Derkatch coming to camp with open mind

When Dayce Derkatch was called up to the Prince Albert Raiders just after a month into the 2024-25 regular season, a lot of people weren’t sure what to expect from a 5’8, 133lb winger. What they quickly learned however, was that the Raiders were adding a relentless player to their roster. That relentlessness is something that Derkatch came to embrace, as he continued to find his footing in the WHL.

“I’ll do anything that I need to do for the team,” Derkatch stated. “If I’m not scoring or putting up points, I have to do something else to help out the team. If it’s that, so be it. I love embracing roles. It’s a team game, and you need everybody on the team. I embraced that role this year, and I’m willing to do whatever is needed this year.”

Despite 2024-25 being his first full time WHL season, Derkatch actually made his WHL debut in the 2023-24 campaign. On January 14th, 2024, he stepped onto WHL ice for the first time in Brandon against the Wheat Kings. It seemed only fitting that on the same ice he played his first WHL game in at Westoba Place, that it would also be where he scored his first career WHL goal. While it didn’t come in his debut game in 2023-24, Derkatch found the back of the net for the first time on November 9th, 2024 in Brandon. He scored a forechecker’s goal, pouncing on a turnover behind the net and scoring on a wraparound try.

In his 55 regular season games last year, Derkatch scored three times and added five assists to finish the year with eight points. The now 18-year-old scored once in the playoffs as well, as he found the back of the net in game one of the second round in Medicine Hat.

“I’d have it happen the same way over and over again,” Derkatch said about his time so far in the WHL. “Each time I stepped onto the ice last season was awesome. To face a little bit of adversity and come up, the way the guys treated me was so awesome. They made me feel so welcome. Just to hop right into the lineup was great. To get into the playoffs and have that experience was unbelievable too. There’s truly nothing that can get you ready for that down in midget hockey, but that was a great experience that I have under my belt, and I’m looking forward to taking that into year two.”

Derkatch has taken his experience as a rookie into the summer, where he has been training hard this offseason.

“I’ve been training off ice at the same gym that I’ve been training at for about five years now. It’s been just a rinse and repeat of what I’ve already been doing, which is great because I know what I’m getting in to. We’ve got a great group of WHL guys here that I train with every day which is awesome. On the ice I’ve been doing power skating here in Regina, and I’ve been a part of a group called Next Level, which is with a lot of junior guys and older guys who’ve played in college. I skate with them 2-3 times a week and it’s all been so great.

“Learning from last year and seeing how hard everyone works has definitely helped me stay motivated this summer. I’m hoping to come back and produce more points and help out the team as much as I can this year.”

While some key figures in Max Hildebrand, Niall Crocker, and Rilen Kovacevic have graduated from the league, as well as Tomas Mrsic’s NCAA commitment for next season, Derkatch is feeling very optimistic for the year ahead. He explained how there are still a lot of faces returning, and how he can’t wait to play with the new batch of players as well.

“It’s super exciting. Those young guys came up at the end of the year and got into the mix, and they’re all great guys. Our leaders are going to lead too. We have a lot of the core group from last year coming back, which is a great way to build a championship team. I think we’ve got the team to do it. I can’t wait to meet the new Euro guys that are coming over as well.”

The 2025-26 season is approaching fast! The Raiders play their first preseason game on September 2nd against the Saskatoon Blades. Prince Albert’s first home game of the preseason is on September 3rd, as they host the Blades at the Art Hauser Centre.