Rebuilding Broncos rally for huge OT win over Blades

Joona Kiviniemi celebrates scoring the OT winner for the Broncos.

    Tanner Nagel said a big comeback win was a great thing for the youngsters on the rebuilding Swift Current Broncos to experience.

    Nagel, who is the Broncos overage captain, is the only holdover that was a regular on Swift Current’s WHL championship winning team last season. During that run to the WHL title, Nagel got to experience many thrilling victories including a number of the comeback variety.

    Now, the Broncos are a team that has 10 players in their 17-year-old seasons and two in their 16-year-old seasons on their 23-person roster. On Saturday night at the SaskTel Centre, the youthful Swift Current side experienced a rare high in a campaign where the team has trudged along in last place in the entire WHL.

    Trailing the host Saskatoon Blades 4-2 with five minutes remaining in the third period, the Broncos roared back to pull out a 5-4 overtime victory before 3,637 spectators.

Tanner Nagel scored twice for the Broncos on Saturday night.

    In the extra session, Broncos Finnish import left-winger Joona Kiviniemi one-timed home a set up pass from rookie defenceman Alex Moar with 3.4 second remaining in the frame to deliver victory to Swift Current. The Broncos improved to 10-34-2-1 with the win.

    “We have a lot of young guys in the room, so it is great to see them push back in games where we are down,” said Nagel, who scored twice for the Broncos on Saturday. “That is what we are trying to focus on is just teaching them that you have to keep playing right until the bitter end.

    “You are never out of a game. We showed that here tonight.”

Alex Moar set up the Broncos overtime winner on Saturday night.

    Down 4-2, the Broncos comeback started when Nagel scored on the power play sniping home a shot to the low right side of the Saskatoon goal to cut the Blades edge to 4-3 with 4:39 remaining in the third period.

    Broncos head coach and director of hockey operation Dean Brockman pulled netminder Riley Lamb for an extra attacker with about three minutes remaining in the third. Swift Current kept the play bottled in the Saskatoon zone with the extra skater.

    With 1:35 remaining in the stanza, Broncos 18-year-old right-winger Owen Blocker snipped the equalizer past Blades netminder Dorrin Luding to force a 4-4 tie.

    In overtime, both sides had numerous scoring chances before Kiviniemi ended it.

The Broncos celebrate an equalizer from Owen Blocker, right.

    Lamb turned away 48 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Broncos. Luding made 19 stops to take the extra time setback in goal for the Blades, who sit third overall in the WHL with a 29-13-7 mark.

    One night earlier, the Blades dumped the Broncos 5-2 in Swift Current.

    “Any time you win it is a good day,” said Brockman, whose Broncos beat the Blades for the first time this season in six tries on Saturday. “Certainly, they out-chanced us and had a lot of shots.

    “I give our guys a lot of credit. We challenged them after (Friday) night’s game to be better and work hard and they did. That is what you do when you work hard you find ways to get success.”

Goalie Riley Lamb makes one of his 48 saves for the Broncos.

    The Blades got out to a quick start. Just 38 seconds into the contest, right-winger Max Gerlach sprung left-winger Gary Haden in on a breakaway and Haden buried his 21^st of the season to give the host side a 1-0 edge.

    The Broncos evened things up a 1-1 just under three minutes later, when Nagel banged home a rebound for his first goal of the game off a shot taken by defenceman Christian Riemer.

    With 58.7 seconds remaining in the first period and Saskatoon working on the power play, Blades overage offensive defenceman Dawson Davidson scored on a point shot that just snuck under Lamb to give the host side a 2-1 edge going into the first intermission.

Dawson Davidson scored for the Blades on Saturday night.

    At the 6:04 mark of the second, the Broncos tied things up at 2-2 scoring their first short-handed goal of the campaign. The shorty came when Swift Current centre Ethan O’Rourke blocked a point shot taken by Blades 16-year-old rookie left-winger Kyle Crnkovic.

    The puck shot out to the centre ice zone, and O’Rourke tracked it down and skated into the Saskatoon zone on a breakaway. He tucked home his eighth goal of the season to get the Broncos on even terms for a short time.

    Saskatoon jumped back out in front 3-2 just under four minutes later thanks to a power-play goal coming off the stick of centre Eric Florchuk.

    Before the second period expired, left-winger Cyle McNabb potted his fifth goal of the season to give the Blades a 4-2 advantage.

    The Blades outshot the Broncos 16-4 in the third period but couldn’t prevent the Broncos comeback dramatics late in the frame and in overtime.

Ethan O’Rourke pots a short-handed goal for the Broncos.

    When Nagel scored late in the third to cut the Blades lead to one goal, Brockman hoped the comeback would indeed be on from that point.

    “This is a team where they’ve always had their backs up against the wall all year,” said Brockman. “Nobody expects us to win a game.

    “I want to give our kids a lot of credit. They were pretty resilient and stayed with it and found a way.”

    Nagel was excited about the final result.

    “Winning is awesome,” said Nagel. “It is the best feeling in the world.

    “It doesn’t matter if it is a game tonight or it is the WHL championship. A win is a win, and I love to win. Anytime you can win a game it is awesome.

Eric Florchuk (#17) had a power-play goal for the Blades.

    “Any time you can come from behind and win a game that is an even better feeling. The young guys showed resilience and the team showed resilience top to bottom. We’re feeling pretty good.”

    The Blades are off until Friday, when they travel to Regina to face the Pats at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

    The Broncos return to action on Wednesday, when they host the Calgary Hitmen at 7 p.m. at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex. Nagel said Saturday’s comeback victory will be a big time help to his team going forward.

    “Any time we get the young guys going and playing hard like this, it is great to see them keep chugging along,” said Nagel. “They are learning as we go.

The Broncos celebrate their win on Saturday night.

    “I think every time we put up a good game it just helps them learn a little more.”

    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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Fan reaction over the top on Blades two biggest media hits in 2017-18 WHL season

The Blades celebrate a goal on March 17.

    When the dust settled from the 2017-18 WHL season, it felt like a loud group of fans really went off the rails reacting to the plight of the Saskatoon Blades.

    If you play, coach and manage in the WHL, you know you will deal with fan criticism at some point. The same goes for those in the media that cover the league.

    Due to how much the mainstream media in Canada has been cut, teams like the Blades aren’t covered on an everyday basis like they once were. If the team has a big news hit that attracts most to almost all the community’s media both mainstream and non-mainstream, it seems like fans pay attention to those hits more than usual due to the fact they are receiving the same information from seemingly numerous sources.

    There were two hits last season the fans seemed to be caught up on judging by the reaction on social media and radio call in lines. The first was the action that occurred on the personnel front the two days before and the day of the WHL’s Jan. 10 trade deadline. 

    The second hit came when Dean Brockman was relieved of his duties as head coach on March 18, which occurred the day after the Blades played their final regular season game where they downed the Prince Albert Raiders 5-4 at the SaskTel Centre.

Winger Josh Paterson emerged as a key scorer last season.

    The Blades posted a 35-33-3-1 regular season record, but still missed making the post-season for the fifth straight campaign. The sting was compounded by the fact the Blades had the seventh most posts in the WHL’s 12 team Eastern Conference, which meant two clubs with weaker records than Saskatoon’s made the playoffs.

    The Blades finished three points back of the Prince Albert Raiders (32-27-9-4) for the second wildcard berth in the conference.

    With the Blades having missed the post-season again, it seemed a sizable group of fans took what happened at the trade deadline and Brockman’s departure in directions that were not intended. The uproar was a bit startling, because Blades fans had seemed to be more on the quiet side in recent years.

    First let’s review what happened shortly before the WHL trade deadline passed.

    On Jan. 8, Saskatoon sent Libor Hajek, who is a 19-year-old import Czech defenceman and had a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, to the Regina Pats in exchange for 19-year-old defenceman Dawson Davidson, 16-year-old forward prospect Tristen Robins and a first round selection in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft.

Max Gerlach was an important trade pick up for the Blades.

    On Jan. 10, the Blades and the Pats combined for another blockbuster. The Blades sent overage star centre and local product Cameron Hebig and 19-year-old goaltender Ryan Kubic to the Pats in exchange for overage star netminder Tyler Brown, 17-year-old right-winger Bryan Lockner, a first and a second round selection in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft, a third round selection in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft and a third round selection in the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft.

    The Blades proceeded to deal Lockner, a first round selection in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft and a second round selection in the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft to the Medicine Hat Tigers in exchange for 19-year-old star centre Max Gerlach.

    Before deadline passed on Jan. 10, the Blades made one more deal acquiring centre Eric Florchuk, who was in his 17-year-old season, from the Victoria Royals for a first round selection in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft, a first round selection in the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft and a fourth round selection in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft that was originally obtained from the Brandon Wheat Kings in an earlier deal. 

Blades C Eric Florchuk (#17) works his way through the Raiders.

    Florchuk was originally selected by the Royals in the first round and 13^th overall in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft.

    In that flurry of action, it seemed fans got caught up on the names of Hebig and Hajek and didn’t hear anything else that happened. It was interpreted that the Blades were throwing a grenade at their roster and giving up on the season playing out of an extremely tough East Division by dumping their two best players.

    The truth was they worked the roster in a way that they were still able to compete for a playoff berth that season and gained assets to help in the future. Saskatoon posted a 20-19-2-1 record in the 42 games played before those trades and a 15-14-1 mark in the 30 games that came after those deals.

    When all of the WHL games on Feb. 19 had wrapped up, the Blades were 31-27-2-1 and had an eight point lead over the Prince Albert Raiders for the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. The Blades were two points behind the Brandon Wheat Kings for the first wildcard position.

Goalie Nolan Maier makes a glove stop for the Blades last season.

    Over their final 11 games, the Blades posted a 4-6-1 mark to fall out of the playoff picture.

    The Blades still had a roster that could compete with the rest of the teams in the East Division, and they compiled an 18-17-2-1 mark against their East Division rivals.

    When the Blades released Brockman at the end of the season, it felt like some of the heat thrown the way of Blades general manager Colin Priestner went way over the top. I remember viewing a number of comments sent his way via the public social media platform of Twitter addressed to his Twitter handle that made me feel uncomfortable.

    It almost felt like he might just get jumped in the street or physically harmed in some way, and that is taking things too far.

    I thought it was fair comment for fans to say they thought missing the playoffs was less Brockman’s fault than Priestner’s fault, because Brockman has a lengthy hockey background and Priestner has a much smaller one in comparison.

Fans took the release of Dean Brockman as Blades head coach hard.

    A number of the vocal fans took issue with the fact that Priestner holds the general manager’s role on a club that is owned by his father, Mike Priestner. I would say that is a fair comment, because Colin would have had trouble landing a general manager position with any other WHL team, because he only had three seasons of front office experience under his belt when he became the Blades general manager.

    The scenario of people grinding an axe due to a family member getting a high ranking position because another family member is the manager or owner is something that has come up frequently over the course of time in the work place.

    Still, there were times the criticism of Colin on that front went from fair comment to being beyond personal on that front which isn’t right.

    For me, the separation between Priestner and Brockman felt like more of a situation where the two sides determined they couldn’t work together anymore, which is something that often happens in sports.

    Priestner has made good moves and played a hand in bringing netminder Nolan Maier, forwards Kirby Dach, Chase Wouters and Josh Paterson and defencemen Jackson Caller and Jake Kustra to the Blades. They are all quality players, and it would not be a surprise if the Blades had a strong season in 2018-19.

Blades GM Colin Priestner took heat from fans.

    When it came to delivering the information on those two big media hits, the Blades communications staff did an admirable job of relaying the information to the local area media, and the local area media did a great job of delivering the information about what was going on with the team to the public.

    No one can control how some fans will take that information. It also has to be viewed as a good thing in one respect fans can still be really passionate about the team.

    Hopefully, some in the loud vocal group of fans will learn to maybe take deep breaths before reacting on big developments with Saskatoon’s WHL squad. At the end of the day, the Blades are only playing a game.

    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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Brockman is the Swift Current Broncos’ man

Dean Brockman holds court in a media scrum in the 2016-17 season.

    Dean Brockman’s hiatus from the WHL didn’t last long, and he will likely be a great fit in his new stomping grounds.

    On Wednesday, Brockman was introduced as the new head coach and director of hockey operations for the Swift Current Broncos at a press conference in Swift Current. Brockman fills the void that was created when Manny Viveiros stepped down as the Broncos head coach and director of player personnel on May 24 to become an assistant coach with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.

    Brockman spent the previous four seasons working for the Saskatoon Blades. He was an assistant coach with the Blades in his first two campaigns with the club and spent the past two seasons working for the Blades as head coach. Brockman was released by the Blades on March 18.

    During Brockman’s run as head coach, the Blades posted a 63-68-10-3 record. He is credited with 62 of those victories having missed one of those wins to attend a funeral. The Blades posted a 35-33-3-1 mark this past season to finish three points behind the Raiders (32-27-9-4) for the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

    Saskatoon last made the WHL playoffs back in 2013.

    Before joining the Blades, Brockman, who will soon turn 51-years-old, was best known for his 17 years in the junior A ranks working with the Humboldt Broncos from 1997 to 2014 in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. He started as an assistant coach and assistant general manager before becoming the head coach and general manager in 2004. During Brockman’s years in Humboldt, the SJHL Broncos won the Royal Bank Cup for junior A supremacy in 2003 and 2008.

    Brockman comes on board with a Broncos WHL franchise that hit heights the club hadn’t seen in some time with Viveiros as head coach. Viveiros, a 52-year-old St. Albert, Alta., product, was in Swift Current for two seasons.

    In the 2016-17 campaign, Viveiros led the Broncos to a 10^th overall finish in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 39-23-4-6 record. The Broncos advanced to the second round of the WHL playoffs falling in a tough seven-game series to the Regina Pats, who would advance to the WHL Championship series.

Dean Brockman, centre, mans the Blades bench last season.

    This past season, Viveiros guided the Broncos to the second best record in the WHL’s regular season at 48-17-5-2. The Broncos set a record playing 26 games in the WHL playoffs winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup and capturing the league title for the first since 1993. Swift Current advanced to the Memorial Cup tournament to play for the CHL title.
    At the Memorial Cup tournament in Regina, Sask., in May, the Broncos went 0-3 in round robin play falling by a one-goal margin each time out.

    When Brockman steps behind the bench for the first regular season as Broncos head coach, they will have a much different look than the squad that won the WHL title in May. The Broncos begin the regular season on Sept. 21, when they host the Blades at 7 p.m. at the Credit Union i-Plex.

    Swift Current graduated three key overagers from last season in captain Glenn Gawdin, Giorgio Estephan and Matteo Gennaro. Last season, the Broncos finished carrying 11 players on their roster who were in their 19-year-old seasons and only three can return as overagers.

    Candidates who appear to be already out for consideration include star right-winger Tyler Steenbergen, who has signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Arizona Coyotes, defenceman Colby Sissons, who has signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils and netminder Stuart Skinner, who has signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers.

    Finnish left-winger Aleksi Heponiemi won’t be back for his 19-year-old season, because he signed a two-year professional contract with Karpat Oulu in Finland near the end of May.

    Gawdin, Steenbergen and Heponiemi combined to form a dynamic top line for the Broncos over the past two seasons. Sissons brought a steady presence to the Broncos back end for the past three seasons.

    Brockman will be overseeing the Broncos through a reloading period.

    The Broncos also need to replace director of hockey operations and head scout Jamie Porter, who officially resigned from the team on Tuesday.

    On Thursday, the Broncos took their first steps in their reload under Brockman selecting two players in the CHL Import Draft. The Broncos selected Finnish forward Joona Kiviniemi, who turns 17-years-old in December, in the first round and 59^th overall. Swift Current proceeded to pick up 17-year-old Finnish defenceman Roope Pynnonen in the second round and 119^th overall.

Dean Brockman runs a Blades practice last season.

    Brockman will be a good fit in his new stomping grounds. His departure from Saskatoon was one of those situations that comes up in the business of hockey were all involved decide to go their separate ways.
    He is a player’s coach and is very community minded. Brockman also goes to a community in Swift Current that is similar in a lot of ways to Humboldt. Both are tight-knit farming communities, where the main difference is Swift Current has a larger population than Humboldt.

    Swift Current is also the second smallest market in the CHL with the defending Memorial Cup champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League coming from the CHL’s smallest centre in Bathurst, New Brunswick.

    With his outgoing, personable and honest personality, Brockman is going to be an easy quick fit in Swift Current. Brockman is a person that is made to coach an entrenched community-owned franchise like the WHL’s Broncos.

Blades back to full stable with imports

    The Saskatoon Blades returned to having a full stable of import players after making two selections in Thursday’s CHL Import Draft.

    In the first round and 23^rd overall, the Blades selected defenceman Emil Malysjev, who has dual citizenship in both Sweden and Russia. Malysjev, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 187 pounds, played in Sweden’s top junior league last season with HV71, where he had four assists in 29 games.

    In the second round and 83^rd overall, the Blades selected forward Kristian Roykas-Marthinsen of Norway. Roykas-Marthinsen, who turns 19 in late August and stands 6-feet and weighs 186 pounds, was selected in the seventh round and 213^th overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.  

    He played in Sweden’s top junior league last season recording 23 goals and eight assists in 23 games with Almtuna IS.

    Before selecting Malysjev and Roykas-Marthinsen, the Blades didn’t have any import players on their roster due to the fact Russian defenceman Mark Rubinchik, who was eligible to return as a 19-year-old, signed a two-year, two-way contract to play for Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League back in May.

    Malysjev and Roykas-Marthinsen are expected to attend Blades training camp, which will open near the end of August.

Raiders pick Protas in Import Draft

    The Prince Albert Raiders made one selection in Thursday’s CHL Import Draft.

    In the first round and 26^th overall, the Raiders selected 17-year-old forward Aliaksei Protas from Belarus. Protas, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 179 pounds, played for the Belarus U17 Team in Vysshaya Liga, which is the development league for the Belarusian Extraleague. He recorded nine goals and 11 assists in 49 games.

    The Raiders have the potential to return both of their overage players from last season. Czech defenceman Vojtech Budik is entering his overage season and odds are high he will elect not to return to Prince Albert in order to pursue professional options.

    Defenceman Sergei Sapego, who is from Belarus and will enter his 19-year-old season, is expected to be back in the fold next season for the Raiders.

GoFundMe campaign for Vandervlis exceeds $67,000

Ryan Vandervlis drive up ice for the Hurricanes in April of 2017.

    The GoFundMe campaign that was set up to help Lethbridge Hurricanes centre Ryan Vandervlis has exceeded $67,000.

    On June 15, Hurricanes captain Jordy Bellerive, Vandervlis and former team member Matt Alfaro, who currently plays for the University of Calgary Dinos, were all involved in a mishap at the family home of former Hurricanes captain Tyler Wong just west of Calgary. Wong was hosting nine of his friends at the family residence, and they were planning to go golfing and camping the next day.

    There was an explosion from the campfire that was started that night at the Wong residence. Bellerive, 19, and Alfaro, 21, sustained burns to their upper bodies and Vandervlis, 20, sustained burns to the front of his body and was placed in a medically induced coma. Vandervlis was taken off dialysis on June 18.

    Vandervlis sustained critical injuries. The Red Deer, Alta., product is facing months of recovery and multiple surgeries. On Tuesday, Vandervlis emerged from his coma but remains in hospital in Calgary.

    Alfaro was released from hospital on June 21. Bellerive was released from hospital on Tuesday.

    While Alfaro and Bellerive won’t have a problem returning for the upcoming hockey campaign, hockey is likely the furthest thing from the mind of Vandervlis, who is slated to enter his overage season with the Hurricanes.

    The fundraising efforts will help him and his family get past this rough stretch.

    Anyone looking to donate to the GoFundMe campaign for Vandervlis can do so by clicking right here.

Stars and Contacts to move to Merlis Belsher Place

    The Saskatoon Stars and Saskatoon Contacts will play out of a new home rink next season.

    The Stars, who are the defending champions of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League, and the Contacts, who have long been an elite club in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League, will play out of Merlis Belsher Place, which is being built on the campus on the University of Saskatchewan. The new multisport facility, which will have two pads of ice, is expected to be open in October.

    The Saskatoon Minor Hockey Association announced the switch of venues for the two teams on Wednesday. Merlis Belsher Place will be the new home of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s and women’s hockey teams.

    The Stars had been playing out of the Agriplace Arena. Last season, the Stars finished first in the SFMAAAHL with a 24-3-1 record, won the SFMAAAHL title for the third time in the last four years and advanced to the Esso Cup national championship tournament for the third time in the last four years.

    Saskatoon made the championship game of the Esso Cup held in Bridgewater, N.S., in April. The Stars fell 2-1 to the St. Albert Slash from Alberta, who won the Esso Cup for a second straight year.

During their history, the Stars have won the female title at the Mac’s Midget AAA Tournament twice.

    “Moving to a new state-of-the-art facility will help raise the profile of our program in the community and provide a sports and scholastic focused environment where our athletes will be exposed to ever expanding opportunities for both personal and team growth for years to come,” said Stars president Don Karnes in a statement.

    The Contacts have been playing out of the Schroh Arena. Last season, the Contacts finished sixth in the 12 team Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League this past season with a 20-18 record. They were swept 3-0 in the best-of-five first round playoff series by their archrivals the Prince Albert Mintos.

    The Contacts have won the SMAAAHL title on six occasions, the male title at the Mac’s Midget AAA Tournament twice, the bronze medal at the Telus Cup national championship tournament twice and Telus Cup national title in 2005.

    “The Saskatoon Contacts leave behind a rich history and tradition at Schroh Arena,” said Contacts president Jim McIntyre in a release. “We look forward to this great opportunity and the start of a new tradition at Merlis Belsher Place.”

    Approximately 1,500 hours of ice time will be dedicated annually for use by SMHA teams at Merlis Belsher Place, and the Stars and Contacts are expected to use less than 15 per cent of that allotted total. The SMHA will gain access to ice times vacated by the Stars and Contacts at their former home rinks.

    The Saskatoon Blazers midget AAA club will continue to play out of the Rod Hamm Arena. Last season, the Blazers finished eighth in the SMAAAHL and were swept 3-0 in a best-of-five first round playoff series by the Notre Dame Hounds, who moved on to capture the SMAAAHL title and the Telus Cup as national champs.

CBC story shows bonds of the Humboldt Broncos girlfriends

    On Friday, the CBC released an online feature focused on how the girlfriends of the players on the Humboldt Broncos were rallying together in their own group after the tragic crash of the team bus on April 6.

    Back on April 6, the bus carrying the Broncos team was involved in a collision with a semitrailer about 30 kilometres north of Tisdale. The Broncos were on their way to Nipawin for an SJHL playoff game against the Hawks.

    The crash resulted in the deaths of 16 players and team officials and injuries to 13 other players from the team.

    The girlfriends of the Broncos players gather together in Saskatoon from June 22 to 24 and made a trip out to Humboldt during that time. CBC followed their story and it was sweet and heartbreaking.

    The CBC feature of this remarkable group of young women can be found 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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Love looks to make his mark as Blades new head coach

Colin Priestner, left, welcomes Mitch Love to the Blades as head coach.

    Mitch Love is looking forward to placing his stamp on the Saskatoon Blades after he finally received his long awaited opportunity to be a WHL head coach.

    The Quesnel, B.C., product, who will turn 34 in June, was announced as the Blades new head coach on Wednesday at a press conference at the SaskTel Centre. He takes over from Dean Brockman, who was released as the club’s head coach on March 18.

    Love signed a four-year contract with a club option for a fifth year with the Blades.

    “What I want our players to understand here is as a staff we are going to have their backs,” said Love. “We’re going to work every day.

    “We’re going to work a 200-foot game. We’re going to check people. We are going to be a hard team to play against.”

    Love joins the Blades after spending seven seasons on the staff of the Everett Silvertips. He joined the Silvertips in 2011 as an assistant coach and strength and conditioning coach. He was an assistant coach and an assistant to the general manager this past season.

    As one of the Silvertips bench bosses, Love helped Everett finish third overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-20-2-3 mark this past season. In the playoffs, the Silvertips advanced all the way the WHL Championship series, where they fell 4-2 in the best-of-seven set to the Swift Current Broncos.

    During his playing days in the WHL from 1999 to 2005, Love appeared in 320 regular season games as a tough and rugged defenceman for the Moose Jaw Warriors, Broncos and Silvertips collecting 33 goals, 66 assists and 901 penalty minutes.

Mitch Love manned the Silvertips bench as an assistant coach.

    In the 2002-03 campaign, Love appeared in 70 regular season games with the Broncos and set a new team record for most penalty minutes in one regular season at 327. That record still stands today.

    Love joined the Silvertips for their inaugural season in 2003-04 and helped them make it to the WHL Championship series, where they were swept by the Medicine Hat Tigers 4-0.

    During his overage campaign in 2004-05, Love was the Silvertips captain.

    “As an ex-player to a long-time assistant coach in this league, I eat, breathe and live the Western Hockey League,” said Love, who stands 6-feet and weighs 175 pounds. “I’m real excited to be here.

    “I’m real excited to be part of the city of Saskatoon.”

    From 2005 to 2011, Love played six seasons in the minor professional ranks in the AHL, ECHL and CHL before joining the Silvertips coaching staff.

    During his years with the Silvertips, Love was also an assistant coach for a couple of Canadian teams at the Under-17 World Hockey Challenge in 2015 and 2016.

    Blades general manager Colin Priestner received permission from the Silvertips to speak to Love, when they were in the second round of the playoffs. Priestner met Love at the Vancouver International Airport between Games 2 and 3 of the Silvertips series with the Portland Winterhawks.

    Priestner said Love made a good impression. After checking with a number of hockey contacts, Priestner was sold on bringing Love to the Blades, but the Silvertips run through the post-season had to conclude before anything on that front could happen.

    “We really feel Mitch is one of the best young coaches in the country,” said Priestner. “That has been echoed by dozens of people I’ve spoken to.

    “Hockey Canada strongly advocated for him.”

Mitch Love makes a speech at a Blades press conference.

    Priestner said he had been contacted by a few former NHL head coaches that were reaching out to see if they could come to Saskatoon to finish out their careers there. The Blades general manager wanted to go in the direction of hiring someone younger who worked their way to the point in the WHL that they needed to make the step to become a head coach.

    WHL teams have been turning toward that trend since the Lethbridge Hurricanes hired Brent Kisio as head coach at age 32 back on June 4, 2015, and the Hurricanes have had three successful campaigns since that time. Before Kisio was hired, WHL clubs filled head coach vacancies by hiring former head coaches from other clubs on the circuit or former NHL coaches.

    “We want a young, hungry guy,” said Priestner. “Not to say that you can’t be a hungry 60-year-old former NHL coach.

    “We wanted someone with the passion that is going to be like dying to make his name here and hang a banner up there. It has been a long time since a banner has been hung up there.

    “I wanted someone that is not coming here to play out the stretch. I wanted someone who is extremely hungry.”

    Love likes the roster of players he will oversee. The Blades had the 15^th best record in the WHL last season at 35-33-3-1 and missed the playoffs playing out of an ultra-competitive East Division.

    They are set to return a talented group of forwards including Kirby Dach, Eric Florchuk, Josh Paterson, Chase Wouters and Max Gerlach. On defence, Saskatoon is set to bring back a healthy veteran group in Jackson Caller, Seth Bafaro, Dawson Davidson and Jake Kustra along with 16-year-old rookie Aidan De La Gorgendiere. 

    In goal, the Blades will be looking to see how standout Nolan Maier can improve on a sensational rookie campaign in his 17-year-old season.

    Love gave credit to the former staff under Brockman for bringing the players a long way.

Mitch Love meets media members at a Blades press conference.

    “I don’t want to take anything away from the coaching staff that was here before,” said Love. “They’ve improved the last two seasons as a group.

    “I think there is still some more to give there. I think we will just work towards that. There are some really good pieces in place.”

    Love’s teams are best known for their tough defence, and last season, the Silvertips gave up the fewest goals in the league during the regular season at 167. The Blades equaled the Calgary Hitmen for giving up the third more goals in the regular season on the circuit at 276.

    Going forward, Love said he wants his players to put in an honest effort, and there will be work to do at the rink. He added that there will be fun that goes along with the work to keep everyone motivated to come to the rink.

    “This has got to be a place that they want to come and enjoy and be at,” said Love. “They spend a lot of time here.

    “They spend time away from their families. This is their second home coming to the rink, and I want them to have fun doing that.”

Back in the Express with Labach

Julie Labach is a track star with the Huskies.

    I was back in the pages of the Saskatoon Express this week with a feature story on Julie Labach.

    Labach is a star with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Track and Field team. She originally came to the U of S to play on the Huskies women’s soccer team before competing in both soccer and track and field for the past four seasons.

    This past season, Labach had a banner year personally. She capped it winning gold in the 1,000-metre race and bronze in the 600-metre race at U Sports nationals.

    Due to her stellar season, she was named the winner of the Mary Ethel Cartwright Trophy as the female athlete of the year for Huskie Athletics.

    In the classroom, Labach was named a U Sports academic all-Canadian in her first three years with the Huskies and will likely be awarded that designation again, when those awards are handed out in September. She will enter the College of Law in the fall.

    With law being an intense program, Labach plans to only compete in track and field for the Huskies in her final campaign of U Sports eligibility.

    The story on Labach can be found 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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Drama at the end overshadows rest of Blades season

The Blades salute the SaskTel Centre crowd on Saturday night.

    At the end, it almost didn’t feel like the Saskatoon Blades won 35 games in the 2017-18 regular season.

    The Blades enjoyed their best campaign since the hosting the Memorial Cup in 2013 posting a 35-33-3-1 record to actually have the seventh most standings points in the WHL’s 12 team Eastern Conference. Unfortunately, the drama at the end of the season will be what most onlookers remember. The last impression at the moment seems to override everything else that happened.

    When all of the WHL games on Feb. 19 had wrapped up, the Blades had an eight point lead over the Prince Albert Raiders for the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. The Blades were two points behind the Brandon Wheat Kings for the first wildcard position. The Blades had 11 games remaining on their regular season schedule including seven home dates, while the Raiders and Wheat Kings had 13 contests each to play.

The Blades released Dean Brockman as head coach on Sunday.

    Having downed the Oil Kings in Edmonton 3-2 in overtime on Feb. 19, the Blades returned to the SaskTel Centre to play the Memorial Cup hosting Regina Pats on Feb. 23. Saskatoon took a 4-0 lead at the 7:47 mark of that contest before the wheels fell off. Regina roared back for a 7-5 victory with call up Jacob Wasserman playing goal.

    That started an eight-game stretch where the Blades posted a 1-6-1 record to be eliminated from making the playoffs for a fifth straight year. The Blades won their last three straight to post a 4-6-1 record in their final 11 outings. The Raiders went 9-2-0-2 including nine straight wins in their last 13 games to leap into the second wildcard spot, and the Wheat Kings held the first wildcard spot going 9-4 in their final 13 contests.

Blades GM Colin Priestner speaks to the media early in the season.

    A similar story occurred in the 2016-17 campaign. The Blades held a three-point edge over the Calgary Hitmen for the last playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference near the tail end of that campaign. The Blades won one of their final five games, while the Hitmen claimed five of their last six regular season contests to vault into a playoff berth.

    Saskatoon closed the 2017-18 campaign on Saturday with a 5-4 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders before 9,624 spectators at the SaskTel Centre. Following that contest, Blades head coach Dean Brockman met with general manager Colin Priestner for about an hour.

    On Sunday morning, the Blades announced Brockman had been relieved of his duties effective immediately with two years left on his contract. At the media availability that afternoon, Priestner said at the end of the hour long talk he had with Brockman on Saturday night it became clear the team was going to part ways with the 50-year-old veteran bench boss.

Braylon Shmyr (#23) had 37 goals and 51 assists this season.

    Brockman had been the Blades head coach for the past two seasons and was an assistant coach in the two campaigns before that.

    Priestner said the fact that the Blades faltered at the end of each of the past two seasons to fall out of a playoff position was the reason for the move on the coaching front.

    The social media reaction to the development in the following days from the public was fairly toxic.

    Most threw support behind Brockman as being the sound hockey guy with a solid 17-year background in the junior A ranks with the Humboldt Broncos from 1997 to 2014. Brockman started as an assistant coach and assistant general manager before becoming the head coach and general manager in 2004. During Brockman’s years in Humboldt, the Broncos won the Royal Bank Cup for junior A supremacy in 2003 and 2008.

Blades captain Evan Fiala recently signed a pro contract.

    Priestner is viewed as the non-hockey background guy until he came on board with the Blades when his father, Mike, bought the team from Jack Brodsky before the start of the 2013-14 campaign. Colin has been the Blades general manager for the past two seasons taking on that role when the former head coach and general manager Bob Woods departed for the NHL ranks.

    After the Blades hosted the Memorial Cup in 2012-13, the team was pretty much devoid of assets, and the new ownership and management expected a long rebuild.

    In each of the past two seasons, the pressure was on the squad to show the lengthy rebuild was good enough to result in a playoff berth.

    For the most part, the Blades did see positive results on the ice from their lengthy rebuild, and it could be argued they have come out of their funk. They were hexed by the current rules for making the playoffs.

    Since the start of the 2014-15 season, the top three teams in the East and Central Divisions and the two best remaining records after those clubs qualify as wildcards entries to make up the Eastern Conference’s eight squads that advance to the post-season.

Tyler Brown was brought in to be a positive influence.

    Due to the fact the Blades finished sixth in the East Division, they were on the outside looking in as far as the playoff picture was concerned. The East Division this season was arguably the toughest division the WHL ever saw in its history.

    With the record the Blades had, they would have made the playoffs in 2016-17 and 2015-16 under the current rules. Under the rules used in the 2013-14 campaign that had a formula where the top eight teams in each of the WHL’s two conferences advanced to the post-season, the Blades would be moving on to take part in a best-of-seven first round series.

    Instead, they finished three points back of the Raiders (32-27-9-4) for the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. The Blades will watch two teams they bested in standings points in the Lethbridge Hurricanes (33-33-6) and the Red Deer Rebels (27-32-10-3) go at it in the first round of the playoffs to see one of those clubs make the second round.

Centre Kirby Dach is one of the Blades bright young stars.

    Going forward, the Blades do have a sound roster. They lose overagers Braylon Shmyr, Evan Fiala and Tyler Brown.

    Shmyr, who was a star left-winger, topped the Blades in scoring with 37 goals and 51 assists. Fiala was the team’s captain and a solid defenceman, who recorded seven goals, 13 assists and a minus-two rating in the plus-minus department. On Wednesday, Fiala signed a contract with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays, who are based in North Charleston, South Carolina.

    Brown built his reputation during a stellar run playing goal with the Pats, and after being acquired by the Blades in a deal before the WHL trade deadline on Jan. 10, he acted as a positive influence on rookie standout Nolan Maier.

    In Maier, the Blades will have a 17-year-old sophomore in 2018-19 that might be one of the top five goalies in the league. They will return a good group on defence in Jackson Caller, Seth Bafaro, Randen Schmidt, Dawson Davidson, Jake Kustra and possibly Russian import Mark Rubinchik.

Nolan Maier will be looking to build off a stellar rookie campaign.

    They have skill up front in Kirby Dach, Eric Florchuk, Max Gerlach, Josh Paterson, Chase Wouters and Michael Farren. Dach, who will enter his 17-year-old season, and Florchuk, who will enter his 18-year-old campaign, have the potential to be the best in that group.

    With that said, the fallout at the end of the season will be something that is hard to forget. Colin Priestner likely backed himself in a position where the team’s next head coach hire will have to be a known name that has had success in the major junior ranks or higher levels of hockey.

    It is uncertain if the new head coach will want to inherit the staff of current assistant coaches. Of that group, Bryce Thoma and Ryan Keller are under contract for the next two seasons.

    At the moment, it isn’t a stretch to say it will be challenging to sell season tickets. Even this past season, the Blades had to work hard to sell tickets and attendances over 4,000 were viewed as a big success.

Josh Paterson had a breakout campaign for the Blades.

    If the Blades gamble on a younger coach that doesn’t have a proven background in the major junior ranks or higher, it will likely be even more challenging to sell season tickets.

    When the regular season ended, everyone on the team should have likely gone through a cooling off period of at least a week before making any decisions.

    Now, the remaining staff has to make the best with the cards they have in their hands.

    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 part ways with Brockman

Dean Brockman no long the Blades head coach.

    Two years of struggling down the stretch have cost Dean Brockman his position with the Saskatoon Blades.

    On Sunday a day after their regular season concluded, the Blades announced Brockman has been relieved of his duties as head coach immediately. Blades general manager Colin Priestner said the decision came due the fact the Blades were holding a playoff position late in the season over the past two campaigns only to miss the post-season.

    With five games remaining on their regular season schedule in 2016-17, the Blades held a three-point edge over the Calgary Hitmen for the last playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. The Blades won one of their final five games, while the Hitmen claimed five of their last six regular season contests to vault into a playoff berth.

    During this past season, the Blades held an eight point lead over the Prince Albert Raiders for the second wildcard spot when action concluded on Feb. 19. The Blades were two points behind the Brandon Wheat Kings for the first wildcard position. The Blades had 11 games remaining on their regular season schedule, while the Raiders and Wheat Kings had 13 contests each to play.

    Saskatoon posted a 4-6-1 record over those final 11 contests, which included a season ending three-game winning streak. The Raiders went 9-2-0-2 to leap into the second wildcard spot, and the Wheat Kings held the first wildcard spot going 9-4.

    “I felt we faltered, and I think some of the habits that were created and developed throughout the year showed themselves a little bit in those big important games,” said Priestner. “It is a results based business, and unfortunately, we didn’t meet the expectations, which is we feel the fans deserved a playoff team. I feel we have a playoff level team.

    “The fact that we were playing meaningless games at the end of the year with an eight point lead was extremely disappointing to me and our player and our coaches. Nobody was happy with what happened. The fact that it happened last year and it happened again this year just led us to the decision that we needed a new voice.”

    The Blades have missed the WHL’s post-season for five straight years, which is the team’s longest playoff drought in its history.

    Brockman joined the Blades as an assistant coach before the start of the 2014-15 season and moved up to head coach in June of 2016, when former head coach Bob Woods moved on to be an assistant coach with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. Woods is now an assistant head coach with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.

    Before joining the Blades, Brockman was best known for his 17 years in the junior A ranks working with the Humboldt Broncos from 1997 to 2014. He started as an assistant coach and assistant general manager before becoming the head coach and general manager in 2004. During Brockman’s years in Humboldt, the Broncos won the Royal Bank Cup for junior A supremacy in 2003 and 2008.

Dean Brockman works the Blades bench.

    During the 50-year-old’s run as head coach, the Blades posted a 63-68-10-3 record. Brockman is credited with 62 of those victories having to miss one of those wins to attend a funeral.
    The Blades posted a 35-33-3-1 mark this past season to finish three points behind the Raiders (32-27-9-4) for the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

    Saskatoon actually ranked seventh overall in the 12 Eastern Conference due to its point total. With the record the Blades posted this season, they would have made the playoffs in 2015-16 and 2016-17 if they had posted the same mark in those campaigns.

    Due to the WHL’s playoff format where the top three teams in each division and the two best records after that in each conference make the playoffs, the Blades missed the post-season finishing sixth in the East Division.

    Priestner said talks were going on the past 10 days on what to do if the Blades missed the post-season. An actual parting of ways didn’t become clear until following the Blades 5-4 victory over the Raiders at the SaskTel Centre to end the regular season for both clubs on Saturday night.

    “Last night, Dean (Brockman) and I had a conversation after the game,” said Priestner. “We spent an hour talking about things.

    “It was clear at the end of the conversation that we were going to go in that direction.”

    The decision caught Blades sophomore centre Chase Wouters, who will entering his 18-year-old season in the upcoming campaign, off guard.

    “It was a surprise it happened so quick,” said Wouters. “I didn’t see it coming.”

    Wouters elected to not answer questions regarding coaching style. He said the fact the Raiders rolled off a nine game winning streak was really what did in his club’s playoff hopes.

    “We just couldn’t get the points when we needed them,” said Wouters. “That is what it just came down to.”

    When asked of the Blades were feeling heighten stress over their last 11 games to help cause their struggles, Priestner wasn’t sure if that was the fact that caused his club to fall out of a playoff position.

    “It is stressful, when you come into a team rebuilding a team,” said Priestner. “It is stressful when you haven’t made the playoffs in a few years, and it amplifies itself.

    “I am sure there was lots of stress. We all feel stress. We want to do well for this city.

    “Maybe there needed to be more levity. I don’t know what it was, but the team didn’t play to the way it played for the first 60 games in the last 12.”

Dean Brockman takes part in an old Blades press conference.

    Priestner noted there was one upswing over the club’s last stretch of 11 or 12 games.

    “I thought we played fine in the last three games when we were eliminated,” said Priestner. “We were really good.”

    Before the season started, Brockman along with assistant coaches Bryce Thoma and Ryan Keller all had their contracts extended to the end of the 2019-20 campaign. Priestner said no decision has been made on the fates of Thoma, Keller, veteran assistant coach Jerome Engele or goaltending coach Tim Cheveldae.

    Priestner added there is no timeframe to hire a new head coach as the decision to part ways of Brockman just became a reality and there were no candidates on who could possibly become the team’s next head coach.

    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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    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.