Local Raiders ready for Westerns run

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

Strathmore goaltender Ethan Rycroft and defenseman Mitch Desserre have come into their own and are strengthening Rocky Mountain Raiders triple-A bantam team.
Rycroft said with the bigger players in his face consistently he tries to make himself as big as possible to them and make sure his defense are picking up their checks.
“I feel like I talk to them a lot, let them know what’s going on,” said Rycroft. “I don’t really find myself a positional goalie. I just hope to get hit by the puck.”
However, he knows there are areas of his game to improve upon going into the stretch run and doesn’t want scouts to affect his progress.
“Challenge, (and) try to stay more in the crease,” said Rycroft. “I just try not to really focus on that and don’t look in the stands at them.”
He added that he hopes to go far into playoffs and knows the team will have to get on a roll heading into Westerns as hosts.
Desserre is known for his effective shot-blocking abilities and physical play on the backend. He wants to continue to improve his overall game for future opportunities.
“I want to make Alberta Cup,” said Desserre. “Even just at practice with the forwards I always want to see where they are and what they’re doing. I’m a pretty good size guy so I try to be as physical as I can and blocking shot. I do that quite a bit too.”
He expects that if they build team confidence and work hard, they’ll be able to get through to Westerns.
“(We) just have to always know that we just got to do what he have to do to win,” said Desserre. “We’re good offensively. We’re good at entering the zone and the defense is pretty good too. We’ll be a stronger team if we can improve in all three (areas), goalie defense and forward.”
Head coach Mickey Kluner said the former Wheatland Warriors have adapted very well to the triple-A level and praised them for what they were able to bring to the table for the Raiders this season.
“Ethan’s biggest thing is he battles,” said Kluner. “Although he’s had his ups and downs this year, he’s always passionate about what he does and gets upset with himself when he doesn’t have success.”
He describe Rycroft’s style as a hybrid Dominik Hasek, saying he scrambles in a way that gets him into tough spots but recovers well.
He has also been enthused with Desserre’s attitude, which he thinks will set him up for success.
“For him, his maturity level is quite high,” said Kluner. “That always helps with the adjusting period, ups and downs and just the understanding of the game expectations from the coaching staff.”
Kluner would like to see his team get to the Westerns by having success in the playoffs and building off of last year’s championship team.
The Raiders currently sit second in the Ram South Division with a record of 18-7-3.