Heise set to debut, Clarke officially signed

“I watched the home opener when I was down there in the hotel room, and it seemed pretty electric in here. So, I’m excited to play in front of these fans and get going.”

With his experience around the Sharks in California, Heise is excited to bring back what he learned. The biggest takeaways for him were the intensity of the on-ice sessions, and just how much the pros treat hockey as a job compared to what it’s like in junior.

“It was a really cool experience for me. I took a lot out of it. It was cool to be up with the pros and see how they do things on a day-to-day basis, and learn from it and take it back to juniors.”

While Heise has that first home game on the calendar circled, he also has his mind on the Feb. 27 game when the Raiders welcome the Penticton Vees to town. He was part of the organization when it was still in the BCHL.

“Yeah, it’s a game that I definitely have circled on my calendar for sure. So it’ll be nice to see some familiar faces, it will be a little bit weird but I’m really looking forward to that game.” Heise later added, “It was a great, great two years in Penticton. I can’t thank the coaching staff and my billets there enough.”

Raider fans can hear more from Heise during the intermissions of Friday’s game against the Regina Pats on Brandt Raider Radio 900 CKBI.

The Raiders have officially signed 18-year-old defenceman Hubert Clarke from Norway House, MB on Thursday to his WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement.

Originally drafted 230th overall in the 11th round by the Raiders in 2022, the young defenceman played last season with the Minot Minotauros in the North American Hockey League where he managed three assists in 44 games.

Clarke has not played a regular season game for the Raiders yet, but played four games during the preseason and managed an assist.

“I’m really looking forward to playing and finally wearing the Prince Albert Raiders jersey. I have a couple friends in the league that I’m excited to play, and also we’re going to Brandon this weekend so my family will come down and watch.”

Even though Brandon is the closest mark on the map to Clarke’s family in Norway House, it’s still a drive over nine hours long.

There are two other Raiders that fans are waiting to see join the roster as soon as possible, with those being Alisher Sarkenov and Justice Christensen.

Sarkenov’s travel visa has been sorted out and he will likely join the Raiders for his first practice after the road swing through Regina and Brandon.

Christensen has yet to play in a game for the Detroit Red Wings, who have already announced their roster for Thursday’s preseason game with the Buffalo Sabres. It’s likely he’ll be in the lineup for one of Detroit’s games in either Pittsburgh on Friday or Buffalo on Saturday. The Raiders will find out afterward if and when he is coming back to join the team.

The Raiders will first take on the Regina Pats on Friday at 7 p.m., and on Saturday they’ll head to Brandon to take on the Wheat Kings at 5 p.m.

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nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com

by Nick Nielsen

Heise set to debut, Clarke officially signed

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