Blades juggle roster, close to cementing 20-year-olds

The Blades traded Justin Lies on June 6.

The Saskatoon Blades have put in some early work to clear up how their roster will look this coming season.

The 2022-23 campaign turned out to be one of the best the Blades have had in some time. They finished fourth overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 48-13-4-3 record.

Saskatoon advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series for the first time since 1994 falling in four games to the Winnipeg Ice. In a WHL Eastern Conference semfinal series in the 2023 playoff run, the Blades fell behind 3-0 to the Red Deer Rebels before rallying back to take the series 4-3. The Blades joined the 1996 Spokane Chiefs and the 2013 Kelowna Rockets as only teams to fall behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven series and rally back to take the set in WHL history.

Naturally, the Blades in a perfect world would like return as many players as possible from last season who gained valuable experience from that post-season run. Plus, the rosters of the clubs that finished first to third overall in the WHL regular season in the Ice, league champion Seattle Thunderbirds and Kamloops Blazers are going to look a lot different this season due to their decisions to load up.

The Ice do have the potential to bring back seven core players from their 2022-23 team in Daniel Hauser, Jonas Woo, Zach Benson, Evan Friesen, Carson Latimer, Conor Geekie and Matthew Savoie, but there will be a lot of changes around that group.

With that noted, the Blades have to deal with their share of the cyclical nature of junior hockey. Gone due to graduation having exhausting their major junior eligibility playing out there 20-year-old seasons are captain and offensive-defenceman Aidan De La Gorgendiere, defenceman Blake Gustafson and centre Josh Pillar.

One of the decisions the Blades had to make was in between the pipes. Did they want to return two goalies in their 19-year-old seasons in Austin Elliott and Ethan Chadwick?

The two netminders rotated starts for pretty much the entire campaign last season. Elliott appeared in 37 regular season games in 2022-23 posting a 25-6-3 record, a 2.20 goals against average, a .911 save percentage and two shutouts. He was named a second team WHL East Division all-star and was named to the CHL’s all-rookie team.

Chadwick appeared in 34 regular season contests in 2022-23 posting a 23-9-2 record, a 2.61 goals against average, a .899 save percentage and two shutouts.

On May 11, the Blades traded Chadwick to the Everett Silvertips for a second round selection in the WHL Prospects Draft that was held that day and originally belonged to the Kamloops Blazers and a fourth round pick in the 2025 Prospects Draft. Saskatoon used the second round selection to pick 15-year-old netminder Ryley Budd, who played with his hometown Calgary Northstars Under-15 AAA team last season.

The Blades traded Conner Roulette to the Chiefs on May 31.

In 20 regular season appearances in the Alberta Elite Hockey League, Budd posted an 8-10 record, a 3.34 goals against average, a .916 save percentage and two shutouts.

With that move, Elliott will likely be the Blades starter next season and a younger goalie in their system will be an apprentice backup. Chadwick will have a good shot to be the Silvertips start for the upcoming campaign.

After trading Chadwick, the Blades started to narrow down the players that could take the three 20-year-old spots they are allowed on their roster. Upon being eliminated from the 2023 WHL Playoffs, the Blades had seven potential players that could fill those 20-year-old spots.

On May 31, they dealt right-winger Conner Roulette to the Spokane Chiefs for a second round selection in the 2024 Prospects Draft and a third round pick in the 2027 Prospects Draft. Appearing in 60 regular season games in 2022-23 with the Blades, Roulette collected 24 goals and 38 assists for 62 points to go with a plus-19 rating in the plus-minus department.

On June 3, the Blades traded rugged right-winger Justin Lies to the Victoria Royals for a conditional third round selection in the 2026 Prospects Draft. Lies appeared in 56 regular season contests for the Blade in 2022-23 posting career highs in goals (nine), assists (14), points (23) and plus-minus (plus-six).

Having completed those two moves, the Blades are down to five potential players who could fill their three 20-year-old spots. Out of that group, left-winger Jake Chiasson has a signed three- year NHL entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers and could potentially be assigned to one of the Oilers’ minor professional affiliates.

Chiasson played 70 regular season games in 2022-23 split between the Blades and the Brandon Wheat Kings posting 20 goals and 38 assists. The Blades acquired Chiasson in a trade on January 10.

If Chiasson is assigned in the Oilers system, the Blades would be down to four potential players that could fill their three 20-year-old spots. Skilled centre Trevor Wong is highly likely to fill one of those spots as he topped the Blades in regular season scoring in 2022-23 posting 86 points coming off 27 goals and 59 assists to go with a plus-23 rating appearing in all the club’s 68 regular season contests.

Defenceman Charlie Wright seems like a solid choice to fill a second 20-year-old spot. Appearing in 66 regular season contests with the Blades in 2022-23, Wright posted career highs in goals (eight), assists (32), points (40) and plus-minus (plus-33).

That would leave the third spot to go to either centre Jayden Wiens or utility player Spencer Shugrue, who are both popular in the Blades dressing room. Wiens battled an injury during the regular season being limited to 42 games, where he posted 17 goals, 10 assists and a plus-one rating.

The Blades dealt Ethan Chadwick to the Silvertips on May 11.

Shugrue mainly played defence last season, but his versatility to play up front or on the back end has become valuable. In 55 regular season appearances in 2022-23, Shugrue collected one goal, six assists and a plus-two rating.

In the 2023 WHL Playoffs, Shugrue earned the nickname “Mr. Game 7” for his heroics in the team’s two Game 7 victories over Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats and the Rebels collecting three goals and an assist in those clutch performances.

Unless a deal comes up the Blades can’t turn down, they will likely sit on their 20-year-old situation as is until training camp comes around.

With all that noted, they’ve done well to find good potential landing spots for Chadwick, Roulette and Lies for the upcoming campaign.

Valkyries receive bye in WWCFL playoffs, other notes

QB Alex Eyolfson (#15) and her Valkyries had this weekend off.

For a second straight year, the Saskatoon Valkyries have advanced to the final four of the WWCFL Playoffs thanks to a forfeit victory.

This past Tuesday, the Valkyries, who topped the WWCFL’s Prairie Conference with a 4-0 record, were informed the Winnipeg Wolfpack, who were 0-4 in the regular season, were forfeiting their WWCFL quarter-final to the Saskatoon powerhouse squad. The Wolfpack also forfeited a quarter-final contest last season to the Valkyries, who advanced on to win their seventh WWCFL championship.

The Valkyries and Wolfpack met in a regular season contest on May 28 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. Saskatoon blanked Winnipeg 59-0 in a game that was called at halftime due to injuries that had piled up for the Wolfpack.

The Valkyries weren’t the only squad to advance in the WWCFL post-season thanks to a forfeit win. This past Thursday, the Lethbridge Steel, who were 0-4 in the regular season, informed the Edmonton Storm, who were 2-1 in the regular season, they were forfeiting their quarter-final contest to club from the Alberta capital. That contest had originally been scheduled for a 2 p.m. local start in Edmonton on Saturday.

With the forfeit win, the Storm advance to the WWCFL’s Western Conference Championship game to take on the Calgary Rage, who posted a 3-0 record in the regular season. This contest will be played on either Saturday, June 17 or Sunday, June 18 in Calgary at a place and time to be announced.

The Storm and Rage met once in the regular season with the Rage pulling out a 33-14 victory way back on April 29 in Calgary. The two sides were to have played on May 20 in Edmonton, but that contest was outright cancelled due to heavy smoke from the wildfires burning all over Western Canada.

The only quarter-final game that was played came on Saturday as the Winnipeg-based Manitoba Fearless traveled to Regina to face the Riot at Mosaic Stadium. Both squads were 2-2 in regular season play.

The Riot downed the Fearless 26-13 to advance to play the Valkyries in the WWCFL’s Prairie Conference Championship game. That contest will be played at Saskatoon Minor Football Field on either Saturday, June 17 or Sunday, June 18 at a time to be announced.

The Valkyries head into that contest having won their last 25 games overall including two forfeit victories. Saskatoon’s last loss came seemingly a lifetime ago back on June 24, 2018 falling 14-10 in the WWCFL Championship Game to the Riot in Regina at Mosaic Stadium.

This year’s WWCFL Championship Game will be hosted in Saskatoon on Saturday, June 24 at 2 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium. The Valkyries need to beat the Riot in the Prairie Conference final in order to play in the WWCFL final as the host squad.

• On Thursday, the junior A Battlefords North Stars, who are the defending SJHL champions, announced they had signed head coach and general manager Brayden Klimosko, who is 35-years-old, to a five-year contract extension. Klimosko joined the North Stars before the start of the 2018-19 campaign as head coach and took on duties as the general manager before the start of the 2019-20 campaign. This past season, the North Stars top the SJHL regular season standings with an impressive 48-5-2-1 record. They rolled through the SJHL Playoffs posting a 12-1 record to claim the league championship and advance to the national junior A Centennial Cup Championship Tournament in Portage la Prairie, Man. The North Stars advanced to the title game of the Centennial Cup tournament falling to the Alberta-based Brooks Bandits 4-0. The Bandits have won the Centennial Cup the last three times it has been awarded.
• On Thursday, Rob Vanstone received his Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal for his extraordinary leadership and service to local sports. Vanstone had worked full-time for the Regina Leader-Post as a sports writer and columnist from late July 1987 to this past February. He left the Leader-Post to join the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders as their Senior Journalist and Historian. When it comes to the sports scene in Regina, Vanstone has covered it all. His stories on minor sports were as good as the ones he would produce on the Roughriders and WHL’s Regina Pats. The effort he gave to all the stories and columns he wrote was outstanding. He was a deserving recipient of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal.
• On June 9, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a piece on Callie Steen, who is a rising star in track and field. Steen is finishing up her Grade 12 year at Hanley Composite School in Hanley, Sask., and she has committed to join the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks Women’s Track and Field team in the NCAA Division I ranks this fall. The piece on Steen can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that shows the track and field season in top gear and the spring season at the Complex rolling on. That post can be found by clicking right here.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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De La Gorgendiere thankful for time with Blades

Graduating captain played entire WHL career in Saskatoon

Aidan De La Gorgendiere (#5) enjoys a goal with his teammates.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere never imagined how important the Saskatoon Blades would be when it came to being there for the ups and downs of the late teenage years of his life.

Way back in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft, the Blades selected De La Gorgendiere in the first round and fifth overall. In late May of 2017, the Langley, B.C., product took part in an introductory press conference along with good friend Kyle Crnkovic, who is currently playing with the WHL champion Seattle Thunderbirds at the Memorial Cup tournament in Kamloops, B.C.

A short time after the Blades drafted De La Gorgendiere, the reliable defenceman found out his mother, Marla Meginbir, had been diagnosed with cancer. She would pass away on November 12, 2019 at age 51, when De La Gorgendiere was skating through his 17-year-old sophomore season with the club. 

With the support of the Blades he had though that time, De La Gorgendiere couldn’t imagine playing for another WHL team.

“I’m going to be really thankful and happy,” said De La Gorgendiere about playing his entire WHL career with the Blades. “I wouldn’t be here without the Priestner family (and Blades owners) drafting me at 15-years-old and not really knowing what to expect.

“My first year, it was a really big learning experience for me. They’ve been awesome to me. This past year was awesome.”

De La Gorgendiere missed the tail end of the Blades abbreviated season in 2020-21 when they were playing in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that had gripped the world. During his first campaign as the team’s captain in 2021-22, De La Gorgendiere missed the last part of the regular season and the entire WHL Playoffs due to season ending shoulder surgery.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere, right, at his first Blades presser in 2017.

In his 20-year-old campaign this past season, De La Gorgendiere appeared in 65 regular season contests with the Blades posting 12 goals, 53 assists and a plus-19 rating in the plus-minus department. He skated in all of the Blades 18 post-season games posting three goals, 14 assists and a minus-two rating.

De La Gorgendiere helped the Blades post a 48-15-4-1 regular season record to finish fourth overall in the WHL and 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Blades advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series for the first time in 29 years where they got swept by the Winnipeg Ice.

In a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series, the Blades fell behind the Red Deer Rebels 3-0 before rallying to take the best-of-seven set 4-3. The Blades became the third team in the history of the WHL to comeback after being down 3-0 in a best-of-seven series to take the set 4-3. 

They joined the 1996 Spokane Chiefs and the 2013 Kelowna Rockets as the three clubs to pull off that comeback.

During the first round of the WHL Playoffs, the Blades eliminated 17-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats in an exciting seven-game series. The Blades drew over 10,000 fans for the first three home games of that series and a sellout crowd of 14,768 spectators to the SaskTel Centre for their 4-1 victory in Game 7.

Overall, De La Gorgendiere found this past season to be his most enjoyable campaign with the Blades.

“It was probably the most fun I’ve had just with our group we’ve had and how tight we are off the ice,” said De La Gorgendiere, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 184 pounds. “I think that has big correlation to our play on the ice there.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere spent his whole WHL career with the Blades.

“Playing in front of sold out rinks was pretty cool, especially when there is 15,000 people cheering for your team. The fans were awesome for us this playoff run.”

De La Gorgendiere’s WHL career came to an end on May 3, when the Blades dropped a 3-2 decision to the Ice in Winnipeg’s Game 4 Eastern Conference Championship Series win at the SaskTel Centre. After the Blades saluted their fans while being saluted themselves by their faithful, De La Gorgendiere was the final Saskatoon player to step off the ice.

Before coming off the ice, he first gave a stick to some friends in the crowd. De La Gorgendiere then reflected on all the good memories he collected playing for the team before stepping off the ice to depart for the dressing room. He also felt sad at the same time knowing his time playing for the Blades had come to an end.

The star rearguard was also happy to think about how far the team had come during his time with the club. When he joined the Blades, they were going through a stretch of missing the post-season for five straight campaigns.

That drought came in an end in De La Gorgendiere’s rookie year in 2018-19 finishing fourth overall in the league with a 45-15-8 mark. This past season, the Blades had their longest post-season run since making the WHL final in 1994, when they fell in seven games to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Kamloops Blazers.

“It is pretty cool,” said De La Gorgendiere about seeing the Blades progress during his time with the squad. “I think being part of that culture change around our organization and a lot of change that happened throughout those years.

“I’m fortunate enough to stick around through it all, so I’ve kind of seen it. I’m so fortunate to be around here. I tried and did my best for this team and this organization and helped with my leadership qualities I guess.”

Aidan De La Gorgendiere was the Blades captain the past two seasons.

The now 21-year-old earned the respect of players and coaches around the WHL during his playing career. Ice head coach James Patrick, who played 1,280 career regular season games in the NHL as a defenceman from 1983 to 2004, would like to see De La Gorgendiere play in the professional ranks. The two talked in the handshake line for a short visit after the Ice eliminated the Blades.

“For me, certainly in the last two years he was one of the best defencemen in the league,” said Patrick. “I’d put him up in the top two or three D.

“Every game we played them over the last couple of years he was a handful for us. He was a guy who played 30 minutes a night. He could join as a fourth man.

“He is as mobile a D as there is on the blue-line. I told him what an outstanding career he has had here. I told him I know he can play at the next level, and I hope he gets that opportunity.”

Blades head coach Brennan Sonne said that De La Gorgendiere did a tonne for getting the Blades to where they are today.

“What a job at building a culture, because it is not just the coaches,” said Sonne, who was named the WHL’s coach of the year for this past season. “The players have to want that too.

“Sometimes, they don’t, and there is the push back. He steered the ship. When we left the room, he steered the ship in terms of fitness culture, in terms of how we do business, in terms of how we act, how we work in practice.

“Incredible leader. I’m very, very proud of him. He has a very long pro career coming.”

De La Gorgendiere is still exploring what his future options are in continuing his playing career. He added that one of the biggest honours he received in his time in Saskatoon was being named the captain of the Blades.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere (#5) hugs Tanner Molendyk.

During his first three seasons with the Blades, De La Gorgendiere watched how Chase Wouters carried himself as captain of the team. The two became good friends, and once De La Gorgendiere became captain, he would contact Wouters to talk about various variables about the leadership role.

Overall, De Le Gorgendiere wanted to carry on the outstanding work Wouters put in as the Blades captain. De La Gorgendiere was proud to be the captain of the Blades.

“It means a lot to me,” said De La Gorgendiere. “I pride myself in being a good teammate and a good person and trying to be a leader for our team.

“Young guys coming in, I try and welcome them and make them feel comfortable. I’d say I pride myself in wearing this letter. I’m just happy I could be that guy for this team.”

DaSilva inks extension with Blades, named associate coach

Dan DaSilva, back row centre, checks out action from the Blades’ bench.

Dan DaSilva will be back with the Saskatoon Blades as part of the team’s coaching staff.

On Wednesday, the club announced DaSilva, who is from Saskatoon, signed a two-year extension with the team and has been promoted from assistant coach to associate coach. DaSilva, who is 38-years-old, joined the Blades before the start of the 2021-22 campaign and has helped the club post an 86-41-7-2 over the past two seasons.

Last season with DaSilva on a staff led by head coach Brennan Sonne, the Blades finished fourth overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. In the post-season, the Blades advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series for the first time in 29 seasons falling in a sweep to the Winnipeg Ice.

In an Eastern Conference semifinal series, the Blades fell behind the Red Deer Rebels 3-0 before rallying to take the series 4-3. With that rally, the Blades became the third team in the history of the WHL to rally from behind down 3-0 in a best-of-seven series before coming back to take the set 4-3. They joined the 1996 Spokane Chiefs and the 2013 Kelowna Rockets as the three clubs to pull off that comeback.

“I’m very happy to be coming back for another two years,” said DaSilva in a release. “I’d like to thank the Priestner family and (associate general manager) Steve Hildebrand for believing in me and giving me this opportunity.

“The organization has been unbelievable to me and my family over the past two years, and so it was an easy decision to return for two more. I look forward to getting back to work with the coaching staff and players later this summer. We have a great group, and I see big things happening over the next two seasons.”

A graduate of the Saskatoon Contacts under-18 AAA team, DaSilva played right wing for three seasons from 2002 to 2005 with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks appearing in 200 WHL regular season contests piling up 76 goals and 75 assists for 151 points. He moved on to play professionally for 15 seasons from 2005 to 2020 with various clubs in North America and Europe.

“Since day one, Dan has been a leader with his care and passion for the players,” said Sonne in a release. “His positivity within the coaches’ office and in the dressing room is infectious, and his growth as a coach has been exponential.

“The best coaches are those that are simultaneously good people and (have) good hockey minds, and when you already have one within your organization, you do your utmost to retain them.”

DaSilva rejoins Sonne’s staff that features assistant coach Wacey Rabbit, goaltending coach Jeff Harvey, assistant coach Jerome Engele and video coach Braeden Dahl.

Blades deal Roulette to Chiefs

Conner Roulette in action for the Blades in the WHL Playoffs.

Conner Roulette will be finishing up his WHL career with a team other than the Saskatoon Blades.

On Wednesday, the Blades dealt the 20-year-old standout right-winger to the Spokane Chiefs for a second round selection in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft and a third pick in the 2027 Prospects Draft. The Blades acquired Roulette in a trade on August 30, 2022 with the Seattle Thunderbirds.

In the 2022-23 campaign, Roulette appeared in 60 regular season games with the Blades recording 24 goals, 39 assists and a plus-19 rating in the plus-minus department. He picked up another three goals and four assists in the Blades 18 games played in the 2023 WHL Playoffs.

In 191 career WHL regular season games played with the Thunderbirds and Blades, Roulette has posted 73 goals, 107 assists and a plus-59 rating. Roulette was selected by the Dallas Stars in the fourth round and 111^th overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.

“We would like to thank Conner for a great season with us,” said Blades general manager Colin Priestner in a release. “He was a great player on the ice and his leadership with Indigenous youth in our city will have a lasting impact.”

With having dealt Roulette to the Chiefs, the Blades now have six players who could return this coming season to compete for three 20-year-old sports. Defencemen Charlie Wright and Spencer Shugrue along with forwards Jayden Wiens, Trevor Wong, Justin Lies and Jake Chiasson are the players that could potentially be battling for the Blades three 20-year-old spots. Chiasson has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Blades face biggest test in Eastern Conference final

Ice topped WHL regular season standings with 57-10-1 mark

The Blades celebrate a Conner Roulette (#34) goal on Tuesday.

On paper, it is clear that the Saskatoon Blades are going to be the underdogs in the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series.

The Blades have had an impressive 2022-23 campaign to date. They finished fourth in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

In the WHL Playoffs, the Blades took out Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats in an entertaining seven game first round series claiming a series deciding Game 7 by a 4-1 score.

The Blades then found themselves trailing the Red Deer Rebels 3-0 in a best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series. Saskatoon rallied with four straight wins taking a series deciding Game 7 by a 5-2 final this past Tuesday. In the process, the Blades joined the 1996 Spokane Chiefs and the 2013 Kelowna Rockets as the only clubs to lose the first three games in a best-of-seven series and rally to take the set.

In the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Championship Series, the Blades will face the super powerful Winnipeg Ice. The Ice topped the WHL regular season standings with a 57-10-1 mark and were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The 57 wins and 115 standings points are new franchise records for the Ice.

“Obviously, they are a good hockey team,” said Blades captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere, whose team’s last meeting with the Ice was a 3-2 victory in Saskatoon on February 4. “We haven’t seen them in a while.

Blades LW Conner Roulette is from Winnipeg, Man.

“We know what to expect. They are a fast team, and obviously, there is excellent talent on that team as well.”

During the six head-to-head regular season meetings between the two sides, the Ice collected three regulation wins and an overtime victory, while the Blade collected two regulation wins.

Game 1 of the series between the Blades and Ice is set for Friday at the Wayne Fleming Arena in the Manitoba capital at 6 p.m. local time.

The Ice also topped the WHL regular season standings in 2021-22 with a 53-10-3-2 mark. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Championship Series and fell in five games to the eventual WHL champion Edmonton Oil Kings. Winnipeg lost star centre Matthew Savoie to injury in Game 2 of that series against the Oil Kings, and that development dealt a big blow to the Ice in trying to win that series.

In this year’s post-season, the Ice swept the Medicine Hat Tigers 4-0 in a first round series and proceeded take out the Moose Jaw Warriors 4-2 in the other Eastern Conference semifinal.

Winnipeg entered the playoffs with two key players out due to injuries in 17-year-old centre Zach Benson and right-winger Carson Latimer, who turned 20-years-old in early January.

Zach Benson led the Ice in regular season scoring with 98 points.

Benson, who was dealing with an upper body injury, is a highly touted prospect for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, and he topped the Ice in regular season scoring with 98 points coming off 36 goals and 62 assists to go with a plus-68 rating in the plus-minus department. The Chilliwack, B.C., product was the third leading scoring in the entire WHL.

Benson has skated in six contests in the current post-season with the Ice recording two goals, five assists and a plus-two rating.

The Ice acquired Latimer in a trade with the Prince Albert Raiders on December 31, 2022 in order to bolster their depth. In 53 regular season games played between the Raiders and Blades, Latimer had 40 points coming off 14 goals and 26 assists. In five games with the Ice in the WHL Playoffs, Latimer has one goal and one assist.

The Ice got another big campaign from Savoie. In the regular season in 62 appearances, Savoie had career highs in goals (38), assists (57), points (95) and plus-minus (plus-57).

Ice star 20-year-old right-winger Connor McClennon had another banner campaign posting career highs in the regular season in goals (46), assists (46), points (92) and plus-minus (plus-51).

Trevor Wong led the Blades with 86 points in the regular season.

Ben Zloty, who turned 21-years-old in February, topped the Ice in defencemen scoring in the regular season with 81 points coming off 13 goals and 68 assists to go with a plus-67 rating.

The Ice’s fortunes in goal are second thanks to the play of star netminder Daniel Hauser. In 42 regular season appearances, Hauser posted a 37-4-1 record, a 2.28 goals against average, a .917 save percentage and two shutouts.

On Monday, the Ice closed out their series with the Warriors in Moose Jaw with an impressive 8-2 win in Game 6 at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

“I watch the Winnipeg game (on Monday),” said Blades head coach Brennan Sonne. “They’re a really good hockey team.

“They pose their own challenges. They have elite talent. They’re elite everywhere, so we need to rest up a little bit and just bring our best.

“We just ask that they work. If they put it all out there, then let the chips fall where they may. If they work, we’re good.”

Matthew Savoie had 95 regular season points for the Ice.

Centre Trevor Wong, who is 19-years-old, topped the Blades in regular scoring with 86 points coming off 27 goals and 59 assists to go with a plus-23 rating appearing in all his team’s 68 regular season games. All of Wong’s regular season statistics are career highs. In the Blades 14 post-season game to date, Wong has posted five goals and 14 assists to go with a plus-six rating.

Import right-winger Egor Sidorov was second in Blades regular season scoring with 76 points coming off 40 goals and 36 assists to go with a plus-25 rating in 53 games. Sidorov has nine goals, 10 assists and a plus-seven rating in the Blades 14 post-season contests.

De La Gorgendiere led the Blades in defencemen scoring in the regular season. In 65 regular season appearances, De La Gorgendiere has 65 points coming off 12 goals and 53 assists to go with a plus-19 rating.

In the Blades 14 post-season contests, De La Gorgendiere has two goals, 13 assists and a plus-one rating. His 15 points tops all Blades defenders.

In goal, the Blades are relying on two strong netminder in Austin Elliott and Ethan Chadwick. Elliott appeared in 37 regular season games posting a 25-6-3 record, a 2.20 goals against average, a .911 save percentage and two shutouts. Chadwick appeared in 34 regular season contests posting a 23-9-2 record, a 2.61 goals against average, a .899 save percentage and two shutouts.

Egor Sidorov had 40 goals and 76 points in the regular season.

At the end of the series with Red Deer, the Blades were missing 20-year-old defenceman Blake Gustafson and 17-year-old left-winger Mikhail Volotovskii due to upper body injuries.

The winner of the Eastern Conference Championship Series will take on the winner of the Western Conference Championship Series between the Seattle Thunderbirds and Kamloops Blazers, who host the CHL’s championship tournament – the Memorial Cup.

The Thunderbirds topped the Western Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-11-1-2 record. The U.S. Division champions were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Seattle’s 54 wins and standings points total of 111 points are new regular season club records.

The Blazers finished second overall in the Western Conference and third overall in the WHL regular season with a 48-13-4-3 mark. The B.C. Division champions were rated ninth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

The four squads remaining in the WHL Playoffs were the top four teams in the circuit’s regular season standings.

The series between the Blades and Ice will be a special one for Blades star left-winger Conner Roulette, who had 24 goals, 38 assists and a plus-19 rating in 60 regular season appearances in 2022-23. Roulette is from Winnipeg, so he will get to play in front of family and friends in his hometown.

Connor McClennon had 92 points in the regular season.

“Winnipeg is a great team,” said Roulette. “They’re fast, but you know we’re fast, and we are a great team as well.

“It is going to be a good series. We’re just looking forward to seeing what the table brings and what we have to do as a team to prepare for that.”

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Blades will live on in WHL lore thanks to 3-0 series comeback

The Blades celebrate Spencer Shugrue’s winning goal on Tuesday.

The best of the Saskatoon Blades came out when their season was potentially 20 minutes from ending.

On April 19, the Blades were down 3-0 in their best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Red Deer Rebels, and the Rebels were holding a 2-1 lead in Game 4 on home ice at the Peavey Mart Centrium after two periods. In the first three games of the series, the Rebels clamped things down defensively in those third periods to close out victories, so it was hard for any objective person to think Game 4 was going to be any different.

The only people that would have believed the Blades were going to pull out that contest were the Blades players, coaches, management and staff along with ultra-passionate fans that see everything with rose coloured glasses. Red Deer held a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes in that contest, and Blades captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere scored on a power play in the second to pull the visitors to within 2-1.

In a span of four minutes and three seconds coming before the nine minute mark of the third, the Blades rolled off three straight goals coming from the sticks of Jayden Wiens, Brandon Lisowsky and Tanner Molendyk. Throw in a 34 save performance from Saskatoon product Ethan Chadwick in goal, and that 4-2 advantage in favour of the Blades held up as the game’s final score.

While the Rebels still held a 3-1 series lead following Game 4, it felt like the complexion in the series changed. You could see in the eyes of the Blades players and coaches that they had belief that this series wasn’t over.

The Blades faithful cheer on their team on Tuesday.

Last Friday in Game 5 in Saskatoon, the Blades stormed their way to a 6-3 victory while outshooting the Rebels 31-17. The hosts drew their lowest attendance of the post-season but still a good crowd of 5,908 spectators to the SaskTel Centre. The fans were engaged with what was happening on the ice, and following that contest, it felt realistic that the Blades could win two more games to take the series.

Game 6 held this past Sunday back in Red Deer against a Rebels side that was truly refocused was going to be a hard one for Saskatoon to get. The Blades received a huge traction moment 34 seconds into the contest from star import right-winger Egor Sidorov.

Sidorov stole the puck at the left side boards in the Red Deer zone from Rebels star 20-year-old right-winger Ben King. Sidorov wheeled behind the Red Deer goal with King in pursuit and scored on a one-handed wraparound to give the visitors a 1-0 lead on their first shot of the game.

The Rebels came with a huge push back and held 12-2 edge in shots on goal at one point in the first period. Blades star centre Trevor Wong scored with 3:36 remaining in the opening frame, and Saskatoon exited the opening 20 minutes with a 2-0 despite being outshot 16-6.

Spencer Shugrue has become “Mr. Game 7” for the Blades.

The Blades built a 4-1 lead at one point in the second, but the Rebels got one back near the end of the frame and a goal with 7:47 remaining in the third to cut Saskatoon’s advantage to 4-3. Blades hard-working centre Jayden Wiens scored an empty-net goal with 1:52 remaining in the third to seal a 5-3 victory. Netminder Austin Elliott made 35 saves to ensure the Blades pulled out victory.

The Rebels also had to lament a number of turnovers that resulted in Blades goals.

Following that win, Blades head coach Brennan Sonne told the team’s longtime play-by-play voice Les Lazaruk, “Nothing is going to distract us from making history simple as that.”

This past Tuesday 9,489 spectators made their way to the SaskTel Centre to see if the Blades could be the third team in the history of the WHL to lose the first three games in a best-of-seven series and rally back to win the set 4-3. After Katelyn Lehner finished singing the national anthem, the cheers at that point leading to the opening faceoff were the loudest they had been in some time for that point in a Blades game.

After puck drop, the fans stayed engaged with the contest. They even had a hex chant going for Rebels netminder Kyle Kelsey. Usually, there are never such chants for the opposing team’s netminder inside SaskTel Centre.

The building became quiet after Rebels defenceman and Saskatoon product Hunter Mayo scored for the visitors. Just 2:35 later, the noise picked up as star left-winger Conner Roulette replied for the Blades to force a 1-1 tie.

Tanner Molendyk (#24) enjoys a goal with Egor Sidorov in Game 4.

Blades utility player Spencer Shugrue proceeded to ensure he would be cemented with the nickname “Mr. Game 7.”

He scored at the 5:41 mark of the second to give the Blades a 2-1 lead. That was short-lived as Rebels left-winger Ryker Singer replied just 1:54 later to even the score at 2-2.

At the 4:29 mark of the third, Shugrue added his second goal of the contest to put the Blades up 3-2, and that held up as the winner. Roulette popped his second of the contest and Vaughn Watterodt scored into an empty net to round out a 5-2 victory for the Blades.

Elliott made 23 saves to earn the win in goal for the Blades. Kelsey turned away 23-of-27 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels.

The Blades received a lengthy and deserved salute from their faithful in attendance. The players applauded the fans for their enthusiasm and a few went right to the boards to thank their faithful up close.

The series between the Blades and Rebels was expected to be a tight one, and it ultimately was. The Blades finished fourth in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Rebels finished fifth in the overall WHL standings and topped the Central Division with a 43-19-3-3 mark.

Ethan Chadwick had a huge Game 4 performance.

On top of coming back to win a best-of-seven series after dropping the first three games in the set to complete the reverse sweep, the Blades also advanced to the Eastern Conference Championships Series for the first time since 1994.

They will face the Winnipeg Ice, and Game 1 of that series is set for Friday at the Wayne Fleming Arena in the Manitoba capital at 6 p.m. local time. The Ice topped the WHL regular season standings with a 57-10-1 mark and were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

No matter what happens during the rest of the post-season, the Blades will skate away with a special distinction. Any time a team falls behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven series in the WHL Playoffs, the Spokane Chiefs of 1996 and the Kelowna Rockets of 2013 are brought up as the two teams that rallied back to win a best-of-seven series 4-3 after dropping the first three games of that set.

The current Blades will be mentioned along with the 1996 Chiefs and the 2013 Rockets to now share that accomplishment.

Following the Blades Game 7 win on Tuesday, De La Gorgendiere said it hadn’t set in that his Blades team will be brought up with the 1996 Chiefs and the 2013 Rockets any time a WHL club falls behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven series as the group of three teams that erased that series deficit to win the set.

Austin Elliott earned wins in Game 6 and 7 over the Rebels.

There were times after Tuesday’s game concluded and when leaving the rink that night it felt surreal that the Blades had pulled off that rally. On Wednesday, a surreal feeling hit another level when a few Blades fans went on social media to note a number of people in the fan base hadn’t been born the last time the team was in the Eastern Conference final in 1994.

In 1994, the Blades eliminated the Brandon Wheat Kings 4-1 in the Eastern Conference final before falling 4-3 in the WHL final to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Kamloops Blazers.

The current Blades have found that special will that is needed to win in the post-season. Including their seven-game first round series win over Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats, the Blades have faced elimination five times and won each of those contests.

When their backs are against the wall, the current Blades players realize they don’t want to go their separate ways and raise their level of play in order to stay together. They have built a family feeling with the various team activities they have done away from the rink over the course of the entire 2022-23 campaign.

In the Eastern Conference final, the Ice will be the favourites. You can count that the Blades won’t go down without a fight, and their fight might be good enough they advance to the WHL Championship Series.

The Blades celebrate their series comeback win over the Rebels.

The Blades epic and historical series comeback over the Rebels should be celebrated, but it would not be a surprise if more high points were to come as the post-season moves on.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Blades complete epic and historical series comeback

Saskatoon posts 5-2 Game 7 win, eliminates Rebels

The Blades celebrate their Game 7 win over the Rebels on Tuesday.

The Saskatoon Blades were indeed still standing.

On Tuesday night before 9,489 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades downed the Red Deer Rebels 5-2 in Game 7 of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series. The win allows the Blades to take the best-of-seven set 4-3 and advance to the Eastern Conference Championship Series for the first time since 1994, when they made the WHL Championship Series and fell in seven games to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Kamloops Blazers.

The Blades will face the Winnipeg Ice in this year’s Eastern Conference Championships series. The Ice topped the WHL regular season standings with a 57-10-1 mark and were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Game 1 of that series is set for Friday at the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg at 6 p.m. local time.

Egor Sidorov (#19) hugs Blades mascot Poke Check.

In the series against the Rebels, the Blades lost the first three games before rallying back to win four straight contests. The Blades became just the third team in the history of the WHL dating back to the circuit’s start in 1966-67 to rally back to win a best-of-seven series having trailed the set 3-0.

“I’m just incredibly proud of the guys,” said Blades head coach Brennan Sonne. “You have to have a tight-knit group and a tonne of belief.

“You have to put your arms around each other instead of pointing fingers when you go down 3-0, and that is what we did. They put their arms around each other as opposed to pointing fingers. They were full of belief, and my God am I proud of them.”

The Spokane Chiefs, who were guided by Mike Babcock as head coach, trailed the Portland Winterhawks 3-0 before rallying to take a first round series 4-3 in 1996. The Kelowna Rockets fell behind the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-0 in 2013 before rallying back to claim that first round series 4-3.

The Rebels react to their Game 7 loss.

Both of those series deciding Game 7s ended in overtime. In the 1996 Game 7 between the Chiefs and Winterhawks, forward Darren Sinclair scored 58 seconds in overtime to deliver the Chiefs to a 4-3 victory. In the 2013 Game 7 between the Rockets and Thunderbirds, forward Tyson Baillie scored at the 5:10 mark of overtime to give the Rockets a 3-2 victory.

Current Rebels head coach Steve Konowalchuk was the head coach of the Thunderbirds in 2013 when they lost their 3-0 series lead to the Rockets. Konowalchuk would guide the Thunderbirds to a WHL championship in 2016-17 before departing to the NHL to become an assistant coach for the Anaheim Ducks.

The Blades and Rebels work their way through the handshake line.

The Blades actually rallied back from being down 3-0 in a best-of-seven series to tie it up at 3-3 for the second time in team history.

Back in 1990, Saskatoon trailed the Lethbridge Hurricanes 3-0 in a second round series in that year’s WHL Playoffs before rallying back to tie the set at 3-3. In a series deciding Game 7 in Lethbridge, the Blades fell 4-3 in overtime with defenceman Neil Hawryluk netting the winning goal for the Hurricanes. Of course, the current Blades were able to one up what the club did in 1990.

Part of the 9,489 fans in attendance cheer on the Blades. 

Going back to their first round seven game series win over Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats, the Blades have won five straight contests in this WHL post-season where they have faced elimination. Konowalchuk said the Game 7 loss to the Blades was a tough one for his Rebels to take.

“It is a hard one,” said Konowalchuk. “I thought our guys played a pretty hard game.

“I thought we played with a lot of time in their end. I thought we had some chances. They’re opportunistic, and they have some skill that doesn’t need a lot of chances.

Spencer Shugrue had a pair of goals for the Blades.

“I think that was the difference in the hockey game tonight.”

In Tuesday’s Game 7 clash, both teams had early scoring chances. Blades captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere wired a shot off the post for the hosts, and Rebels import left-winger Frantisek Formanek hit iron for the visitors.

With 7:50 remaining in the first, the Rebels broke through on the scoreboard. Star left-winger Kalan Lind got the puck to 18-year-old defenceman Hunter Mayo at the right point. Mayo skated the puck into the right faceoff circle and blew home a shot to the top left corner of the Saskatoon goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Lind was playing his first contest since being carried off on a stretcher with a head injury early in the Blades 4-2 victory in Game 4 last Wednesday in Red Deer. Blades gritty right-winger Justin Lies was given a three-game WHL imposed suspension for throwing the head hit hat injured Lind. Tuesday’s Game 7 was the final game of that suspension for Lies.

Conner Roulette had two goals and an assist for the Blades.

Shortly after Mayo’s goal, the Blades pulled even at 1-1 with 5:15 remaining in the first. Blades star left-winger Conner Roulette got the puck to the left of Red Deer’s net, cut across the front of the Red Deer goal and put home a backhand shot for the equalizer.

At the 5:41 mark of the second, the Blades jumped ahead 2-1 when utility player Spencer Shugrue potted home the rebound of a shot taken by Roulette. Roulette’s midrange blast came off the boards being the Red Deer net to Shugrue at the right side of the goal, and he put in the go-ahead tally into an empty cage.

Just 1:54 later, the Rebels evened things up at 2-2 on a goal from left-winger Ryker Singer. Rebels star centre Kai Uchacz dumped the puck it to the left corner of the Saskatoon zone to give Singer a chance to get the equalizer. Singer beat the Blades defence to the puck and wire a shot close in to the left side of the Saskatoon net to the top corner right corner of the goal.

Kalan Lind had an assist returning to the Rebels’ lineup.

With 8:53 remaining in the second, Rebels captain Jayden Grubbe appeared to score on a power-play to put the visitors up 3-2, but the officials waved the goal off ruling Rebels 20-year-old right-winger Jace Isley made incidental contact with Blades netminder Austin Elliott. The ruling was upheld after a video review.

In the third, Shugrue continued to build his case for being the Blades’ “Mr. Game 7.”

At the 4:29 mark of the third, Shugrue won a puck battle against Rebels right-winger Ollie Josephson just inside the Red Deer blue-line. Shugrue pass the puck to centre Jayden Wiens. Wiens rushed down the left wing, and Shugrue skated to the Red Deer goal close to the right goalpost.

Hunter Mayo scored the Rebels first goal on Tuesday.

Wiens passed the puck across the face of the Red Deer net to Shugrue. Shugrue knocked home the puck with a backhanded tap for his second tally of the contest to put the Blades up 3-2.

In the post-season, Shugrue has scored three goals, and all those markers have come in Game 7s. The Vancouver product’s first goal came in the Blades 4-1 victory in Game 7 of a first round series against the Pats back on April 10, and he had an assist on the winning tally in that contest.

“It is obviously a great feeling,” said Shugrue about being reward with some goals for his hard work. “In Game 7, we knew we just had to stick to our systems there, and that is what we had drawn up.

“I’m happy it turned out that way.”

Ryker Singer had the Rebels second goal on Tuesday.

Just 40 seconds later, Roulette worked a give and go with Blades star import right-winger Egor Sidorov on a three-on-two rush. Roulette received a return pass from Sidorov at the lower part of the right faceoff circle in the Red Deer zone and blew home his second tally of the contest to push the Blades lead out to 4-2.

Roulette’s three-point night on Tuesday matched his production from the Blades first 13 post-season games. The Winnipeg product was pleased to contribute some offence again.

“I think just throughout the playoffs I just wanted to find my rhythm,” said Roulette. “I think I started off a little slow.

The Blades apply pressure around the Rebels net.

“Such a great team and such a great coaching staff were there to help me and push me to play my best. They are telling me every night, ‘This is your game. This is your game.’ Obviously for a night like tonight for me to finally find that rhythm and help the team out, it is a great feeling.

“I’m really honoured to be able to have a night like that. To have slow start to the playoffs as an individual, I’m looking forward to hopefully keeping this up to help the team more. I couldn’t have done it without the support from the teammates.”

Blades hard working right-winger Vaughn Watterodt rounded out the game’s scoring with an empty-net goal with 27.2 seconds remaining in the third.

The Blades celebrate a winning goal from Spencer Shugrue (#26).

Elliott stopped 23 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Kyle Kelsey turned away 23-of-27 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels.

The Blades closed the series killing off Red Deer’s last 11 consecutive power-play chances.

The Rebels were without right-winger Jhett Larson, who turned 19-years-old in early February, due to one game league imposed suspension for receiving a fight instigator penalty in the final five minutes of a 5-3 loss to the Blades in Game 6 this past Sunday in Red Deer.

The Blades didn’t have the services of 20-year-old defenceman Blake Gustafson and 17-year-old left-winger Mikhail Volotovskii due to upper body injuries.

The series between the Blades and Rebels was expected to be a tight one, and it ultimately was. 

Jayden Wiens had an assist on the Blades winning goal.

The Blades finished fourth in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Rebels finished fifth in the overall WHL standings and topped the Central Division with a 43-19-3-3 mark.

Still, the Blades prevailed in a way that they will always be remembered. Any time a team falls behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven series in the WHL Playoffs, the current Blades will be brought up with the 1996 Chiefs and the 2013 Rockets as the clubs that rallied back to win the series 4-3.

“It is pretty cool,” said De La Gorgendiere. “I don’t think it has honestly set in yet.

The Blades salute the crowd at the SaskTel Centre.

“It is obviously going to be really special. Like Sonne said to us in the room there, we’re going to remember this for the rest of our lives until we can’t remember anything anymore. It is just awesome.”

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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