Blaine Tendler's decision to retire from the WHL caught the team off guard.  The 19 year old second round draft choice was getting ready for his fourth full season in the WHL but felt he had to get on with life.  Tendler's experience cannot be replaced.  You just don't find three year blueline veterans for sale at Walmart.  Blaine played a stay at home game and has a quiet way about him off the ice.  He hates doing interviews but is always polite and friendly in conversasion.  So it was impossible to detect the inner conflict he was going through before asking to speak with Coach and G.M. Bruno Campese about his decision to walk away from the game.  Blaine's going to home Viceroy to help with harvest then plans to get his welding ticket.  Blaine is a quality young man and I have no doubt he will do well in his chosen profession.
 
So what does that mean for the Raiders?  Campese still feels they have depth on the backline with Nathan Deck, Jordan Rowley, Ryan Button and 20 year old Pat Kozyra occupying the top four spots.  Returnees Ryan Aasman and David Dotan will see increased ice time and have a chance to repond to that challenge.  The plan to carry eight defensemen also means 16 year olds Harrison Ruopp, Austin Frank, and Matt Waselynko have fighting chances to crack the lineup.  All three held their own in the two games against Saskatoon.  17 year old Emerson Hrynyk seemed to have a little more difficulty with the faster pace of preseason.  Meanwhile the question is how long will it take for 18 year old P.A. boy Tyson Newell to get back into the battle.  He had a very strong camp which ended when a puck broke his jaw during the intersquad game.   
 
Now what about the 5-1 and 6-2 losses to the Blades to open the preseason?   Saskatoon veterans like Curtis Hamilton kept pressure on the very young Raider defense in both games.  Hamilton is looking very much like a projected first round pick in next June's NHL draft.  The Blades also dressed 6-foot-2 inch 230 pound 19 year old free agent Tyler Matheson in both games while 19 year old veteran Travis Toomey was added for the game in Aberdeen.  19 year old defenseman Teigan Zahn also played in Aberdeen.  All three drove home the point that when you have some skill...SIZE STILL MATTERS.   On the Blades backline 16 year old Duncan Siemens is a man-child and already looking like a WHL rookie of the year candidate.  The Blades iced marginally older and more experienced lineups who peppered rookie goalies Jacob Edwards and Eric Williams.  Edwards was outstanding while the younger Williams was solid, clearly the brightest spots for the Raiders in the home and home series.
 
Up front Daniel Dale scored on a hilite reel solo effort Saturday for his first goal of the preseason.  Former Minto Sean Aschim turned in a strong effort on Thursday.   The challenge remains assessing and projecting how they and others like T.J Constant, Andrew Herle, and Brock Balson will respond at regular season speed..  Tanner Exner already has 19 games of WHL experience with the Chilliwack Bruins.   With Ryan Kowalski out with a possible concussion, there may be three open spots at wing up for grabs in the opening night lineup.  
 
There is much speculation about the trade availability of two veteran forwards.  Coach and G.M. Bruno Campese says they will look at any deal that would improve the tam.  20 year old forward Travis Dunstall is awaiting a trade from Medicine Hat and Jeremy Boyer is a 19 year old from Sasaktoon who has decided not to return to Seattle.  He has a higher offensive upside than Dunstall and could play two more seasons.  However, Bruno Campese would be in a long line of WHL General Manager's more than mildly interested in adding a 21 goal man up front, so you can bet Thunderbirds boss Russ Farwell is in no hurry to pull the chute on a trade.   
 
Campese plans to trim the roster to about 28 players and start working on systems before they take the ice Friday against Medicine Hat at the Art Hauser Centre.     

There and 36 players left after the Raider intersquad game which was the best I've witnesses in my time in P.A. 
 
All four goaltenders (Stanford, Zemlack, Williams and Edwards) were very good.  Steven Stanford faced 34 shots alone in just over 30 minutes of action. 
 
The future of the team looks bright with the performances of first round pick Mike Winther and second rounder Shane Danyluk.  Winther had two goals and two assists in a losing cause as White fell 5-4 in overtime to Black while Danyluk potted a pair for the winners.  Both showed excellent offensive instincts and a touch around the net.  Winther is tough too.  He took a monster open ice hit from veteran Brandon Herrod and was back out the next shift.
 
The other 15 year olds who is still around is third rounder defenseman Conor Sutton and since none are eligable to play more than five games there are essentially 33 players left to choose from.  All of the players from the 2009 draft class including local defesneman Sawyer Lange had solid camps as did free agent forward Allen Kilback.
 
16 year old winger Daniel Dale is among the six free agents who survived the cut.  The Notre Dame Argo forward was one the players who opened some eyes at the Aberdeen spring camp.  18 year old forwards Tanner Exner (who spent some time last year with the Chilliwack Bruins) and Andrew Herle (a Kindersley Klipper last year) will also challenge for spots on the wing. 
 
There were no surprise cuts but obviously many tough decisions.  Case in point 2008 draft pick Brody Robinson who got the bad news after a game in which he scored on a top knoch top shelf shot on an experienced goalie like Stanford.   
 
Among defenseman left standing is big 17 year old Emerson Hrynyk who played Junior-B last year in Grand Forks B.C.   2008 second round pick Harrison Ruopp also looks like an excellent candidate to crack the lineup.  However, the improvment of sophmore David Doton will make that a tougher proposition.  Ryan Button put an exclamation point on a free wheeling camp blasting home the overtime winner in the intersquad game on a screen shot from the point. 
 
Newly acquired Justin Maylan and veteran Jordan Hickmott had outstanding camps while Herrod who had two assists in the intersquad game is starting elevate his game.  Fredrik Cedergren looks as if he will make an impact.  The Swede selected in the Import Draft has improved steadily since day one as he picked up a goal and an assist in the intersquad game.
 
Mark McNeill hasn't seen any action as he recovers from an severed achillies tendon.  However, at 6'1" and about 200 pounds he is a 16 year old with the physical maturity of an adult.  Coach and G.M. Bruno Campese says they won't rush the 2008 first round pick, meaning a late September or early October debut.
 
Veteran winger Ryan Kowalski sustained a head injury Friday and is still awaiting the results of his concussion test.  He suffered one last season while in Prince George.  
 
The intensity and skill level moves up another kntoch beginning Thursday with the preseason opener against Saskatoon at the Art Hauser centre.  It will be interesting to see who will meet the challenge. 

Team Gold made it three straight wins after an opening game loss to close out the training camp contests with a 6-2 victory over Team Black.
 
Jordan Hickmott scored another two for a total of five in camp games including a coast to coast solo effort topped off with a nifty backhand twine bender early in the first period.  Former Minto Sean Aschim had another productive game with two goals and an assist.  He also counted five over the four camp game excursion.  T.J Constant and Allen Kilback rounded out the scoring for Gold.
 
Big Manuel Shellenberg parked his body in front of the Gold net to collect both Black goals. 
 
It was also a session hilited by strong goaltending.  16 year old Mac Engel posted his best performance of camp while veterans Garrett Zemlack and Steven Stanford were rock solid.  Stanford made a couple more hilite reel saves indicating it's going to be quite a battle for the number one job between the pipes.
 
Now the coaches and scouts will huddle to trim the roster for Sunday's intersquad game and it won't be easy.  It just may be a few veterans whose jobs are not in doubt will get the afternoon off for a final look at a competitive group of youngsters.   
 
We will see who can step up to the next level after the opening face off a noon.

The line of Dustin Cameron, Jordan Kochan and Brandon Herrod were the difference in team Black's 6-4 win over Green Saturday afternoon.
 
All three scored including Cameron's low wrister which sealed the deal with a minute-55 to go.
Former Chilliwack Bruin Tanner Exner potted a pair for the winners after getting himself into the  "pay the price" scoring zone around the net.  Wyat Haustien scored the winner with ten minutes to go.
 
Fredrik Cedergren opened the scoring for Green converting a cross crease feed and now has a camp leading five goals.   Ryan Button's ripper into the top corner on a two-on-one temporarily tied the game nine minutes into the third period.  Button has been flying all camp with a definate eye on offense.  Brock Balson also scored for Green. 
  
It was a good session for the goalies.  17 year old Jacob Edwards and 15 year old Brandon Fiebelkorn turned in their best performances of camp.  16 year old Eric Williams was also sharp. 
  
 It also seemed as if defenseman Ryan Aasman turned it up a knotch in this game.
 
The pace slowed at times as the fatigue from multiple games in addition to fitness and strength testing is setting in.

Igor Revenko's two goal effort helped Gold mine a 7-2 Saturday morning win over Green.  The Belarussian sophmore converted Mike Winther's goalmouth feed early in the second period and deflected a Harrison Ruopp point shot home later in the period.  Jacob Edwards' stop on an Igor breakaway later in the period prevented the hat trick. 
 
Revenko and Winther were teamed with Jordan Hickmott with the 19 year old from Mission B.C. also scoring.  In the third period, Winther used some fancy footwork and dangerous dangles to work off the boards at centre and all the way to the net but couldn't bury at the end of an eye opening effort.
 
Swede Fredrik Cedergren scored two more goals for Green and was a factor just about every time he stepped on the ice.  The 19 year old has been improving steadily.
 
Sean Aschim scored once for Gold and set up Brody Robinson's marker.  Daniel Dale had another strong game while assisting on Brendon Kennedy's second goal in as many sessions.  Mind you Jacob Edwards would like to have that shot back, his first after coming off the bench at the midway point.
 
Former Minto Tyson Newell's blast rounded out the scoring.
 
Gold defenseman Jeff Dort threw the biggest bone crunching check of the morning with an open ice neutral zone collision with Connor Pennell on the recieving end.
 
Veteran winger Ryan Kowalski sat out the session still feeling the effects of a Friday morning elbow to the head.  The 18 year old is still awaiting the results of his concussion test, but has been experiencing nausia. 

Game three of Raider training camp was a goalie's nightmare.  Gold opened a 4-0 lead before the seven minute mark and went on to win 11-4 over Team Black.
 
Free agent Daniel Dale took full advantage of having Justin Maylan on his line converting two great feeds and completed his hat trick with a highlight reel deke and backhand conversion of an early third period breakaway.   Meanwhile Maylan was dominant for a second straight outing.
 
Joran Hickmott got into the act with a pair of goals fifteen seconds apart early in the first period depositing both into the top corner on beleaguered Brendan Fiebelkorn.  Hickmott too was excellent for a second straight game.
 
One of the few bright spots for Team Black was second round pick Shayne Danyluk.  He also took advantage of the presence of a couple of vets on his line with two goals.  He showed a nice touch around the net tucking a goalmouth shot upstairs on a first period power play and used linemates Dustin Cameron and Brandon Herrod as decoys beating Garrett Zemlack low stick side on a three-on-one break late in the second period.  Zemlack's great save on Danyluk's attempted conversion of a tick-tack-toe passing play in the third foiled Danyluk's best chance for a hat trick.
 
It was 5-1 Gold when veterans Steven Stanford and Zemlack took over in goal but the floodgates stayed open and neither gave up what could be considered a bad goal.   It was a shooter's game as Nathan Deck banked one in off the post on Stanford and drafted defenseman Brendan Kennedy got into the act undressing a couple of Black defenders and sniping a backhander top shelf indicating the 15 year old is much better after a bout with food poisoning kept him out of game one.
 
Sean Aschim, Jeff Dort, T.J. Constant, and Justin Lund completed the scoring for Gold with Beau Stewart and Mike Winther rounding out the scoring for Black.  That's the first goal of camp for this spring's first round pick while Stewart continues to impress with his speed and savy.
 
There was one other noteworthy occurance aside from the goals.  Veteran defenseman David Dotan came to the aid of Maylan in the second period after another vet Brandon Herrod drilled Maylan with a bone crunching hit knocking Maylan's helmet off.  Dotan and Herrod dropped the gloves but neither landed any blows before quicking wrestling to the ice.
 
One footnote from game two.  Returning winger Ryan Kowalski left after taking an elbow to the head.  The extent of his injury wasn't known by the end of Friday's action.

The second game of Raider training camp was more up tempo than the Thursday night's opener..likely an indication the effects of the "beep" test is wearing off.
 
Veteran goalie Steven Stanford set the table for his session early in the first period by stealing a sure goal from Thomas Sowa who seemingly had a wide open net from a couple feet out.  Stanford was rock solid the rest of the way...his only blemish..albiet a tiny one, was Brandon Formosa's snipe into the top corner from point blank range.
 
Stanford's Team Black mates rode a two goal effort from 19 year old free agent Manuel Schellenberg in the second period to a 6-3 victory.  The Vancouver area product who is the tallest player in camp blew a blast from the right wing past Jacob Edwards and beat Eric Williams on a breakaway when the 16 year old netminder could only get a piece of the shot.   Schellenberg almost completed the hat trick in the third period.  Williams had a solid session in goal including a dandy save off veteran Jordan Kochan from close range.
 
Free agent defenseman Emerson Hrynyk turned some heads with a nifty solo effort in the first period that gave Team Black a 2-0 lead.  The 17 year old who played Junior-B in Grand Forks B.C. last year showed some skill to go along with good size.  
 
There was a pretty good flow to the session with a lot of back and forth action.. taylor made for smooth skaters like second round draft picks Beau Stewart and Shayne Danyluk who like this year's first rounder Mike Winther on Thursday night...showed off their offensive upsides.
 
Stewart, Dustin Cameron and Wyat Haustien also scored for team Black, while Fredrik Cedergren who looked more comfortable on the small ice in his second game and Brock Balson rounded out the scoring for the Green's.  Mind you Balson's was a gift from centre in the final minute as he caught rookie Brandon Fiebelkorn off guard...too bad because the 15 year old netminder was good otherwise.    
 
Mark McNeill sat out this game as he continues to recover from a severed achillies tendon suffered earlier this spring while playing at the Alberta under 17 camp.  Coach and G.M. Bruno Campese says they won't rush the 2008 first round pick.  Campese feels McNeill is on schedule to be ready in late September or early October.
 
I also bumped into former Minto Jadon Potter at the rink.  Jadon says he continues to work toward a return to hockey after suffering a broken neck late last season.  Jadon says Chilliwack Bruins brass have told him to take as long as he needs.