Prince Albert Raiders quietly making case to be top WHL contenders

WATCH: The Prince Albert Raiders have had a strong start to the WHL season, only losing one game so far.

The Prince Albert Raiders have made a strong first impression as the WHL regular season gets underway.

The team has only lost five games this season, and only one in regulation - an away game against Tri-City.

The Raiders have the best winning percentage in the league. They fall only two points behind Edmonton for the top spot in the Eastern Conference and have played five fewer games.

“The start that we’ve had is due to the work that this group has put in. From a team perspective to a staff perspective, just a lot of hard, hard hours. The guys have really fell in love with the details. And again, it’s led to a lot of tremendous success for us,” head coach Ryan McDonald said.

While the Raiders certainly have momentum behind them, the players said they are taking the season one game at a time.

“Our goal is just the next game. I think that’s always been our mindset, just to win the next one. We do everything we can to prepare for that next line. That’s just a smaller goal. I know just the little steps,” Aiden Oiring, a forward on the team said.

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The Prince Albert community has been rallying behind the Raiders. A number of near-sellouts has proved that the support in the stands makes a difference on the ice.

“It’s awesome. It’s a smaller city, so I think like the whole city watches and you go out in public and people say, ‘Good job and keep it going.’ It’s pretty cool,” Brayden Dube, a right-winger for the Raiders said.

For coach McDonald, the community support hits extremely close to home.

“As a person who’s born and raised in Prince Albert, being able to watch our group when they are in the community and just how admired they are by the young athletes and young kids within the community is just something truly special that I hold near and dear to my heart,” McDonald said.

The head coach added that there’s still lots of hockey left to be played this season. While his team is climbing the ranks of the Eastern Division, there is a strong emphasis on remaining focused among the locker room.

“We’re in a position where we’ve worked tremendously hard to get to. We have a group in here that works tirelessly every single day. And they just continue to keep raising the bar for themselves and keep pushing limits,” McDonald said.