The general manager of the Prince Albert Raiders has had plenty of reminders lately about his playing days.

That's because Curtis Hunt's team is off to one of the Western Hockey League's best starts in recent memory, breaking a franchise record that Hunt himself helped set in the 1980s.

The Raiders have won 25 of their first 26 games this season.

They also just set a new franchise record for consecutive wins — now 18 wins in a row and counting.

That surpasses the previous mark of 15 straight wins, held by the 1985-86 edition of the Raiders — a team Hunt was on as a player.

Prince Albert Raiders GM Curtis Hunt recently saw his team break a franchise record for consecutive wins that he helped set as a Raiders defenceman in the 1985-86 season. (Lucas Chudleigh/Apollo Multimedia)

He said the atmosphere at home games this season reminds him of his playing days.

"We're slowly starting to build the trust of our fans and they are starting to fill the building," he said. "And when it is, it's a very daunting place to play.

"It's a little bit of a throwback there, with the old wood beams. And it's loud and we're proud. And those are probably the biggest similarities I see in terms of the energy and the excitement of our community."

Hunt credited depth, experience and familiarity for the success of this year's Raiders team, noting several players have played together for a few seasons.

He said the best part is seeing the fans come back to the rink after some lean years.

"It's been a long time since, I think, Prince Albert's really been excited," he said. "I believe it was Pete Anholt's team in the 2000s that took the team to the conference final. There's that excitement's coming back."

The Raiders haven't won a playoff series since 2005.

'It's a lineup for tickets'

The man behind the bench during the Raiders' glory years in the mid-1980s is struck by the dominance of this year's team.

Terry Simpson was the team's coach when they won the Memorial Cup in 1985 and when the Raiders went on their record-setting streak the following season.

The Prince Albert Raiders won the Memorial Cup championship in 1985 and went on a record winning streak the following season. (Prince Albert Raiders)

"Seems to me, anyway, that every year the league develops more parity," he said.

"And that's why I think this year's team is such an exceptional start. Because I think there's parity in the league. There's good, really good teams," said Simpson.

"It seems to me at least, back in 1985-86 there was more separation in the league. There was sort of the top teams and the bottom teams."

Simpson said the Raiders' success back then was the talk of Prince Albert.

"It's a lineup for tickets," he said. "You know, in a smaller centre like that, it seems like the whole city gets excited when you're doing well."

Terry Simpson, pictured being hoisted above the heads of the players he coached to victory in the 1985 Memorial Cup championship, is impressed this season's edition of the Raiders is off to a 25-1 start in an era with more parity. (Western Hockey League)

Hunt remembers the feeling in the rink and in the city when the Raiders were one of the WHL's top teams in mid-1980s.

"Hockey was a big part of the fabric and the culture in Prince Albert," he said. "You couldn't get a seat in those days and the people were lined up three and four deep."

Still, Hunt doesn't get too nostalgic when thinking back to the 1985-86 season.

"What I remember about the season is losing to Medicine Hat in seven [games]," he said. "That's what I remember."

The Raiders will go for their 19th straight victory Saturday night in Regina versus the Pats.