Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Coming off a season in which they iced one of the younger Junior C rosters in the province, the Napanee Raiders can expect many familiar faces in their 2022-23 opening night lineup.
That said, there are still some holes to fill this summer ahead of the season’s premier puck drop in late September. Some of those spots will get filled during the team’s upcoming training camp, which will run Aug. 27 at the Strathcona Paper Centre.
Open to players born between 2002 and ’06, the team is accepting registration now at www.NapaneeRaiders.com.
“What we’ve been doing in the offseason is really sorting out who locally can come in and fill in some gaps,” said Raiders head coach Ben Hagerman. “We’ve got a really nice group coming to this camp. Still some work to firm up some stuff that we’ve got going on but we’re pretty excited about the dozen or so guys that are back and then filling in the rest of the roster accordingly.”
Last season the Napanee Raiders defeated the Amherstview Jets in Game 7 of the Tod Division finals before going on a deep playoff run where they just missed out on the Schmalz Cup weekend tournament with a PJHL East finals loss to Clarington. Napanee did all that without a single 21-year-old on their roster.
“There’s certainly a nice core returning of eight to ten guys that we’re really excited about that were contributors last year and will be a whole year older this year,” said Hagerman. “Your Cam Krupas coming in with a whole season of being healthy, hopefully he can get back to where he was leaving off in the playoffs. Someone like that is just a huge returnee for our team. We feel that we’re going to have as strong of a returning core as there is in the division.”
“Another example, (goalie) Bailey Maracle, probably after (Alex) Lepizzera in Clarington, probably the top goalie in the PJHL last year and he’s back for another year,” said Hagerman. “It’s a huge thing to have that stability of eight to 10 or 11 guys coming back. Beckett Palmer-Stephen scores 15 goals as an 18-year-old rookie, what can he be at 19? We’ve got a real nice core there.”
The Raiders front office is also in contact with a handful of players who will be attending Queen’s University in the fall. They’re also constantly monitoring Junior A camps to see if any players may become available from there as well.
Recruiting this offseason is a little easier compared to the previous two summers as there’s a lot more known about what the season will look like without the uncertainty of COVID-19 hanging above.
“To be able to talk to recruits and tell them when our training camp is, how many regular season games there are, you have the confidence that they’re going to be able to enter the arena at a more conducive time to preparation instead of the restrictions that went along with protocols, so all of those things mean a lot going into a new season,” said Hagerman. “We definitely took for granted just those little things that we thought we were so entitled to.”
The regular season schedule is still being finalized but one thing that is certain is it will consist of 42 games, all played within the Tod Division. Along with Napanee and Amherstview the division includes Port Hope, Campbellford, Picton and Frankford.
“It’s a lot of games against the other five teams, but to get back to 42 games is important from a team standpoint, development standpoint and getting everybody those home gates, we’re excited for that,” said Hagerman.
The Raiders are also in the process of putting together a pre-season exhibition series against the North Kawartha Knights of the Orr Division, which would take place just ahead of the season. Dates are yet to be announced.
The Raiders’ annual Alumni Golf Classic is also back this year, set to tee off Sept. 17 at the Napanee Golf and Country Club. Teams of four can register for the 18-hole scramble at NapaneeRaiders@gmail.com. The cost is $120 per person and includes a cart rental and dinner. The tournament, which welcomes back former players as well as members of the current roster playing among fans and sponsors, serves as the team’s biggest fundraiser.