Times are good for the 4-0-1 Prince Albert Raiders less than a month into the 2025-26 Western Hockey League (WHL) season, picking up right where they left off last season.
A team which took a major step forward in achieving playoff success, the Raiders have kicked off a new WHL season as the only team in the Eastern Conference yet to lose a game in regulation.
It marks a far cry from last year’s early season performance, which saw the team drop seven of their first eight games.
“Last year we didn’t get off to the start that we wanted,” said star defenceman Daxon Rudolph. “This year the start was a big emphasis for us and it’s been going well so far. We got a couple of additions back from NHL camps here recently and our team is looking good. We’ll continue to keep working and keep improving as the season goes.”
Splitting their season-opening weekend against the Saskatoon Blades, the Raiders have gone on to win three straight games over the Regina Pats, Brandon Wheat Kings and Red Deer Rebels.
According to head coach Ryan McDonald, the team has been able to dictate the pace of play out of the gate and is seeing an improvement in execution of their game plan.
“It’s definitely exciting,” said McDonald. “For us it’s continuing to build our game, a great start to the season and we’ve won in a bunch of different ways which is great for us. It’s just continuing to improve, continuing to learn and continuing to build our game.”
The Raiders are aiming to defend the East Division banner they won last season on the final day of the regular season, marking the first time Prince Albert has claimed their division in half a decade.
They’ll have to do so this season without their biggest star from last year, following the graduation of WHL Goaltender of the Year Max Hildebrand who has begun his first NCAA season with Bemidji State University.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
Prince Albert has elected to begin the 2025-26 season with a rotation of goaltenders in net with Dimitri Fortin, Michal Orsulak and Steele Bass each recording wins before Bass was reassigned to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Battlefords North Stars.
“We’ve seen it first hand at the start of the year here doing it by committee,” said McDonald. “Three tremendous people, three tremendous goaltenders. They all bring something a little bit different, they’re great teammates with each other out on the ice and they push each other to get better every single day.”
Prince Albert’s full roster is now available for McDonald moving forward following the return of forward Max Heise and second-year captain Justice Christensen from NHL training camps.
For Christensen, who got an extended look with the Detroit Red Wings, it’s time playing with and against NHL regulars which he’ll look to pass on in his overage season with the Raiders.
“It was a great experience for me,” said Christensen. “To come back here and share some of that experience with guys that will be drafted this year, it will certainly help them. For myself, that was a ton of fun and I was really happy with how I played.”
Leading that group of draft eligible Raiders is Rudolph on the back end, who is coming off representing Canada at both the IIHF World U18 Hockey Championship and the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Projected to be taken in the first round of next June’s NHL Draft, he said it’s important to focus on his day-to-day efforts with Prince Albert in the hopes of raising his draft stock.
“It’s definitely a big year for me,” said Rudolph. “The same message goes to try and get better every day. I try not to worry about the [NHL Draft] too much. I try to focus on every day and winning each and every day here in Prince Albert.”
Along with Rudolph, fellow second-year teammates Riley Boychuk and Ty Meunier are likely to be picked by NHL teams next year.
The Raiders took a big step forward in their development last spring not only by winning the East Division, but rallying from a 3-1 opening round series deficit to the Edmonton Oil Kings to advance to the second round.
While they’d be upended by the eventual WHL champions in the Medicine Hat Tigers, it was a key moment of growth for the Raiders as they trend towards challenging for a championship themselves.
“I think you learn so much from those moments and those key games,” said Rudolph. “Being down 3-1, that’s a tough moment with your back against the wall and your season could be over in one game.
“I think it showed a lot about the character of our team last year and how we stuck together.”
Now comes the next step in ‘Hockeytown North’ for the Raiders, as they’ll look to stretch out their hot start over a 68-game regular season and try to make that next leap as an organization.
“Knowing what it takes and the resiliency, it’s just in our room,” said Christensen. “That’s a non-negotiable, it’s what we do and it’s how we play.”
The Raiders (4-0-1) will return to the ice on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. trying to extend their win streak against the visiting Vancouver Giants (2-4-0) at the Art Hauser Centre.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
