Prince Albert’s Reid Gardiner working towards NHL dream

Prince Albert Raiders winger Reid Gardiner has had to overcome his fair share of disappointment in his young hockey career. He went into the 2014 NHL draft believing a team would pick him after NHL Central Scouting Service ranked him 40^th overall among North American skaters in the draft class. But when it was all said and done, he watched all seven rounds without hearing his named called in Philadelphia.

Gardiner, 19, admits the distractions that come with a draft season affected his play in 2013-14. It played a part in his point production dropping from a 1.26 points-per-game average (19 goals and 34 points) in his first 27 games to a .30 average (three goals and 10 points) in his last 33 games.

“In 2014, I put a lot of emphasis on my draft year and I think it showed with my production dropping in the second half of the season,” says Gardiner. “I let that stuff get to me and affect my game.”

In 2015, Gardiner was passed over in the NHL draft for the second time, but it didn’t get to him as it did the year before. He went into the draft with different expectations and blocked out the distractions during the year.

“I went into the draft with an open mind and it wasn’t like the year before,” says Gardiner, who netted 34 markers and 64 points in 67 matches last year. “It would have been an amazing day if I was drafted, but it didn’t happen and I moved on. And during the year I just focused on my game and playing my game. I played for the love of the game and focused on that.”

It seems the third time might be the charm for the 5-foot-11, 195-pound Gardiner. He is off to a great start to the season with 12 goals and 28 points in his first 17 contests. Moreover, he has established himself as a more complete player with a better overall game.

“Like any hockey player, I want to play in the NHL and get there, but I’m just focusing on what’s here in Prince Albert and we’ll see how the year goes,” he says. “I’m just going to keep on working hard and hopefully it will pay off in the end.”

Despite going undrafted, Gardiner has two NHL camps under his belt. He earned an invite from the Minnesota Wild in 2014 and the Vancouver Canucks last year. His experiences at both camps have helped him better understand what it takes to play at that level.

“I learned a lot in both camps, especially last year in Vancouver since I was a year older and it was my second camp,” he says. “I saw how fast the pro game is and the strength you need to play at that level. The pace of the game stood out to me and just how everything is faster and everyone is stronger."

On top of his experience in Vancouver, the Humboldt, Sask., native feels he has been able to hit the ground running this year because of how he’s found a way to build off last year.

“I had a good summer and prepared well for this year to build off last year,” says Gardiner. “Building off last year was a big part of what I wanted to do this year. I ended the year off strongly and so did our entire team. I have just been keeping it simple out there and am working towards becoming a better 200-foot player. I also have enjoyed playing with (Simon) Stransky and (Austin) Glover. We have a lot of fun and have enjoyed playing together.”

It appears Gardiner’s early success and Prince Albert’s hot start to the season go hand in hand. He has helped, along with new head coach Marc Habscheid, the Raiders get off to an unexpected 12-3-1-1 start to the year.

“It has been a combination of the two (Habscheid coming in and players stepping up) for why we’ve been playing well,” he says. “It was a breath of fresh air when he came in last year. The team has bought into what he’s saying and we’re all on the same page. He’s lead us to where we are today and a lot of guys have been stepping up this year."

Kelly Friesen is a Buzzing the Net columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KellyFriesen