By Adam Hawboldt /

Ryan Harrison sure knows how to make an impact.

Through his first 24 Western Hockey League contests, the Prince Albert Raider right-winger sits tenth in rookie scoring (13 points), leads all WHL neophytes in penalty minutes (46), has four fights under his belt and has even notched three game winners — tops amongst first year players.

Not only that, but Harrison has also managed to scrape together two Gordie Howe hat-tricks along the way.

The first one came Oct. 4 against the Medicine Hat Tigers when the 16-year-old from Kelowna recorded a first period assist, a second period scrap and an overtime goal.

A little more than three weeks later in a game against the Calgary Hitmen, Harrison was back at it, picking up an assist and a fight in the second period to go along with yet another overtime winner.

And that’s just the kind of player he is.

If it’s an important goal you want? You got it.

A big hit to change the tide of the game? A fight?  No problem.

So far this season, Harrison has been the Raiders ‘Mr. Little-bit-of-everything’ — and his efforts have not gone unnoticed.

“He plays hard every shift and never takes a night off. That’s just the kind of kid he is,” said Raiders head coach/GM Bruno Campese. “He’s one of those players that understands that to be a complete player it takes lots of hard work, energy and commitment. As a coach, you wish you had a whole team of guys like Ryan.”

And while the Raiders knew what kind of player they were getting in Harrison when they drafted him in the second round (29th overall) of the 2007 bantam draft, they had no idea he’d develop so rapidly.

“We knew he was going to be this type of player eventually,” said Campese, “but his progress has been quicker than we expected.”

Quicker than even Harrison thought possible.

“I didn’t really know what to expect when I first came in the league. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to be the same kind of player I was in midget, but I think I’ve adapted pretty well,” said Harrison. “I’m a little surprised by the number of PIMs and majors I have, but other than that, everything’s working out pretty well.”

So well, in fact, Harrison is now seeing plenty of time on in powerplay and penalty kill situations as one of the Raiders’ top-six forwards.

Not to mention the 16-year-old has been thrust into more crucial, game-at-stake situations than he can shake a stick at.

“They told me if I was playing good, I’d keep moving up and getting more ice time,” said Harrison. “Now I’m getting put into all kinds of situations, but I’m really liking it. It’s been everything I expected and even more at this point.”

RAIDER REVIEW
The Raiders are 8-2 in their last 10 home games … As of Nov. 9, Raider RW Justin Bernhardt lead the team with 30 points, good enough for fifth in league scoring … LW Jordan Trach remains sidelined with a head injury.