A deep dive into the Raiders camp roster

First, we’ll look at the returning 15 players the Raiders are bringing back to camp this year. For forwards, the Raiders have Ethan Bibeau, Riley Boychuk, Oli Chenier, Dayce Derkatch, Brayden Dube, Jackson Kostiuk, Harrison Lodewyk, Ty Meunier, Aiden Oiring, and Evan Smith.

Defensively, the Raiders have four coming back: Linden Burrett, Justice Christensen, Daxon Rudolph, and Tyrone Sobry. As for goaltenders, the only returner is Dimitri Fortin.

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Goaltenders

Probably the biggest question the Raiders have going into the 2025-26 season is ‘who will replace Max Hildebrand as the starting goaltender?’, and out of the seven goaltenders coming to camp, there are three frontrunners going in.

The frontrunner for that starting job is likely the returning Dimitri Fortin, as the 19-year-old goaltender is the oldest invited to camp and has the most experience in the WHL, but he has not stepped into the starting role yet. Despite a save percentage of 0.894 last season, he showed just how talented he is in two big wins over a high powered Calgary Hitmen offence, and the year prior he picked big wins in the playoffs to help Moose Jaw to a WHL Championship.

Also fighting for that starting job will be Czech born Michal Orsulak who the Raiders acquired in this year’s CHL European Draft 46th overall in the first round. At just 17-year-old, Orsulak has the unteachable advantage of standing at 6’4. He also has some international experience from playing in the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup where he impressed Raiders scouting staff.

Finally out of the top three goaltenders going into camp is one Raiders fans have been excited about since he was drafted 49th overall in the third round of the 2023 WHL Draft. Also 17-years-old, Steele Bass joined the Raiders twice last year. The first time, he made 12 saves on 13 shots in relief of Hildebrand in Brandon, and the second time Bass joined the Raiders was during the playoffs where he practiced with the team and got a taste of what the daily grind in the WHL is like.

It’s not likely a starting goaltender will be decided on by the end of camp, and whoever comes away as the starter will likely not play the same 55 of 68 games Max Hildebrand played last year. There could even be room to carry all three.

There’s also the wildcard coming to camp of undrafted 19-year-old Hudson Sedo, who posted a 0.903 save percentage last year in the AJHL with the Canmore Eagles with a 12-6-1 record.

Finally, Carter Adams and Chase Kettles are entering their 16 year old years, and 15-year-old Evan Wandler will make his first appearance at Raider camp after being drafted 59th overall in the third round of this year’s draft.

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20-year-olds

With seven 19-year-olds on the roster during the playoffs last year, the Raiders have widdled it down to four now that they’re heading into their 20-year-old years.

Defensively, Justice Christensen is the only 20-year-old returning for camp on the backend. Last year’s captain is coming into camp after another leadership role with Team Canada at the Men’s National Ball Hockey Championships where he helped Canada to a gold medal.

Up front, there are three returning veterans. Aiden Oiring served as a captain with the Raiders last year, tying for the team lead in points during the playoffs with 14, and ‘Mr. Reliable’ never went more than two games without a point last year.

Also up front Harrison Lodewyk has a season that saw him manage to play 40 games during the regular season despite injury troubles, but he’ll be looking to step things up this year. His unique hard edged style of play and ability to shut down a team’s top forwards could prove too invaluable for the Raiders to part with.

Finally up front is Brayden Dube, who spent much of last year on the wing with Oiring. He also had a little injury trouble at the end of the year, missing two games in the opening playoff series with Edmonton, but was just one point shy of a point per game season last year.

Notably missing from the camp roster is Lukas Dragicevic, who tied Oiring with 14 points during last year’s playoffs. No announcement has been made on his status with the team, but he could start the year in the pros with the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, or their AHL affiliate Coachella Valley Firebirds.

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International Skaters

Aside from Canada, three other countries will be represented at camp this year, and technically four countries if you count players with citizenship elsewhere.

The largest group will be coming out of the United States where the Raiders have eight players coming. For forwards, the Raiders are bringing 18-year-old Owen Corkish, 17-year-olds Caden Dionne, Liam Hamre, and Henning Reinprecht, 16-year-old Cy Hjelmen, and 15-year-old Gavin Hammelin.

There’s also two defencemen coming from the U.S. this year, 18-year-old Cal Grilz and 15-year-old Mason Schemenauer.

Next is Czechia where the Raiders will have two players coming. Above we talked about goaltender Michal Orsulak, but one of the most recognizable figures on the ice right away will be 19-year-old Matyas Man. Hailing from Ostrava, the Czech born defenceman stands at a whopping 6’5.

Both Czech players at camp were picked up by the Raiders during this year’s CHL International Draft, and that’s where the Raiders also selected their first ever Kazakhstan born player Alisher Sarkenov. Going into his 18-year-old season, Sarkenov hopes to join older brother Asanali in the WHL who played last season with the Spokane Chiefs.

Also being represented at Raiders camp is Germany. 16-year-old forward Kade Corbet has Canadian citizenship and played his hockey in the Calgary Flames AAA system, but was born in Mannheim, Germany when his father, former NHLer Rene Corbet, was playing for Adler Mannheim.

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Familiar Faces

There’s also a number of players returning to camp this year that wore the Raider green last year at various points.

Jonah Sivertson played his way on to the team last year as a 16-year-old out of camp, but slowed down during the regular season and was eventually sent back down to the Regina Pat Canadiens where he would go on a tear. He finished second in Sask. AAA scoring last year with 32G-45A-77P in just 30 games, only behind teammate Maddox Schultz with 14 less games, and would go on to win not only a league championship, but a Telus Cup National Championship.

Also returning for the Raiders will be Ben Harvey, the fourth overall pick from the 2024 WHL Draft. Along with his 16G-20A-36P in 30 games last year with the Edmonton Jr. Oilers last year, he also played six games for the Raiders in the regular season and one during the playoffs. The 16-year-old already has his first WHL assist, and he’ll be looking to light the lamp soon.

Drafted as the second overall pick in 2024, the Raiders are also ready to see Brock Cripps where the green sweater full time for his 16-year-old year. With 7G-39A-46P last year in 30 games in the CSSHL with St. George’s School, the Victoria, B.C. native played four games with the Raiders last year as well. He also has his first assist as a Raider.

Sticking with the draft class of 2024, a lot of Raider fans turned and watched Kyle Obobaifo during the preseason last year. He put up 10G-16A-26P with the Calgary Flames U18 AAA last year and won an AEHL Championship, but were stopped in regionals when making a bid for the Telus Cup.

Defensively, 17-year-old Bennett Kelly will be looking to crack into the WHL. Last year, Kelly played three games with the Raiders as well as two games in the AJHL with the Olds Grizzlys, but spent most of the season with the Calgary IHA Prep team in the CSSHL where he posted 8G-14A-22P from the blueline in 33 games.

Finally there’s two Prince Albert Mintos who are looking to crack the lineup this year. Defenceman Liam Myhre was called up for three games last year with the Raiders, and Connor Howe was called up for two.

Junior Experience

With the success of Jackson Kostiuk coming out of the MJHL last year around Christmas and finding a full time role with the Raiders, there are also a number of players who have junior experience coming to camp this year.

Starting with the SJHL, the Raiders have invited 18-year-old Prince Albert local Owen Nelson, who has won two SJHL Championships and finished as a runner up during the Centennial Cup with the Melfort Mustangs for the last two years. In his 16-year-old year, he only played seven games total for the Mustangs spilt between regular season and playoffs, but last year he saw his ice-time go up as he played 33 games, scoring 2G-11A-13P in the regular season.

The other SJHLer coming to camp is Waldheim, Saskatchewan’s Jaxon Herchak, who finished 12th among defenceman scoring in the league last year despite missing eight games. As part of the Kindersley Klippers, he finished tied for fifth in team scoring with 5G-27A-32P

Out of the MJHL, 17-year-old forward Wyatt Dyck is coming to camp after playing 54 games with the Winnipeg Blues where he posted 10G-5A-15P, and spent some time on the powerplay with two goals.

Also out of the MJHL is 19-year-old Aaron Krestanowich who started the season with the Steinbach Pistons as a teammate of Kostiuk, and then was traded to the Northern Manitoba Blizzard. Between the two teams, he posted 1G-13A-14P last year in the regular season, and 1G-2A-3P during the playoffs.

Moving to the AJHL, we’ve already talked about goaltender Hudson Sedo above, but there’s two others. For forwards, Spencer Masters comes in during his 19-year-old season as a member of the Camrose Kodiaks. He finished last year with 17G-22A-39P, good for a three way tie for second in team scoring while also tied for the team lead in assists, and he added 2G-2A-4P in five playoff games last year.

The other AJHL player from last year actually split his time between the Fort McMurray Oil Barons and the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers last year, and that’s 16-year-old defenceman Jett Quaschnick. The defenceman only posted two assists last year, one during his 13 games in the AJHL, one during his 20 in the BCHL. While his junior experience is low, he also shows to have NHL pedigree according to his Elite Prospects page as the nephew to former NHLer Jason Strudwick, and a cousin to both Rob and Scott Niedermayer.

The final player the Raiders are bringing in with junior experience is 19-year-old Max Heise, who the Raiders signed after the team he was playing for, the BCHL’s Penticton Vees, were disbanded so that they could join the WHL this year. You can read more on Heise by clicking here.

by Nick Nielsen

A deep dive into the Raiders camp roster

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