For Reid Gardiner, playing for the Prince Albert Raiders will be a little bit like going home.
The Raiders made the 15-year-old Humboldt product their first pick in last week's Western Hockey League bantam draft. The draft took place on May 5 in Calgary.
Gardiner, a centre, was the eighth overall pick in the draft. He said all but three WHL teams contacted him during the months leading up to the draft, but P.A. seemed to show the greatest amount of interest.
"They called me three times," he noted. "Seattle and Everett (who picked sixth and seventh in the draft) were interested too, so once they passed over I had a pretty good idea P.A. would take me, because I'm kind of a home-grown Saskatchewan guy. So it was good."
Gardiner played the past two seasons with the Humboldt Bantam AA Broncos, notching 50 goals and 31 assists in 24 Centre Four Hockey League games in 2010-11. The 5'11," 165-pounder also saw limited duty as a call-up with the Midget AA Broncos, appearing in four games and helping them repeat as league champions.
While showing a clear ability to put the puck in the net, Gardiner also worked very hard this year on his skating.
"It's a really big part of the game today, and I just want to keep getting faster on my skates," he said. "That, and just improving my overall strength."
Gardiner was actually born in Prince Albert, although he was only four years old when his family moved to Humboldt. Still, his parents, Shaun and Karla Gardiner, are pleased he'll be going somewhere familiar, and somewhere reasonably close to home.
"We taught up there for seven years, and I got to know a few people in the (Raiders) organization, and went to quite a few games as a fan," noted Shaun Gardiner, who is also Reid's hockey coach. "So we're very comfortable and happy with P.A. We've got some good vibes from living in the community, and they really showed a lot of interest in him prior to the draft.
"We're pleased that he's going to be close by," Gardiner added. "That makes it a little more manageable for us, especially when it comes to being able to see him and communicate with him. Playing in this conference allows us to go to a lot more games, obviously. It would have been a lot tougher if he had gone to a team on the west coast."
Shaun Gardiner noted that Reid has shown great dedication to hockey, even though it might have been a tough decision to concentrate fully on that sport and leave others behind. Reid also played high school football last year at Humboldt Collegiate Institute (HCI), once again with his dad as coach. He also competes in track and field, and he just won a district title in badminton. During the summer, he enjoys golfing.
"He loves to play other sports pretty much around the calendar," Gardiner noted. "And most of those sports lend themselves very well to cross-training.
"We're very proud of what he's accomplished so far in his hockey career. We feel he's a really hard-working kid who likes the game and has a passion for it. We've continued to support that both on and off the ice."
Shaun Gardiner said his son has shown real dedication to improving as a hockey player. In addition to improving on his skating, and the hard and accurate shot he's always possessed, Reid has also shown real leadership abilities and strength of character.
"I thought he competed very hard this year," Shaun agreed. "I felt he developed very well as a bantam hockey player, and rounded out his game quite a bit too. He put the puck in the net a fair amount of times, but I felt he also made contributions in other areas, like penalty killing, power play, and playing better in his own end - those kinds of things.
"He puts in a very honest effort game in and game out, and I think that bodes well for his character. Leadership would be right up there, his dedication to the game. He works very hard away from the rink to improve his strength."
