Blades had closer to normal season with unique challenges

Reflections on campaign, recent years go in many directions

The Blades celebrate a win at the SaskTel Centre on April 15.

While they played a full regular season with playoffs, the Saskatoon Blades admit the 2021-22 campaign was still another season like no other due to factors beyond the team’s control.

Even two days after Saskatoon was eliminated from the WHL Playoffs in a 6-3 loss to the Warriors in Moose Jaw in Game 5 of a best-of-seven first round series, the Blades team members all seem to have their own unique spins on what happened this past season and the past two years. Due to challenges associated with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world, there were no WHL Playoffs in 2020 and 2021 for the Blades to take part in.

The Memorial Cup tournament to crown a CHL champion was nixed in both of those years too.

The 2019-20 season was flowing like normal and the Blades had a 34-24-2-3 record in the regular season before all action in the campaign was halted by the league on March 12, 2020. The Blades played an abbreviated 24-game regular season in a bubble environment in Regina against the WHL’s other four Saskatchewan franchises and two Manitoba clubs in March and April of 2021 to account for a 2020-21 campaign.

The Blades posted a 16-5-2-1 record playing in that special situation.

Rhett Rhinehart motors up ice for the Blades.

Going into the 2021-22 season, the Blades were trying to play their first full campaign since 2018-19. They played all 68 of their regular season games finishing fifth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 38-26-3-1 mark before falling to the Warriors 4-1 in a best-of-seven set.

On Sunday, the Blades hosted the local area media for a season ending presser. The standard talk about hockey was there regarding the series against the Warriors, injuries to key players, what the team will look like next year and what the future has in store for the graduating players.

Still, specter of the COVID-19 pandemic was there, and the Blades had to adjust to wrenches that were thrown their way there. That included almost all of the WHL getting put on pause for the first two weeks of January causing games to be rescheduled pushing the end date for the regular season from April 3 to April 17.

“It is a what if year, but it is also a year I’m just honestly grateful for that we got through it,” said Blades general manager Colin Priestner. “I had COVID for three-and-a-half to four weeks where I couldn’t even get out of bed or walk up the stairs.

“Every day, we had one or two new players getting it. It wasn’t like we got it all over with in one weekend. Every week there were the COVID tests over and over and over.

“We had nights with nobody here (in the stands at the SaskTel Centre), because there was COVID going around the city so much. I’m grateful we got a season in.”

Nolan Maier has a WHL record 122 career regular season wins.

Blades head coach Brennan Sonne said it felt normal from the standpoint the team got a full regular season and playoffs in. On top of missing players due to COVID-19 illness, the Blades dealt with numerous injuries throughout the campaign.

Sonne made the analogy that he saw himself being a circus clown due to the fact he was always juggling the team’s lines due to players being out due to injury or illness.

“That is not easy, because your lineup is different every night,” said Sonne. “It is not ideal to be juggling lines all the time.

“You want guys to get some consistency together, some comradery, to jell and all those words. You kind of want that. When you win a game, you want to kind of just roll the lineup the next night as well, and we really couldn’t do that like ever.”

Sonne said it was an adjustment to play a full 68-game regular season once again after playing two abbreviated campaigns. The Blades carried three overage players and had five players skating in their 19-year-old seasons on their final roster.

Due to the fact any type of hockey season was abbreviated including the under-AAA and junior A campaigns in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sonne had more players than ever on his roster experiencing a full 68-game regular season for the first time.

“Guys wore down,” said Sonne. “Guys wore out.

Tristen Robins is signed by the NHL’s San Jose Sharks.

“It was pretty obvious to us as coaches. It happened at different times with different guys. We knew guys were worn out, because guys coming from (under-18 AAA) where they maybe in COVID they played what 10, 15 games, 20 maybe and they’re 16.

“Now they’re coming into 68 with travel and school.”

As far as the post-season was concerned, Sonne believed nerves got the better of his younger player, and the team had good energy going into their series with the Warriors. Still, the bench boss said the grind during the regular season was a challenge.

“It is grind, and guys definitely got worn out,” said Sonne. “There was no question.”

Blades overage defenceman Rhett Rhinehart said he was still mulling over how this past season and everything dating back to March 12, 2020 have played out. 

While he was happy the Blades returned to action, he admits he wondered what might have been in the two post-seasons that were nixed due to COVID-19 and thinks about special moments that could have happened from time to time.

“There are a few ways you can look at it,” said Rhinehart. “For me, one thing I think about was having the shortened season.

“I missed 15 games this year with injuries. I finished with 261 regular season games in the Western Hockey League. You play a full season last year and a little more healthy this year like I would have played over 300 (games).

Blades HC Brennan Sonne, back left, gives direction in a timeout.

“You have those little milestones and things like that you think about. I definitely think there are things we missed out on with COVID there.”

Blades star overage netminder Nolan Maier, who holds the WHL’s career regular season goaltending wins record with 122 victories, took the glass half full approach when it came to reflecting on everything that happened since March 12, 2020.

“I think we’re the lucky ones, and we are grateful for even getting to play hockey,” said Maier. “I know a lot of guys who weren’t able to.

“There was no point of being kind of bummed out about some things not happening. I’m just grateful that things did happen.”

Blades overage captain and star centre Tristen Robins said he felt fortunate and had a lot of fun playing the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign in the bubble in Regina. Robins, who was hobbled in the post-season with an injured ankle, said was thankful that his WHL career ended where his team played a full regular season and playoffs.

He thought everyone on the team did their best adjusting to factors beyond their control since March 12, 2020 as far as the COVID-19 pandemic was concerned.

“It happened,” said Robins, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks. “We were all in that together.

Nolan Maier, left, and Tristen Robins hug after a win on Feb. 27.

“It affected everyone differently. At the same time, it was tragic on many people. Fortunately enough, we still got to play the game we love, and you guys (the assembled media) got to do your jobs reporting it as well.”

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