Raiders Announce Leadership Group for 2022-23 Season
October 4, 2022 – Western Hockey League (WHL) – Prince Albert Raiders News Release
The Prince Albert Raiders are proud to name defenceman Nolan Allan as the team’s 46th captain in franchise history.
Allan led the team in assists last season with a career-high 34, and finished with a career-high 41 points in 65 games in his third full WHL season. The 19-year-old was selected in the first round (32nd overall) of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. A veteran of 146 WHL games, Allan has totalled 10 goals and 42 assists (52 points). He was also a part of the 2018-19 Raider group that won the WHL Championship, as he made 7 appearances in the 2018-19 regular season.
Last season, Allan was named the team’s Most Valuable Player at the annual Prince Albert Raiders Award banquet.
“It’s a huge honour to be able to lead this group,” Allan said. “This is a great organization with great past leaders, and I’m proud to be able to be one of them. Every captain leads a different way, and I think taking things from each one that I’ve had and that I’ve learned from is something I want to do.”
The Raiders also named defenceman Landon Kosior, as well as forwards Evan Herman and Carson Latimer the team’s alternate captains for the season.
Herman, like Allan, has been with the Raiders for his entire WHL career, dating back to the 2018-19 regular season where he made three appearances. Last season, Herman led the team in goals (28), and finished third in team scoring with 47 points in 68 games. The overager has 87 points in 155 career WHL games, and is just five goals shy of 50 in his career. He currently sits second in team scoring with four points (0G-4A) in five games.
Herman was the recipient of the third star award, as well as the Lionel Diehl Memorial Award as the team’s hardest working player, and the Players Choice Award at the 2021-22 regular season award banquet.
“It’s a huge honour like (Nolan) said,” Herman explained. “I think we have a great leadership group here, and I’m excited to keep going here and do it with these fellas.”
Herman wore an ‘A’ last year, and explained his mindset as an alternate once again this season.
“I just want to keep doing what I’ve been doing. The other guys do a really good job of stepping up and it makes my job easy.”
Landon Kosior, a fellow overager, is entering his fourth WHL season, which have all been spent in Prince Albert. The 20-year-old led the team in defencemen scoring with 45 points in 68 games, including 18 goals. Half of those goals came on the powerplay, where he finished second behind Herman (10) in powerplay goals. Kosior also led the team in shots on goal with 210, one more than former captain Reece Vitelli (209).
Kosior took home the Jim Neilson award for Most Valuable Defenceman during the 2021-22 awards banquet.
“It’s an honour any time you get a responsibility like this,” Kosior said. “I’m just thankful and excited for the year. I’m a guy who likes to lead by example. There’s times when you have to speak up in the room, but I think playing the right way on the ice and showing the younger guys how to play is important too.”
Meanwhile Carson Latimer, who was acquired by the Raiders last December as part of the Kaiden Guhle deal, has been an important piece in the lineup since his arrival. In 44 games as a Raider in the 2021-22 regular season, Latimer produced 32 points (12G-20A) in 44 games. In three regular season games so far, Latimer has two assists in three games, after returning from Ottawa Senators training camp.
“It’s always an honour anytime that you’re able to wear a letter,” Latimer said. “It’s a huge honour for me to be able to have this, and to help lead this team. You can take a lot from when you go away to other places (Ottawa camp). Getting to see their leaders and even coming from a different team (Edmonton Oil Kings), it’s an opportunity to learn. Now coming back and leading with Nolan, Evan, and Landon, it’s going to be great.”
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