Season-long battle between Eastern Conference leaders hits Wednesday Night in the Dub

Prince Albert, Sask.- Tomas Mrsic can’t help but smile.

The St. Louis Blues prospect is fresh off a major win that saw him tally a goal and three assists against his former club, the Medicine Hat Tigers, on Saturday, February 8.

“There was definitely no better feeling than that, for sure,” Mrsic said. “Especially to get that win in overtime. It was a hard-fought game, for sure, and then to get it in overtime was pretty special.”

After stumbling to start the regular season, the Raiders have gone on a tear in the second half of the season and are 7-2-0-1 in their last 10 games to seize the East Division lead.

That's 3️⃣0️⃣ goals this season for Tomas Mrsic!@PARaidersHockey | @StLouisBlues | #stlblues pic.twitter.com/7ZIXRtf3eX

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) February 9, 2025

Their next goal is to gain some ground on the Central Division’s Tigers for first place in the Eastern Conference.

Medicine Hat owns the 2-0-1-0 regular season series lead, but two of those games have required overtime.

Adding some extra spice is the offseason swap of two high-end NHL prospects, Mrsic and Minnesota Wild second-round pick Ryder Ritchie.

Both players have added a depth of scoring to their squads, with Mrsic pacing Prince Albert with 30 goals and 43 assists for 73 points in 46 matches. The 18-year-old is also tied for third in the league in powerplay goals (14), thanks in part to his friend and Seattle Kraken prospect Lukas Dragicevic, who sits third in scoring among all defencemen (12G-43) and has a whopping 27 assists quarterbacking the Raiders’ dominant powerplay.

On the other side of the ice, Ritchie has found his form after missing a chunk of the early season with an upper-body injury. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound sniper actually leads the Tigers in scoring in 2025 with 12 goals and 20 points in 17 games in 2025. Ritchie makes up a third of the Tigers’ top line with Captain Oasiz Wiesblatt and superstar Gavin McKenna, who extended his league-best point streak to 29 games with a goal and two assists in a 5-3 win over Saskatoon on Tuesday night.

McKenna, the projected top pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, is also second in scoring across the WHL with 94 points and was named WHL Player of the Month for January after becoming the third-fastest player in modern league history to hit 200 career points.

Both squads feature solid veteran netminders between the pipes.

Tabbies goalie Harrison Meneghin is coming off being named WHL Goaltender of the Month after going 7-0-0-0 in January. The Tampa Bay Lightning prospect also has two shutouts in his fourth WHL season and ranks third among all WHL goaltenders in goals-against average (2.67).

Not to be outdone, Max Hildebrand has won WHL Goaltender of the Week twice this season, most recently on February 3.

The 20-year-old leads all netminders in save percentage (.913), sits third in wins (24), has made the second-most saves (1,212) and also has two clean sheets on his 2024-25 resume.

The showdown starts in Hockeytown North on Wednesday, February 12 at 7:00 p.m. ST.

All Wednesday Night in the Dub featured games will be free to stream on WHL Live and the WHL’s YouTube Channel.

STAT PACK

	Prince Albert Raiders	Prince Albert Raiders
Record	34-16-3-1 (1st Central)	28-17-3-1 (1st East)
Leading Scorers	Gavin McKenna (28G-66A, 94PTS) Oasiz Wiesblatt (25G-52A, 77PTS) Hunter St. Martin (33G-16A, 49PTS)	Tomas Mrsic (30G-43A, 73PTS) Aiden Oiring (21G-46A, 67PTS) Lukas Dragicevic (12G-43A, 55PTS)
Leading Goaltender	Harrison Meneghin (15-9-1-1, 2.67 GAA, .894 save percentage, one shutout)	Max Hildebrand (24-11-3-0, 3.15 GAA, .913 save percentage, two shutouts)
Powerplay	27.3% (4th)	28.9% (3rd)
Penalty Kill	78.2% (8th)	72.6% (19th)

 

NHL PROSPECTS

Medicine Hat Tigers

F- Andrew Basha (Calgary Flames)*

F-Cayden Lindstrom (Columbus Blue Jackets)*

F- Ryder Ritchie (Minnesota Wild)

F- Hunter St. Martin (Florida Panthers)

D- Veeti Vaisanen (Utah Hockey Club)

D- Tanner Molendyk (Nashville Predators)

D- Niilopekka Muhonen (Dallas Stars)

G- Harrison Meneghin (Tampa Bay)

Prince Albert Raiders

D- Lukas Dragicevic (Seattle Kraken)

F- Tomas Mrsic (St. Louis Blues)

*- Unable to participate

Top 2025 NHL Draft Eligibles (per NHL Central Scouting)

Medicine Hat Tigers

D- Bryce Pickford (73)

F- Kafon McCann (101)

D- Jonas Woo (147)

SOUND OFF

Ryder Ritchie

On Medicine Hat inching closer to clinching a playoff berth:

A lot of excitement around our team and our dressing room. I think we’re just having fun and playing the way we should be. So, it’s been great this month.

On riding the high of a 5-0-0-1 U.S. Division Road Trip:

There’s a lot of good teams out there and it’s such a fun road trip, playing against the different teams that you don’t have to play as often, but it was huge to come away with those five wins. I think our group really grew tighter during that trip, so that was huge for us.

On finding success on a line with Gavin McKenna and Oasiz Wiesblatt:

I think the second half of the year has been big for me. I think starting to find more chemistry with my teammates and learning the systems and stuff, I think I feel way more comfortable here… Those guys can get you the puck no matter where you are on the ice and they’re so smart, so gifted and skilled, it’s a lot of fun playing on the line with those two great players.

On in-season communication with the Minnesota Wild:

It’s been a really good relationship having them help me develop and help me become a better player. They come to a lot of games and (there’s) constant communication with them. I think they’ve helped me a lot this year, just on tips and stuff like that to help build my game to get ready for pro… Like just getting to the net more and focus on battles and just do all the little stuff that makes you a great hockey player.

On what makes the Raiders a difficult team to play:

They play hard. Their back end is pretty, pretty heavy. They’ve got a really good goalie over there, Mix Hildebrand, so he’s tough to beat. They’re a hard-working structured team and they’re hard to play against.

On his second game in Prince Albert since being traded from the Raiders:

I find it fun going back up there. I mean, I love playing in that rink. It’s pretty hard to play in, but I got pretty used to it. It’s fun to go play against my old teammates and get to see my old billets and stuff. But definitely looking forward to Wednesday, it’s going to be a big one for us.

On St. Louis Blues prospect Tomas Mrsic:

I’d say his shot. I think that’s kind of his weapon.

Tomas Mrsic

On Prince Albert’s rise to first in the East Division:

We’ve definitely come a long way since that start of the season. Everything’s been going well for us. We’ve been practicing hard, and that’s kind of been translating to our game, just playing a hard style, and that’s the way the Prince Albert Raiders play.

On WHL Rookie of the Month Daxon Rudolph:

He’s developing every day. I think he’s getting better every day. He’s a great player, plays the game well, has good IQ. He can make really good plays as well. That’s kind of why he got that point streak and he’s been playing really good the past few months here.

On linking up with Seattle Kraken prospect Lukas Dragicevic on Prince Albert’s potent powerplay:

For me and him, we played with each other a few years ago back in Delta. But I mean, when you have a guy that sees the ice like that as a quarterback, that’s great for a power play. (He) can make plays that guide the power play to success.

On reaching 150 career points and his first 30-goal season:

The offseason training was huge for me. Just kind of getting to the gym, getting stronger, I think that’s helped my game with my speed. Kind of just using that to my success. Also, the guys I’m playing with are really good. They see the ice great and make great plays.

On having a four-point night against his former club on Saturday:

There was definitely no better feeling than that, for sure. Especially to get that win in overtime. It was a hard-fought game, for sure, and then to get it in overtime was pretty special.

On a season of wild games against the Tigers:

It’s two good teams. Both teams are at the top of their division and I think both teams are just trying to fight for that top conference spot. So it’s crucial games and tight games with them.

On Minnesota Wild prospect Ryder Ritchie:

I think he’s a skilled guy. Make some nice plays.