By Adam Hawboldt /

Nobody doubted Justin Bernhardt’s talent. They knew it was there in spades.

What they did question, however, was his work ethic – and Bernhardt knew it.

“That was the whole knock against me,” said the 21-year-old Prince Albert Raider forward. “They said I only try when I want to.”

So, in his final Western Hockey League season, the product of Yorkton, Sask., set out to prove the critics wrong.

Before the 2008/09 campaign, the uber-slick centre had never scored 30 goals in a WHL season, had never averaged a point per game, had never been anywhere near the top of the scoring heap.

But all that changed, quick as a hiccup, once Bernhardt set his mind to giving the WHL can one last, swift kick before he left.

And what a kick it was.

This year with the Raiders, Bernhardt led his team in points (92), assists (57), was second in goals (35)

From a statistical standpoint, it was the most impressive individual performance anyone has had in a Raider uniform since Jeff Nielsen racked up 113 points back in the 1993/94 season.

What’s more, Bernhardt also has a chance to become only the second Raider in history to crack the top five in scoring.

The other Raider was Danny Hodgson, who finished second in the scoring race twice –once, to Ray Ferraro in 1983/84 and again to Cliff Ronning in 1984/85.

“Someone told me about that a little while ago,” said Bernhardt. “I think it’d be a great honour if I get it. But I’m not sure if anyone is close to me right now.”

By “right now”, Bernhardt was talking about after the Raiders’ final regular-season game of the season in Saskatoon (although the Edmonton Oil Kings and Raiders were slated to play a one-game showdown March 17, with the winner getting the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference).

At which point, there was only one person who could feasibly catch Bernhardt – barring an enormous, seven-point output by Calgary’s Joel Broda in his final game.

That person was Colin Long of the Kelowna Rockets who, with 90 points, had one game remaining against the Spokane Chiefs on March 17.

And while having his name mentioned along with Hodgson is something Bernhardt would welcome, he says whether he gets there or not, he had a lot of fun trying along the way.

“This has been a good year. I had a lot of fun,” he said. “To be here as a 20-year-old and have Mic (Ryan McDonald), one of my good friends from the time we spent in Regina, here too, and (Michael) MacAngus, well, I couldn’t really have asked for a whole lot more. We had a good group of guys here.”

RAIDER REVIEW
Bernhardt’s previous statistical highs were 26 goals and 31 assists, both attained last season … Ryan McDonald led the Raiders this season with 37 goals…Defenceman Garrett Thiessen lead the team in penalty minutes with 123. Bernhardt was third with 104…Igor Revenko finished first on the team with a plus-4…The Raiders finished the 2008-09 season with a record of 31-36-4-1.