Hordal skates his way onto Raiders’ radar

Welcome to the fold, Darius Hordal.

From folded laundry at his billet house to his tidy pre-season performance on the ice, Hordal appears ready to become a full-time member of the Prince Albert Raiders.

After his fourth training camp with the Raiders, the 18-year-old defenceman from Edmonton was poised to step into the Western Hockey League, though Prince Albert’s final roster still hadn’t been named as of early Monday afternoon.

While making his case on the ice with his dependable play during training camp and the pre-season, Hordal also acclimatized himself to the Raiders off the ice. He moved into the same billet home as two incumbent players, forward Riley Boychuk and goaltender Michal Orsulak.

“I’ve never billeted before, so I’m real excited about that,” said Hordal, who played junior A back home last season with the Devon Xtreme of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

“It’s been fun, for sure. Boychuk and Orsulak are great guys, too, so they’ve made it a pretty easy transition. Nancy, our billet mom, she’s great. She cooks for us. She even folded my laundry, too, which was nuts. She’s awesome. She’s made it really easy, as well.”

Hordal seems to have made it easy for Raiders’ management to promote him to major junior hockey, three years after selecting the former Northern Alberta Xtreme prep blue-liner in the eighth round of the 2023 WHL prospects draft.

As an AJHL rookie last year, Hordal posted 28 points — including 24 assists — in 53 games with Devon. His season of junior A experience has been evident since he reported to P.A. in late August. He has played swiftly and confidently throughout the pre-season, and looks like he belongs in major junior.

“(You realize) just how fast it is, really,” he said. “You’re like, ‘Wow, that puck moves fast.’ You’ve got to know where the puck is going, and players are always jumping around and you’ve got to know your assignments. It’s definitely been an adjustment, but I’ve just to keep it going.

“I mean, last year really helped me to play a little quicker, knowing that the extra move or two maybe looks nice, but it doesn’t really get the job done in the end. Prince Albert and (coach) Ryan McDonald love to play fast, so just getting pucks up quick, rimming when you have to, and playing a fast hockey game. Just been listening to coaches lots. I’ve been enjoying it so far.”

Hordal capped the pre-season when he scored in overtime last Friday night at Regina, though the Pats netted a 3-2 victory in regulation. (The WHL experimented with three-on-three overtime in all exhibition games, regardless of the scores at the expiration of three periods).

The same teams play for real this Friday when the Pats visit Prince Albert on the opening night of the regular season.

In their exhibition matchup, both teams were missing players attending NHL training camps, so it was that much more of an opportunity for the likes of Hordal to make inroads in the push for regular-season roster spots.

Excluding his OT tally, Hordal scored a goal and two points as he dressed for four pre-season games with the Raiders. For most of that action, he was paired with 17-year-old Liam Myhre, before partnering with another newcomer, Oskars Luks, in the final game.

“I think we might be D partners, but that’s just my eyes,” Hordal said of he and Myhre. “But I like playing with Luks as well. He’s a big body and can skate pretty well. So, I really wouldn’t care who I play with.”

Hordal and Myhre, both smooth skaters, developed chemistry early in camp.

“Yeah, it’s been good,” said Hordal, five-foot-10 and 181 pounds. “We’re both two-way defencemen. We kind of read off each other and we both have that offensive mindset at times, so we definitely feed off each other. He’s a great guy, so we get along pretty well, too.”

In similar fashion, Hordal has connected with his Prince Albert billet mates, Boychuk and Orsulak, both of whom participated in NHL camps during the past week with the Calgary Flames and Detroit Red Wings, respectively.

“Some of the nicest people I’ve ever met,” Hordal said.

Although his family home now is Cochrane, near Calgary, Boychuk spent the early part of his life in the Edmonton area and grew up cheering for the Oilers — Hordal’s favourite NHL team.

“It’s a funny story how we’re both big Oilers fans, and Riley is at the enemy’s camp,” Hordal said about Boychuk skating with the Flames’ rookies. “We were kind of laughing about it. I told him he’s got to burn all his Flames stuff when he comes back.”

While he lives within walking distance of the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert, Hordal got a taste of life on the road in the WHL as the Raiders returned home from Regina near 3 a.m. Saturday. The long bus trip was another team-bonding experience.

“Yeah, it was a lot of fun,” he said. “I was kind of used to road trips last year, going across Alberta, but it’s definitely different, going across provinces now.”

Hordal’s parents made the trip to Saskatchewan from Edmonton to watch two pre-season games in Prince Albert and Warman, and they plan to return for the regular-season-opener Friday. Also on board are Hordal’s grandparents from his mother’s native Wainwright, Alta.

“It’ll be pretty special,” he said. “We’re all pretty psyched, so it’ll be awesome.”

Hordal’s athletic family includes his older sister Denae, who plays Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference volleyball with Concordia University of Edmonton.

This coming season, he’ll continue to track his sister’s progress on the volleyball court, while also keeping an eye on his buddies playing in the AJHL.

Growing up in Edmonton, it was natural for Hordal to become an Oilers fan.

“That’s my team, through and through,” he said. “I go to a couple of games a year, but me and my dad always watch the games. Last year was a bit tougher, because I was on the road most weekends, but definitely when an Oilers game is on, me and my dad are downstairs watching it.”

One of the Raiders’ prospects, 17-year-old forward Kai Richards, is from St. Albert, outside Edmonton.

“We worked out together all summer, so we got to know each other pretty well,” Hordal said about his relationship with Richards.

“He’s played pretty well. He uses his speed to his advantage. I think that’s his great skill. He seems to be moving his boots lots and getting pucks to the net. He’s been playing great so far. Can’t wait to see what he can do in the future.”