Photo by Darren Steinke Prince Albert Raiders sophomore defenceman Daxon Rudolph leads the team in scoring heading into action on Tuesday. Rudolph has 48 points coming off 20 goals and 28 assists to go with a plus-12 rating in the plus-minus department in 41 regular season contests.

Darren Steinke Stanks On Sports
Daxon Rudolph may be the player that gives an NHL team the most value in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.
The 17-year-old Prince Albert Raiders defenceman seems like a certainty to be selected in the first round of the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, which will be held June 26 and 27 in Buffalo, New York. In most draft debates, Penn State University Nittany Lions left-winger Gavin McKenna, University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks defenceman Keaton Verhoeff and left-winger Ivar Stenberg of Frolunda of the Swedish Hockey League are projected as the top three picks.
Rudolph, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 202 pounds, was rated sixth among North American skaters in the midterm rankings released by NHL Central Scouting on January 12. Various NHL Entry Draft prognosticators have Rudolph potentially creeping in to be selected in the top 10 of the first round.
On Monday, Rudolph was named the WHL’s player of the week for the week ending on Sunday, January 18. He claimed the honour after recording two goals, four assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department helping the Raiders go 3-0 for the week in question.
As the current season has gone along, most of the NHL Entry Draft talk has centred around McKenna Verhoeff and Stenberg on who potentially will be picked first overall. Rudolph hasn’t been forgotten as it does come up in talk that he has been pretty good.
The Lacombe, Alta., product has quietly gone about his business recording 20 goals, 28 assists and a plus-12 rating appearing in all 41 regular season games the Raiders have played entering play on Tuesday. Rudolph’s 48 points has him sitting one point ahead of 20-year-old centre Aiden Oiring for the scoring lead on the Raiders, who led the WHL’s East Division with a 31-6-4 record entering play on Tuesday.
Also on the statistical front, Rudolph needs to score eight more goals to equal Josh Morrissey for the Raiders record for most goals by a defenceman in one season at 28. Morrissey recorded 28 goals and 45 assists in 59 games for the Raiders in the 2013-14 campaign. Rudolph also needs one more power-play goal to equal the Raiders record for most power-play goals by a Raiders rearguard in one season at 11 also set by Morrissey in the 2013-14 campaign.
As a WHL sophomore, Rudolph has also benefited from playing on a defensive pairing with Raiders 20-year-old captain Justice Christensen. The duo has built quite the chemistry together allowing them to be played in all situations.
Rudolph is also building off a strong 16-year-old rookie campaign last season. In 2024-25, he appeared in 64 regular season games posting seven goals, 34 assists and a plus-13 rating. He also had one goal, 11 assists and a plus-three rating in the 11 games the Raiders played in the 2025 WHL Playoffs.
In the current campaign, Rudolph does make the odd mistake a 17-year-old makes. With that noted, Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald and his assistant coaches are doing their best to help Rudolph bring out all the gifts he has for the game. They are allowing the blue-liner to learn, and Rudolph keeps growing to be a better player because of it.
On the midterm rankings for NHL Central Scouting, Rudolph is the second highest player from the WHL on the list for North American skaters. Prince George Cougars defenceman Carson Carels is the highest rated WHL player on that list coming in at third. Entering play on Tuesday, Carels, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 194 pounds, has skated in 35 regular season games for the Cougars posting 11 goals, 27 assists and a plus-seven rating.
When you watch Rudolph play night in and night out, you marvel at how complete of a player he already is. He has the potential to be in the NHL for a long time and might end up developing to the point he could play in that league pretty quick after being drafted.
For any NHL team that drafts Rudolph, that club might get great satisfaction with that pick over the long term.
Beware of the Vees, other notes
Everyone associated with the WHL is getting a crash course of just how good the Penticton Vees organization is.
The Vees were a junior A franchise from 1961 to 2025 and moved to the major junior ranks joining the WHL and CHL before the start of the current campaign. They are currently riding an 11 game winning streak that has the Vees sitting on top of the B.C. Division and fifth overall in the WHL standings with a 26-9-4-3 record.
On January 13, the Vees cracked on to the CHL Top 10 Rankings for the first time in team history being rated 10th. The Vees moved up to the ninth position in the latest version of those rankings released on Tuesday.
With the success the Vees have had, it is possible head coach, general manager and president Fred Harbinson could win awards as the WHL coach of the year and the WHL executive of the year. Harbinson’s presence is one of the big reasons the Vees have found success in their first year as a major junior franchise.
For those who have followed the happenings in junior A and have supported the Vees, it comes as no surprise. Harbinson built a well-deserved reputation as being a team icon in Penticton.
The 54-year-old initially joined the Vees as head coach and general manager before the start of the 2007-08 campaign and also took on the title as team president before the start of the 2013-14 season. Harbinson guided the Vees for 18 seasons in junior A and compiled a regular season record of 734 wins, 192 loses, 17 ties, 45 overtime losses and 10 shootout losses. The British Columbia Hockey League still had ties through the end of the 2017-18 campaign.
Harbinson’s Vees won six BCHL championships and the then Royal Bank Cup as national junior A champions in 2012. The national junior A championship returned to becoming the Centennial Cup in 2020.
Before the season started, the Vees acquired the WHL rights of 18-year-old right-winger Jacob Kvasnicka from the Wenatchee Wild. Kvasnicka, who was selected by the New York Islanders in the seventh round and 202nd overall in last year’s NHL Entry Draft, joined the Vees after playing two seasons on the United States National Development Team program. He leads the Vees in scoring with 55 points coming off 23 goals and 32 assists to go with a plus-27 rating in 40 games.
Harbinson also acquired the WHL rights of five players that played for his junior A Vees in 18-year-old defenceman Callum Stone, overage rearguard and captain Nolan Stevenson, 19-year-old left-winger Louis Wehmann, 19-year-old left-winger Tristan Petersen and overage centre Ryden Evers. That group of five players has helped Harbinson bring the Vees strong culture from junior A to major junior.
The Vees have hit home runs in goal. Before the start of the season, they brought in 19-year-old netminder Andrew Reyelts, who played last season with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in the USHL. Reyelts has posted an 18-4-6 record, a 2.53 goals against average, a .904 save percentage and one shutout in 28 games this season.
On December 4, 2025, the Vees acquired 19-year-old netminder Ethan McCallum in a trade with the Saskatoon Blades. In eight games with the Vees, McCallum has posted a 7-1 record, a 2.11 goals against average, a .928 save percentage and one shutout.
The Vees were an elite level franchise for decades in junior A and are producing good early returns in major junior. When the WHL Playoffs come around, the Vees might be the disruptor in the Western Conference bracket, and they might ultimately find themselves in the WHL Championship Series.
In the CHL Top 10 Rankings that were released on Tuesday, the Raiders were the highest rated WHL club coming in at the second spot rising up from fifth in the previous week’s rankings. The Everett Silvertips are rated fourth, the Medicine Hat Tigers are fifth, the Edmonton Oil Kings are sixth and the Vees are ninth.
Entering play on Tuesday, Seattle Thunderbirds 19-year-old right-winger Cameron Schmidt leads the WHL in scoring. In 45 games played between the Vancouver Giants and Thunderbirds, Schmidt has 69 points coming off 32 goals and 37 assists.
Entering play on Tuesday, Tri-City Americans 17-year-old rookie netminder Xavier Wendt has the league’s best save percentage at .928. In 26 games with the Americans, Wendt has posted a 16-8-1 record, a 2.45 goals against average and one shutout.
Darren Steinke is a Saskatoon-based freelance sportswriter and photographer with more than 25 years of experience covering the WHL. He blogs frequently at stankssermon.blogspot.com.

-Advertisement-