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vbottas17 · 04-08-2017, 01:39 AM

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Season 30 was a dream season for the Raiders. The season featured a number of ups and downs, twists and turns, and the season culminated with Colin Banning lifting the Four Star Cup, after a stunning third period comeback in game 7 (Link), leaving the Prince George faithful stunned and in an eerie silence.

The Raiders got off to a horrible start. The team failed to win back to back games until the latter stages of the season. It would have been easy for the team to chalk it up to an unfamiliarity with the league, or with each other. However, no matter what the odds were, the Raiders stuck together. The team stood up for each other. Halifax won as a team and the Raiders lost as a team. The top SHL prospects littered throughout the roster, the depth players who would never get to taste the top professional league, even the kid who barely even spoke any English, and had never experienced this level of play in Japan, It didn't matter where you were slotted in the line-up, you were playing for the logo on the front of your jersey and not for the name on the back of it. The Raiders fought hard throughout the season and steadily became closer as a team as the season progressed. Key players were brought in for the cup run and the team gelled at the perfect time.

We used to joke around and talk about how good we could be in the future as a SHL team. It's been 3 full seasons since the Raiders lifted the cup. What would that team look like today if they had moved up to the SHL?

Forwards

Pietra Volkova (869 TPE) - Casper Jakobsson (660 TPE) - Jean-Luc Reflieux (963 TPE)
Isaac Kaiser (463 TPE) - Alex Reed (664 TPE) - Reed Laing (715 TPE)
Niklas Flower (302 TPE) - Joey Ryan (retired) - Solaire Azarov (270ish?)
Kip O'Callahan (219 TPE) - Taro Tsujimoto (retired) - Cleo Green (???)

Then

While they may have been the second line on paper, the Raiders best offensive line during the cup run was the famed K-R-L line, Isaac Kaiser, Alex Reed & Reed Laing. The season 30 playoffs were Reed Laing's coming out party, Laing led the Raiders with 12 goals and 21 points. The top line featured back to back #1 SHL draft picks, and a player many regarded as the top prospect not in the SHL at the time, Casper Jakobsson. The bottom 6 was filled with capable players from all different backgrounds. Cleo Green was a veteran who was looking for a cup, he would get that, scoring the game winning goal in game 7 of the finals. O'Callahan, Flower, Ryan and Azarov all had SHL aspirations, Tsujimoto was a late addition who played a key part in the game 7 comeback.

Now

I think the forward group would remain in large part the same. While there was a lot of potential here that never materialized, Volkova, Laing, Reed, Kaiser Jakobsson and maybe even Reflieux have all went on to become legitimate SHL players. Taro Tsujimoto was one of the most promission prospects in the SHL before disappearing back to Japan. Joey Ryan also has called it career after what looked to be the start of a promising career. The most impressive players from this group are Pietra Volkova and Reed Laing.

Defense

Blake Battle (376 TPE) - Colin Banning (860 TPE)
Victor Lindstrom (620 TPE) - Toivo Kosonen (894 TPE)
Alexsander Komarov (423 TPE) - Greta Iversen (270ish?)
Blake Fenrir -

Then

In my opinion the most important area of strength on the team. Blake Battle and Colin Banning were both SHL 1st round picks with a year of experience under their belts. Banning was the teams captain and scored at over a point per game thoughout the playoffs, all of course without compromising his trademark steady defensive play. Victor Lindstrom was one of the most underrated players in the league at the time and gave the Raiders three legit #1 defenseman. Toivo Kosonen and Greta Iversen burst onto the scene and both provided excellent play throughout the season and down the stretch. Alexsander Komarov joined the team about mid-way through the season and instantly provided the Raiders with a physical edge.

Now

The leaders of this group would be Banning and Kosonen. Both are moving into the upper echelon of SHL defenseman and would form a strong pairing. Lindstrom is expected to play top-4 minutes this season in Los Angeles and would be relied upon to play a top 4 role with this team. Teaming up with him would be Panthers teammate "The Russian Bicep*" Alexsander Komarov. Blake Battle seemed to hit a roadblock in his development around the time of the Raiders cup run and hasn't progressed much since. Greta Iversen has been excellent in her career for the Raiders but hasn't shown much as far as developing into a SHL defenseman.

Goalies

Richard C. Hocolate (629 TPE)
Georgette Pel (857 TPE)

Then

A veteran presence who was undoubtedly one of the keys to the Raiders success, Dick Chocolate enjoyed perhaps the best career in the black, gold & silver of any goaltender in franchise history. Hocolate was excellent as usual in the cup clinching game. Georgette Pel played great when called upon, appearing in 3 post season games and allowing only 4 goals.

Now

Georgette Pel has surpassed Hocolate and many other goalies with her development over the past few seasons. Pel would be the teams starter and would be relied upon heavily to keep the Raiders in games. Hocolate is no slouch and would provide Pel with a break whenever she needed rest.

So in closing, This team was unbelievable to be a part of. The majority of the team was built a little less than a year ago, but there's some memories from this particular season that I'll always remember as long as I'm involved in leagues like this. Hopefully the Raiders can build something similar again in the future!

raiders

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Toivo · 04-08-2017, 01:44 AM

Promote the Raiders to the SHL!

~~GroupMeIsKindOfOkay~~ · 04-08-2017, 01:47 AM

Squad

Pris · 04-08-2017, 08:39 AM

:wub:

daBenchwarmer · 04-09-2017, 06:22 PM

yes bb

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