Like Connor Bedard, Dylan Guenther and Kaiden Guhle before him, 15-year-old Daxon Rudolph hasn’t had much time to slow down since being selected first overall in the WHL Draft.
“It’s been pretty crazy,” said Rudolph. “I’ve never really been through it before.”
“Putting on the jersey and actually playing a game against another team is really special. I’m glad I got to share it with the guys I did.”
Rudolph is coming off his first WHL training camp with the Prince Albert Raiders after being named the top pick by the club in May, while also suiting up for his first two career pre-season games.
The large-framed defenceman is part of a stacked 2023 Raiders draft class getting their first taste of action in the WHL, including Prince Albert’s second overall pick Riley Boychuk.
“It was unreal getting to look down there seeing the Raiders jersey, the logo,” said Boychuk. “It’s great, such a good organization and I was very proud and honoured to put it on.”
Coming into the 2023-24 season, Prince Albert possesses one of the deepest prospect pools in the WHL with the duo of Rudolph and Boychuk joined by fellow 2023 first rounder Ty Meunier, 2022 15th overall selection Luke Moroz, as well as second rounders Seth Tansem and Ryan Gower.
Head coach Jeff Truitt has had six periods of evaluation so far in the Raiders pre-season and is impressed with the showings from the youngest athletes in camp.
“The young kids really showed well,” said Truitt following Prince Albert’s 2-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades last week on the Big River First Nation. “For the 15 year olds I thought they did a really good job of not just being a passenger, but they were contributing.”
While 2008-born players like Rudolph, Boychuk and Meunier can only play a handful of games this season as call-ups, the Raiders will be leaning upon a growing pool of youthful talent in 2023-24.
This includes second-year forwards like Brayden Dube and Cole Peardon who are expected to take on larger roles.
Not to mention the reigning WHL Rookie of the Year in sniper Ryder Ritchie, who posted 20 goals and 55 points in his first season of junior last season.
After a breakout season with Edmonton’s Northern Alberta Xtreme program where he scored 50 points in 30 games at the U15 level, Rudolph expects to fit into that promising core down the road and is soaking in as much as he can during the pre-season.
“I think we’re on the rise which is good,” said Rudolph. “Lots of great talent here. But the most important thing is lots of good guys, that’s what we’re building the team around and our culture is really good. So I’m looking forward to getting started next year and moving forward.”
With a new goaltender between the pipes in former Red Deer Rebel Chase Coward, returning to the post-season after missing in 2022-23 will be priority number one for Prince Albert.
Even though Rudolph and Boychuk will be waiting a little while longer to become WHL regulars, they’re each hoping to become part of another Raiders championship core in the near future.
“It’s really cool to be in the presence of them and then in the presence of them in the future,” said Boychuk. “These guys will be my family soon. We’re all family and it’s going to be good.”
The Raiders cap off their exhibition schedule with games on Sept. 15 and 16 against Regina and Saskatoon, before kicking off the 2023-24 regular season on Sept. 22 at home to Moose Jaw.
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