Chenier appreciative of his French roots as he continues rookie WHL season

By Kyle Kosowan / Prince Albert Raiders

The Prince Albert Raiders snapped a four game slide on Saturday night with a 2-1 shootout win over the Saskatoon Blades. Scoring the only goal in a seven round shootout was 16-year-old Oli Chenier, who was fired up after the victory.

“It was pretty cool,” Chenier said. “To get the win for the boys was massive, and breaking that (losing) streak was good. It was obviously something that we needed. We can build off that win. The building was electrifying and everyone was going nuts, so it was good to have the fans involved in it.”

Chenier was a third round pick by the Raiders in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft. He joins Luke Moroz as the only 2007-born players currently on the team. He explained the step up from playing with the Winnipeg Wild in the U18AAA ranks to keeping up with the pace in the Western Hockey League.

“It’s been pretty hard at times. The first half was kind of just getting used to it all and getting used to the speed. The pace is a lot different but I think the older guys have done a good job around here making sure that we know what it’s like to basically be a pro. Taking the step to the next level is not always easy, but the vets have made it really easy on us.”

While he was born in Winninpeg, MB, Chenier grew up in the southern Winnipeg suburb of Fort Richmond. Growing up, he went to school at Ecole Noel Ritchot, an all French school in the south part of the city. Chenier talked about growing up in the French community, and the friends that he grew up playing hockey with.

“I went to school in a little community called St. Norbert. It was a small class of 30 kids. We went to school from Kindergarten to grade eight together, so we were a really tight group. Out of that class, we ended up having six or seven guys that played high level hockey together. We grew up together, played hockey together, went to school together. It was pretty cool to grow up and be bilingual, and being able to grow up and play hockey with my buddies. They’re still some of my closest buddies to this day.”

With the second half of the WHL season underway, Chenier explained the goals that he has set out for himself as he wraps up his rookie season with the Raiders.

“I just have to try to keep improving,” he said. “I’m getting more and more confident in my game as time goes on right now, and for me it’s just making sure that I keep taking small steps and making sure I keep getting better every day.”

Chenier and the Raiders will look to build from their last win on Saturday night when the Vancouver Giants come to town on Tuesday. Puck drop from the Art Hauser Centre is 7pm.