A video tribute in an opposing team鈥檚 home venue is the rarest of honours for an athlete.
But that鈥檚 what Dante Hannoun will receive tonight at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre when his CHL top-ranked Prince Albert Raiders take on the Victoria Royals in a Western Hockey League fixture full of interconnections between both sides.
That鈥檚 because the building on Blanshard was Hannoun鈥檚 home rink for four and one-half seasons before he was traded to the Raiders on Jan. 3 for forwards Kody McDonald and Carson Miller, hence the Royals announcing they will acknowledge the fan favourite Hannoun tonight in a classy gesture.
Perhaps fitting for the namesake cities of a famous royal marriage, there are even more familial connections between the Victoria and Prince Albert teams. Noah Gregor, Jeremy Masella and Raiders captain Brayden Pachal are the other former Victoria players returning to Blanshard tonight.
But none carry with them the sentimental attachment Royals fans have to Hannoun, who is top-five all-time in career franchise points.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited, but also anxious, to be back in Victoria and playing against my former team,鈥� said Hannoun.
鈥淚鈥檝e been looking forward to this game [since being traded].鈥�
It still felt strange, however, to be turning right to the visitor鈥檚 dressing room and not left to the Royals鈥� room. It is times like this when an athlete gets a moment to reflect during the hurly burly of a season. And a brief window to collect his possessions from his former billet鈥檚 house, since the Royals were on the road in Calgary when Hannoun was traded, and he hasn鈥檛 been back to the Island since.
鈥淚 was excited but sad to be leaving,鈥� said Hannoun.
鈥淚t was tough saying goodbye to all the guys on the Royals.鈥�
Going to the team with the best record in major-junior hockey, not to mention a club boasting three former Royals teammates, helped ease the transition as Hannoun has three goals and seven points in eight games with the Raiders after collecting 248 points on 97 goals and 151 assists in 286 regular-season games with Victoria.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a good opportunity going to the top team in the CHL and I want to make the best of it,鈥� he said.
A Memorial Cup to cap his junior career would certainly fall into the category of making the best of things. Not that it鈥檚 going to be easy, with every opponent jacked up when they meet the Raiders (39-5-2).
鈥淲e have to work hard every day and stick to doing the little things well,鈥� said Hannoun.
That鈥檚 easier to do when you are formidable from the crease out and boast Toronto Maple Leafs-signed prospect Ian Scott in goal and 2019 NHL draft No. 17-ranked North American skater Brett Leason up front.
鈥淓very team we play wants to beat us and comes out after us,鈥� said Scott, who with Leason, was a member of the Canadian team in the 2019 world junior championship.
鈥淏ut we use that as motivation.鈥�
Scott said the addition of Hannoun makes the Raiders even more potent: 鈥淒ante has such speed and skill and gets up the ice so quickly.鈥�
Gregor, meanwhile, is another 20-year-old Royals-turned-Raiders forward looking to cap his junior career with a Memorial Cup run. But unlike the undrafted Hannoun, Gregor is NHL contracted with the San Jose Sharks and didn鈥檛 expect to be playing back in junior this season. And probably neither did the Royals when they traded Gregor鈥檚 rights to the Raiders last summer for 鈥渃onditional compensation鈥� that neither club has disclosed. Depending on what that compensation is, Prince Albert may have recorded the acquisition coup of the WHL season, with Gregor having recorded 27 goals and 60 points so far with the Raiders.
鈥淢y goal obviously was to be playing pro this season, but when the San Jose staff talked to me, they said: 鈥榌Go back] and be as dominant as you can in junior,鈥� 鈥� said Gregor.
鈥淪o, Prince Albert is a good situation for me because it is such a strong team,鈥� said the former Royals third-round bantam draft pick.
鈥淓very team we play looks at us as a measuring stick to compare themselves against.鈥�
ICE CHIPS: Former Royals GM and head coach Marc Habscheid, now head coach of Prince Albert, won鈥檛 be with his Raiders players tonight because he is coaching Team Orr against Team Cherry in the CHL Top Prospects Game in Red Deer. . . . The Royals (23-19-1) halted a four-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the Western Conference-leading and CHL No. 5 Silvertips on Sunday in Everett, Washington. The Royals鈥� victory, one of the more notable of the season, was backed by the standout 39-save performance of veteran goaltender Griffen Outhouse and goals by emerging sophomore Tarun Fizer and Raider-turned-Royal McDonald.
