2026 WHL Championship – Game 1 Player to Watch: Daxon Rudolph, Prince Albert Raiders
Everett, Wash. – Daxon Rudolph is enjoying a playoff season to remember.
The 18-year-old product of Lacombe, Alta., heads into the 2026 WHL Championship Series presented by Nutrien as the WHL Playoff scoring leader with 23 points (9G-14A) in 15 games.
“It’s the reason you play the game – for the playoffs, for moments like this, to play for a championship,” Rudolph said prior to Game 1 on Friday morning. “That’s why I play hockey… It just brings the best out of everyone. Playoffs is where you can separate yourself from others.”
Eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft, Rudolph is ranked fifth among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, and it’s safe to say his post-season efforts aren’t hurting his draft stock.
The mobile, two-way blueliner has been an unstoppable force, helping the Raiders advancing to the WHL Championship Series for the first time since last winning it in 2019.
“He is the ultimate competitor, he’s that big-game player,” Raiders Head Coach Ryan McDonald said of Rudolph. “His offensive side of the puck is one thing… It’s how he plays away from the puck as well. He defends extremely hard, has a good stick, has tremendous vision on the ice… He puts his teammates in real good positions with pucks and he is a tremendous leader for how old he is… He is mature beyond his years and a tremendous hockey player.”
The 6-foot-2, 202-pound rearguard has been a force all season long. With 78 points (28G-50A) in 68 contests, he led the Raiders in scoring. The impressive campaign earned Rudolph a place on the WHL Eastern Conference First All-Star Team and he was also named a finalist for the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy, presented annually to the WHL Defenceman of the Year.
Selected first overall in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft, Rudolph isn’t the first high-profile blueliner to have starred for the Raiders in recent seasons. When the Club won the 2019 WHL Championship, there was a 16-year-old Kaiden Guhle patrolling the blueline. Guhle himself was a first-overall selection in the WHL Prospects Draft, selected by the Raiders in 2017.
On both occasions where the Raiders have advanced to the WHL Championship, they have emerged victorious and been powered by impressive defenceman. In 1985, it was the affable Manny Viveiros who registered 11 points (2G-9A) in 13 games to help the Raiders capture the WHL title. In 2019, Guhle appeared in 23 games and played regular minutes as a young and emerging defenceman.
If the Raiders are to claim a franchise third championship, you can bet your bottom dollar Rudolph will be at the centre of it.
"Top two teams in the League going at it here for a seven-game series. So, obviously, a lot of excitement, a lot of nerves."
Hear from @PARaidersHockey defenceman Daxon Rudolph ahead of Game of the 2026 #WHLChampionship Series tonight. pic.twitter.com/z0LucL95rF
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) May 8, 2026
The 2026 WHL Championship Series presented by Nutrien will begin Friday, May 8, at 7 p.m. PT as the Everett Silvertips host the Prince Albert Raiders. The winner of the best-of-seven series will advance to the 2026 Memorial Cup presented by Kubota in Kelowna, B.C., which is scheduled for Friday, May 22, through Sunday, May 31.
All seven games of the WHL Championship Series are available in Canada on TSN. Viewers can also stream the entire series globally and for FREE on Victory+.
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