The Prince Albert Raiders inked 2004-born defenseman Graydon Gotaas to a WHL standard player agreement.
Gotaas, who measures 5-foot-11 and weights 165 pounds, was one of our Top-40 players at the WHL Cup last fall.
“Gotaas is a good skater,” said our scouts. “He has a powerful stride and plays with good speed. He looks smooth in transition, but he isn’t overly agile. He doesn’t have a huge amount of explosion, but he’ll gain good speed out of his crossovers. Where Gotaas dominates is in his physical play. He is a dynamo in front of the net, along the boards, and in open ice. No one is safe in any area of the ice when he is patrolling on a shift. On offense, Gotaas’ heavy slap shot is just another example of his strength.”
Gotaas is a Camrose, Alb. native who was drafted in the second round of the WHL Bantam Draft last year. Gotaas had 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists) in 26 games for the Sherwood Park Kings Midget AAA team this season and he also appeared in four games for the Bonnyville Pontiacs (AJHL) before making his WHL debut late in the season.
“Graydon is a hard-nosed defenseman and he moves the puck extremely well,” said Raiders General Manager Curtis Hunt. “We’re very excited to add him to the organization.”
Gotaas has a family connection to the Raiders. His uncle, Steve Gotaas, played four seasons with the Raiders from 1983 to 1987. He was a member of Prince Albert’s 1985 Memorial Cup Championship squad and had 73 points in 72 games that season; he would later be drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
