Training Camp 2014

[Wapitikev]

The Training Camp schedule is up on the Raiders website.

First practice for Rookies is @ 7:00pm on Friday evening.

Glad they decided to still have a rookie camp this year.

7 days until camp!

-Wapitikev

[Wapitikev]

Interested to see Brandon Griffiths at camp this fall.

Last year as a 15yo he was 5'11" and weighed 179 lbs.

This fall he apparently is 6'1" and 205 lbs.

He began the season with the Regina Vics in Minor Midget but, after Jan 1, was down with the Regina Midget Tier 2 Buffalos for whom he played 6 games and had 4 points and 21 PIMs as well as 2 playoff games with 1 pt and 4 PIMs...not exactly and upward progression. Size is good but not enough improvement in stats to make Paivarenta nervous going into camp.

Guess we'll see how he does on the weekend.

-Wapitikev

[Wapitikev]

So, with Shane Danyluk being Waived, we are down to 4 possible 20yo forwards and we need to get down to 2.

It will be interesting to see who the lucky winners are...but keep these stats in mind:

Conroy, Hart and Perreaux all slumped badly in the 30 games after Dec 1, last season.

Conroy's production fell by 22% from his first 24 games. Hart's production was down 28% over those same 30 games and Perreaux's dropped by 54%.

On the other hand, Brooks performed at pretty much the same point/game pace, all season.

The team went through a similar slump in 2012/13 in the 30 games after Xmas, but that year Perreaux and Hart were the only Raiders (other than Leon) to actually improve after January 1st.

Conroy had a bad stretch from January 1st onward in 2013 as he did in 2014...but he is our 1st line right winger, regardless of his past consistency issues.

Here's hoping that whomever wins the 2 20yo forward slots that they don't take a nap for an extended period in the second half, this coming winter.

-Wapitikev

[Wapitikev]

Unfortunately I missed all the team Green practice and only saw about 1/2 the team Gold practice due to a prior supper commitment that went long (and the fact that Gold practice ended 15 minutes ahead of schedule).

Tim and Dave ran things (while I was there) and Kelly was also on the ice.

I saw some skill there...some players looked better than others in the drills. There is definitely a wide range in size between some of the rookies, which is natural when there are 7 15 year olds skating with 16 and 17yos.

Thanks to PANow for putting up the rookie camp roster for us fans.

Truly looking forward to the first scrimmage tomorrow @ 10:00am.

-Wapitikev

[Raiderfan8]

So, with Shane Danyluk being Waived, we are down to 4 possible 20yo forwards and we need to get down to 2.

It will be interesting to see who the lucky winners are...but keep these stats in mind:

Conroy, Hart and Perreaux all slumped badly in the 30 games after Dec 1, last season.

Conroy's production fell by 22% from his first 24 games. Hart's production was down 28% over those same 30 games and Perreaux's dropped by 54%.

On the other hand, Brooks performed at pretty much the same point/game pace, all season.

The team went through a similar slump in 2012/13 in the 30 games after Xmas, but that year Perreaux and Hart were the only Raiders (other than Leon) to actually improve after January 1st.

Conroy had a bad stretch from January 1st onward in 2013 as he did in 2014...but he is our 1st line right winger, regardless of his past consistency issues.

Here's hoping that whomever wins the 2 20yo forward slots that they don't take a nap for an extended period in the second half, this coming winter.

-Wapitikev

Perreaux is not returning FYI. So we are down to 3 Forwards and 1 D-man

[sbtatter]

Perreaux is not returning FYI. So we are down to 3 Forwards and 1 D-man

Where is Perreaux going?

[Raiderfan8]

He hasn't decided. I would assume the MJHL .

[Wapitikev]

Perreaux is not returning FYI. So we are down to 3 Forwards and 1 D-man

Based on the report that he was talking JHL with Bruno, I strongly suspected that was the case but didn't want to exclude him until something official was released in the media or by the team.

Good to know more details...tho.

The strongest 20yos will still be at camp, although I'm still a die-hard Shane Danyluk fan. Since I've talked about some of the 20yos point production in games 1-28, 29-58 and 59-73 (inc tie-break), here's Shane's breakdown: 0.222, 0.300, 0.467. That's a pretty steady improvement. If Shane picked up this season where he left off last year, he'd be a great addition to any CHL team that is shy a 20yo.

By way of comparison, Calder Brooks was 0.417 as a Raider (36 games after the trade).

-Wapitikev

[Wapitikev]

Well, two scrimmages are in the books and some talent is beginning to show.

Ian Scott is playing to expectations. After a game and a half, he has only given up 3 goals and he played pretty well tonight.

A nice (albeit small) surprise among the 15yos is Trey Fix-Wolanski...tons of speed and good hands, this 5'5" dynamo from Edmonton has a load of talent and the confidence to throw checks at guys that are a head taller than he is. He scored the first goal of the camp for team Gold; roof-daddy, top right.

Josh Mazer looks decent, and his brother Tyler looked ok as well, but I don't recall seeing Tyler in tonight's game...one of the rink staff mentioned that there was an injury this am but couldn't remember who it was, so I hope they are ok.

Moden, Chekay, Kelly and Daniels-Webb all had good moments as well.

Maser is signed, so he will likely make it through to main camp, but of all the 15yo forwards, Fix is looking most ready for main camp...hope he doesn't get too bruised on Monday.

On the Blueline, there are some big kids! Thompson and Prefontaine are both 6'3", Millar is 6'2" and Hayes is 6'1" & 201 lbs. Heidt and Crossley are the two smallest @ 5'11". None of them seem to lumber out there and all of them seem to be decent...no obvious standouts, though.

Thompson is signed so he will likely make it through to main camp.

Here are the 2014 stats on the 15yos.
Name - Height -Weight - Gms - Pts - PIM

Defense
Adam Millar 6.2 165 17 8 16
Ashton Heidt 5.11 157 23 16 48 6th round
Austin Crossley 5.11 174 4 2 0
Cody Thompson 6.3 185 29 19 44 3rd round
Tyler Prefontaine 6.3 165 26 20 38 5th round
Zach Hayes 6.1 201 27 5 20


Forwards
Chris Monden 5.9 192 30 38 41
Josh Maser 5.5 141 31 60 69 4th round
Keevan Daniels-Webb 6.5 172 27 24 91 10th round
Kolten Kanaski 5.11 154 32 23 96
Marco Mazza 5.9 137 30 29 8
Matthew Chekay 5.9 165 30 64 102
Parker Kelly 5.7 141 31 58 38 7th round
Trey Fix-Wolansky
Tyler Maser 6 170 61 100 83

-Wapitikev

[Wapitikev]

Moving to the players eligible to play more than 3 games in the WHL this season, we find that there are more than enough camp standouts to move up to the main camp.

There are no 18yos at rookie camp.

Forwards:
Simon Stransky is at camp. He has good speed and hands, makes a decent pass and scored the first goal for team Green this am. Nothing in the class of Draisaitl, though. May have a tough time cracking the top 6 at main camp based on what he's shown us so far.

Dylan Stewart is looking very talented this fall...big, very fast (has to slow down for his linemates), very soft hands, good passer, accurate shot close in (that he is not using enough, btw). Looks to be the most skilled player at rookie camp...definitely out to prove that he belongs on the Raiders this fall. Think mike Winther (when he was good) but big eough to carry the puck into the zone at the WHL level. His stats say 6', 170 but he plays taller and bigger than that.

Reed Gunville, Sean Montgomery, Luke Coleman (who looks like he developed a bit of a nasty/agitator streak since camp last year), Michael Clarke, Dylan Williamson and Caleb Seaman are all having a solid camp.

There may be another spot or two available at camp for standouts in tomorrow's final game.

Here are the 2014 stats on the 16 and 17yos not profiled previously in the off-season thread.
Name - Height -Weight - Gms - Pts - PIM

Andrew Strelezki 5.11 160 40 53 24
Brody Madarash 5.8 141 3 0 1
Dane Derewianchuk 5.8 170 31 14 6
Keegan Tiringer N/A N/A 4 0 2
Kieran Brunetti 5.11 172 28 9 46
Reed Gunville 5.10 150 42 24 66
Tyler Heidt N/A N/A 2 0 0


Defense:
Brennan Riddle is big (6'2") and has a heavy accurate shot, blocks shots, defends well, but can be a bit off when hurrying passes.

Chase Daniels, the Minto's Brody Reimer, John Stampohar, Michael Main (who is gigantic @ 6'4") should make it to main camp.

Brandon Griffiths and Curtis Roach need good outings tomorrow to make it to main camp.

Cody Paivarenta is signed, so he will make it to camp but he looks to still need more foot-speed and better passing to compare to the other rookies he is competing against.

2014 stats on the 16 and 17yos not profiled previously in the off-season thread.
Name - Height -Weight - Gms - Pts - PIM

Brody Reimer 5.11 161 44 14 26
Chase Daniels 6.1 154 42 7 35
Cole De Jong 6.0 181 41 7 26
Curtis Roach 5.11 201 44 28 44
Michael Main 6.4 190 36 12 109

-Wapitikev