate the four young men that just recently went through our program,” Redlick said. “You can look what’s happening in our city already in regards to the Jersey Gala. I’ve been sitting on that board all summer as well and people are very passionate about their hockey and obviously about the Raider program and the kids that went through to go onto Humboldt. Watching the portions of the game (Wednesday) night before we had to go to our exhibition game, it kind of brought a bunch of those emotions back."
Logan Hunter, Jaxon Joseph, Conner Lukan and Stephen Wack were among 16 people who perished in the April 6 crash involving a semi-trailer unit and the Humboldt team bus.
“All the families are either going to be there or have a representative from their family that will be there,” Redlick said. “A lot of work went into it from the Raiders’ side of things and a lot of cooperation from the city and SAMHA and different people. Hopefully it will be good, much like the ceremony in Humboldt (Wednesday) night. It’s a time for reflection, a time to honour them, a time for a new beginning. It will definitely add emotion to it and then that will carry on throughout the year.
"We’ll honour them in the way we play, and they will always be part of our locker room and a part of our team. There will be little things throughout the year that we’ll have that pay special tribute or at least give the solemn reminder no matter how bad your day we're still getting to come here and play hockey and do what we love to do every single day. So be grateful for that and respect it.”
