Mike Winther visited the Saddledome in Calgary on Tuesday night to watch the Hitmen face off against his future team, the Prince Albert Raiders.
The Raiders selected Winther sixth overall in the WHL bantam draft last spring. His rookie season with the UFA Bisons of the Alberta Midget Hockey League ended 10 days ago, and he might soon join the Raiders for the rest of their season.
“I’m just waiting for the call,” the 16-year-old forward said Tuesday afternoon.
Winther expects to remain a spectator for as long as Prince Albert is still battling for a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. After a 5-0 loss Tuesday in Calgary, the fading Raiders are seven points out of the eighth and final playoff position.
“It’s so tight for playoffs,” Winther said. “They said if they’re out of a playoff spot, I’m going to come up, and if they clinch a playoff spot, I’m going to come up. It’s either-or, I guess.”
Winther spoke with Raiders coach and general manager Bruno Campese last week after the Bisons lost 2-0 to the Lethbridge Y’s Men Hurricanes in their best-of-three division quarter-final.
“Bruno said he’d like to call me up, but with their position in (the race for) the playoffs, it’s tough,” Winther said. “He’s got to play his older guys, and he didn’t want any distractions, or whatever. And I totally agree with him.”
Tonight, the Raiders will play even closer to Winther’s hometown of Trochu, Alta., when they visit the Red Deer Rebels. He said he would “probably” be at the Centrium for that game, in one form or another.
“I’m kind of hoping I get to play,” he said last weekend. “If not, it would be good just to go to the practices and travel on the bus with them.”
Levi Bews, a forward from Winther’s midget team, has been called up to the Saskatoon Blades for the rest of their WHL season. And the Blades announced Tuesday that they’ve added two more prospects — Lethbridge forward Lukas Sutter and defenceman Darren Dietz — to their active roster.
Winther understands that, on a couple of fronts, Saskatoon’s situation differs from Prince Albert’s playoff push. The front-running Blades are guaranteed post-season play, and injuries created openings in their lineup.
In similar fashion, the Prince George Cougars, long since out of the playoff picture, have been able to bring prospects on board. One of their recent call-ups is UFA defenceman Josh Smith.
Winther scored 15 goals and 30 points in 25 games with the Bisons.
“To tell you the truth, it wasn’t really the best year I’ve had,” he said. “But there were some good moments.”
One of those highlights was a silver-medal finish in the Mac’s international tournament in Calgary, where UFA lost 2-1 to the Vancouver Northwest Giants in the final.
“There were a lot of fans and a lot of energy in the building,” Winther said. “It was pretty sweet to play in (the Saddledome).
“I’m a little surprised we did that (well). But we played as a team and played really good in the tournament.”
During the Mac’s, he spoke with Raiders player-personnel director Dale Derkatch.
Winther, who led the Airdrie Xtreme to the Western Canadian bantam championship last year, played centre and left wing with the midget AAA Bisons. But he saw limited time on special teams.
“I thought (I’d have a bigger role),” said Winther, five-foot-11 and 170 pounds. “I think I was one of the top two forwards on the team, but the coaches thought otherwise.
“I didn’t get much power-play time, or on the penalty kill. I was just getting regular-shifted for the whole year. I play my good games when I’m getting lots of ice time, so I can get into the games.
“I expected a little bit of a better year, but, oh well.”
jmacneil@paherald.sk.ca
