Ben Harvey poses with his family after signing with the Raiders. Right: Brock Cripps poses with a sponsor of the Raiders. (Mark Peterson/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Nick Nielsen

#2 and #4 overall picks impress at first camp

Cripps and Harvey heading back to AAA after successful first Raiders camp

Sep 9, 2024 | 1:16 PM

After three preseason games, the Prince Albert Raiders are letting two of their first round picks from the 2024 Bantam draft back to their respective AAA teams for the rest of the season. With 15-year-old players being restricted to 10 games a season in the WHL, 2009 born Brock Cripps and Ben Harvey are headed back to their teams for the rest of the season.

For the defenceman Cripps, this year’s second overall pick impressed with his confidence handling the puck and his ability to step up and make plays on incoming defenders. Cripps himself was happy with his first performance in a Raiders camp, but he was quick to credit his teammates around him for his success on the ice.

“I did feel comfortable because I know I have teammates that can back me up if I make a bad play. So that really helped me out through this camp and through these three games, so that was a good thing.”

Cripps is headed back west to play with St. George’s Prep School just outside of his home of Victoria, B.C. in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) where last year, as a defenceman, he lead the entire league in points with 25G-45A-70P, good enough for a 12 point lead on Shaun Hildebrandt in second and a 34 point lead over the next defenceman. Despite his success last year and at Raiders camp, Cripps is still taking a few things back to B.C. that he wants to work on this season.

“I think just making a good first pass and moving the puck up faster and making faster plays with the puck.”

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Cripps played in all three games for the Raiders while here for the preseason, managing a single assist in his final game. Overall, he’s excited to be a part of the Raiders organization after seeing how both the players and staff have welcomed him.

“I think it was great and a good experience for me, especially being with the older guys and getting to know everyone at the organization, so it’s pretty fun.”

As for Ben Harvey, he was taken fourth overall in this year’s draft after his own success in the CSSHL. Playing with the Devon, Alberta-based Northern Alberta Xtreme, Harvey finished in a tie for fourth in league scoring with 19G-33A-52P last season. For his first experience with Raiders camp, he’s excited with the early steps he’s taken.

“It was super fun. All the guys were very including and they were really good to me, showing me where to go and what to do, and it was a very fast pace, which was cool to see.”

The Edmonton, Alberta native also played in all three games of the preseason for the Raiders, managing to score twice. Harvey was put in some big situations in the preseason, including some late game faceoffs and even some powerplay time, and he feels confident with how he played during his three games.

“I thought it was good, I had a lot of help from my teammates and I’ll be looking forward to doing it some more in the future.”

Heading back to CSSHL for the rest of the year, Harvey is excited to take some of the lessons he’s learned in Prince Albert back to AAA. He was also impressed with the pace of the Raiders camp, but he also wants to take some of the mentorship he received here back to his team in Alberta.

“Leadership in the pace and the passes and where to go. There’s lots of little details that are very helpful. I thought it was good. I thought camp was also faster, so it’s easier to figure it out in games, and it was a little more smooth transition.”

Another member of the 2009 draft class was sent back to AAA earlier last week. Drafted in round three at 54th overall, Kyle Obobaifo had a goal and an assist in his two games during the preseason. He’s now back with the Burnaby Winter Club in Burnaby, B.C. Still only 14-years-old until November, Obobaifo signed his WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the Raiders last week.

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nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com