Hilltops overcoming injury bug early in season

Dalton Urban, centre, watches game action August 24.

The injury bug seems intent to strike the Saskatoon Hilltops early and often.

Even before the 2025 CJFL campaign began, the Hilltops lost starting star 22-year-old safety Dalton Urban for the season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. The injury occurred when Urban dressed for a pre-season game for the Saskatchewan Roughriders on May 30 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

Urban’s injury occurred while playing the Roughriders kickoff coverage team in the 27-20 setback to the Blue Bombers. He has been invited to training camp activities with the Roughriders and was putting on a great showing with the community-owned CFL squad with the injury putting a damper conclusion on things.

While he isn’t able to play, Urban is hanging around the Hilltops. During game days, he can often be found wearing team gear similar to the sideline staff and holding a tablet as he discusses adjustments with teammates. It wasn’t the place one would expect to see Urban as the club has gotten out to a 2-1 start.

Along with Urban going down, the injury bug has taken out a big chunk from the Hilltops quarterback position. Before the season started, Brexton Elias was pegged to be the Hilltops starting signal caller taking on that role in his fifth and final season with the club. He was tabbed with succeeding graduated star starter Trey Reider.

Elias was injured in the pre-season and still hasn’t made his first official CJFL start.

Early in their regular season opener against the host Rifles in Winnipeg on August 10, the Hilltops started second-year signal caller Charlie Molder only to lose him early on in the contest to a longer term injury. Hayden McMahon finished up playing the bulk of that contest as quarterback as the Hilltops fell 31-11.

McMahon, who is in his third year with the team, has started the Hilltops last two games, which were both home victories. They defeated the Edmonton Huskies 46-6 on August 17 and posted a redeeming 42-15 victory over the Rifles on August 24.

Those starts marked the first time has taken on that role as a signal caller in a game since his high school days playing for the six-a-side Biggar Central School Blazers in Biggar, Sask., as a Grade 12 senior in 2022. McMahon appears to have a tonne of upside, where one of the big things holding him back was the lack of playing experience in the 12-person game.

Corbin Ebben went down to injury on August 17.

With that noted, the Hilltops would be in big unexpected territory if McMahon went down to injury. They added Clark Snider before their second regular season game. Snider, who is in his final season of CJFL eligibility, played the 2024 campaign with the Kamloops Broncos.

Before their third regular season game, the Hilltops brought Griffin Sander on board. Sander has been a reserve with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team and is in his fourth campaign of CJFL eligibility.

Jace Martins, who is in his rookie season in the CJFL after graduating high school in Sylvan Lake, Alta., has been slated as the Hilltops backup quarterback for their last two games.

In the August 24 victory over the Rifles, the Hilltops dressed Elias as the fourth-string quarterback. CJFL teams are allowed to dress 60 players for regular season home games, 45 for regular season road games and 40 for post-season contests. Elias likely wouldn’t see the field in that contest only as an emergency if the Hilltops three other quarterbacks that dressed went down to injury.

During his career, Elias has been a good contributor in the team’s quarterback room, and the Hilltops coaches will create opportunities for him to fill that role. When he gets healthy enough to play further up the depth chart, the Hilltops coaches will then have to re-evaluate where they are on that front.

The Hilltops lost fourth-year star running back Corbin Ebben to injury in their August 17 win over the Huskies. At that spot, newcomer David Collins, who is in his final year of CJFL eligibility, and Charles Sawi, who is in his fourth season of CJFL eligibility, have filled in admirably.

Collins sits second in the PFC with 480 yards rushing coming on 54 carries to go with four touchdowns. Sawi sits sixth in the PFC with 170 yards rushing coming on 19 carries to go with three major scores. When Ebben is set to return, the Hilltops coaches are going to have to do evaluations to figure out where the veteran fits in.

The Hilltops also lost fifth-year centre Matt Noble to a shoulder injury in the win over the Huskies. Noble has had a history of shoulder issues and got married in the off-season. At the moment, he has elected to not complete his final campaign of CJFL eligibility and move on with life away from the team taking stock of his life situation.

Hilltops star middle linebacker Isaac Michayluk, who is in his fourth season with the team, was lost due to injury in the August 24 win over the Rifles. So far, the Hilltops have been able to overcome Michayluk’s absence.

The injury bug is one of those things that can derail a football season, and injuries are often out of a team’s control.

Still, the Hilltops wouldn’t mind having some better luck on that front as the rest of the 2025 campaign goes on.

Valentino CJFL record gets weekly accolade

When you set a CJFL record, there is a good chance you will get a weekly player of the week nod.

In the Saskatoon Hilltops 42-15 victory over the Winnipeg Rifles back on August 24 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, Hilltops second-year defensive back Ryan Valentino set a CJFL record for making five special teams solo tackles in one game. The previous record of four was shared by many players. Rifles linebacker Kresten Neufeld happened to make four special teams solo tackles in that same contest.

Valentino also had one defensive tackle assist to go with his five special teams solo tackles. Thanks to his efforts, Valentino was named the PFC’s special teams player of the week for the game action from that weekend on August 26.

Also for that week, Hilltops fifth-year running back David Collins was named the PFC’s offensive player of the week. In that victory over the Rifles, Collins ran the ball 33 times for 262 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught one pass for no gain.

Edmonton Wildcats linebacker Ethan Speedy claimed honours as the PFC’s defensive player of the week for his efforts in his club’s 19-16 setback to the Calgary Colts on August 24 at Emerald Hills Regional Park in Sherwood Park, Alta. Speedy had eight defensive tackles and three pass knockdowns.

All teams in the PFC enjoyed a bye week this past weekend.

Instagram accounts to watch for CJFL and U Sports

A screenshot of the Wizard Takes Instagram page.

A pair of independent Instagram accounts have attracted a solid following with one focusing on the CJFL and one concentrating on U Sports football.

Wizard Takes, which goes by the handle @wizardtakes, has collected over 10,000 followers and focuses nationally on the CJFL in a way that hasn’t been seen in any media circle for some time. Ob.sessedsports, which goes by the handle @ob.sessedsports, has surpassed over 12,400 followers and follows U Sports football in a solid way on a national level that would be hard to be matched by any outlet in any media circle.

You would have to go back to 1990 to note the last era when media outlets across Canada still had a good focus on the CJFL. After that point, it became spotty where good coverage was regionalized.

For U Sports, it could be argued the football league still got fairly strong coverage across Canada just a relatively short time ago in 2014.

In the current day for both the CJFL and U Sports football, the coverage across Canada is spotty and is definitely not anywhere close to what it used to be.

Often owners of mainstream outlets for the ones that have human owners and are not owned by an inanimate hedge fund, the message is no one cares about these circuits. It is a problem faced by all high level amateur sports leagues in Canada.

The numbers Wizard Takes and Ob.sessedsports are gaining with followers show there is an audience out there for CJFL and U Sports football. Both accounts produce a whole host of solid posts with a variety of content. They are both showing that if you have the quality people will pay attention.

The best part with Instagram compared to Platform-X, which is formerly known as Twitter, is Instagram is filled with accounts that are actual people. About 80 per cent of the accounts on Platform-X are either anonymous or bot accounts, which has created the toxic vibe on that platform that is very focused on politics.

Of course, celebrities still have the biggest following on Instagram, and that includes Canadian sports celebrities. Canadian pole vaulter Alysha Newman, who won a bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, has over 728,000 followers on Instagram. Newman arguably has the most swagger seen from any Canadian born athlete in recent years.

Still, the followings Wizard Takes and Ob.sessedsports have gathered are impressive and deserved. If you have an interest in CJFL and U Sports, they are a must to check out.

Johnson to speak at End Zone Dinner, other notes

Evan Johnson (#64) in action for the Roughriders on July 15, 2023.

Arguably, the best looking offensive lineman to ever play in the CFL is coming to the Saskatoon Hilltops End Zone Dinner.

Evan Johnson, who played seven CFL seasons from 2017 to 2024, will be the guest speaker for the annual event that raises money for the Hilltops scholarships and bursaries. The End Zone Dinner is slated for Saturday, September 27, at the main hall in the Gordie Howe Sports Centre building located on the south end zone of Saskatoon Minor Football Field on the Gordie Howe Sports Complex grounds.

The doors open at 4:15 p.m. and the dinner follows at 5 p.m. A ticket to the End Zone Dinner includes a ticket to that night’s regular season contest against the Hilltops provincial rivals the Regina Thunder. That game is slated for 7 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

Johnson graduated high school from Regina’s Campbell Collegiate and moved on to play football in the U Sports ranks from 2012 to 2016 with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. He would be selected in the first round and ninth overall by the Ottawa Redblacks in the 2017 CFL Draft.

From 2017 to 2019, Johnson played 52 regular season games with the Redblacks making starts at left guard, right tackle and left tackle. He suited up for the Redblacks in their 27-16 loss to the Calgary Stampeders in the 2018 Grey Cup played at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alta.

From 2021 to 2023, Johnson played 48 regular season contests with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He moved on from the Roughriders to appear in 10 games with the Hamilton Tigers-Cats in 2024.

Johnson, who is 31-years-old, is married to former Dallis (Aiken) Johnson, who is a former defensive back with the powerhouse Saskatoon Valkyries of the WWCFL. They reside in Saskatoon where Evan Johnson works for an engineering firm.

Tickets for the Hilltops End Zone Dinner can be purchased by clicking right here.

• Hilltops cornerback Jace Mowles leads the PFC with three interceptions. The Hilltops top the conference in total takeaways with 12.
• Hilltops running back Charles Sawi tops the PFC in punt returns (17) and punt return yardage (175).
• Edmonton Wildcats receiver Jacob St. Hilaire has caught 16 passes for 258 yards and one touchdown. He leads the PFC in receiving yards.
• With the Saskatchewan Roughriders topping the entire CFL with a 9-2 mark, it appears most of Rider Nation is back on the bandwagon. The team’s three biggest home attendances have come in the club’s last three home games. On July 25, the Roughriders drew 27,933 spectators for their 21-18 home win over the Edmonton Elks. On August 16, the Roughriders had a sellout crowd of 33,350 come out for their 29-9 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. On Sunday, the Roughriders were allowed to sell extra standing room tickets for the Labour Day Classic and drew their biggest crowd ever at Mosaic Stadium at 34,243 spectators to see 34-30 triumph over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. When the Roughriders do well, it gives a boost to football across Saskatchewan.

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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Three star selections evoke passion in WHL, hockey

Should they be objective on merit or a promotional tool?

Sloan Stanick in action for the Raiders earlier this season.

I underestimated how much passion could come up around the end of game three star selections in hockey.

For myself, I’ve long considered the three star selections to be a promotional tool. I basically see them as a showy thing for the home teams to use to give pats on the backs of the host side’s players.

I used to see them as an objective thing given out on merit for the happenings in that night’s game. That view is pretty much reserved for NHL contests these days. For any other hockey league in North America including the WHL, they are a promotional tool.

On Saturday night, I posted the sentiment on social media that the three star selections in the WHL don’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things and are just showy things for the home team. I made that same post on Facebook, Instagram and Platform-X (formerly Twitter) with a screenshot of the top of the box score of the Prince Albert Raiders 4-3 overtime victory over the Hurricanes in Lethbridge on Saturday. All of the three star selections that night came from the host Hurricanes.

Those posts started attracting messages in the comments sections and direct messages poured in. All sorts of views came in about overall observations on three star selections, and the passion was there.

This column of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click right here.

Dale is the real deal, deserves spot with Hilltops

Emmarae Dale practises with the Hilltops on Thursday.

The praise and attention has continued to pour in since the Saskatoon Hilltops announced linebacker Emmarae Dale has joined the storied and historic CJFL club, and all the accolades are deserved.

The Hilltops announced Tuesday morning Dale has officially been added to their roster. Since that time, the social media posts the club put out about the announcement have gone viral.

At the time this post went live, the Hilltops post on Dale’s announcement on Facebook has drawn 944 reactions and has been shared 726 times. The Twitter post has been retweeted 504 times and like over 1,700 times.

The Instagram post has been liked over 1,100 times.

The subsequent posts others have created about Dale being added to the Hilltops roster have attracted countless likes and shares. The Western Woman’s Canadian Football League powerhouse Saskatoon Valkyries, who Dale played for from 2016 to 2019, have seen their congratulatory Facebook post draw 266 reactions and be shared 167 times.

Emmarae Dale is the first female to make the Hilltops roster.

Since Tuesday morning’s announcement, Dale has been on seemingly a barnstorming tour doing media interviews across Western Canada.

One thing that shouldn’t be lost amongst all the media attention is Dale deserves this opportunity.

The Hilltops have won 22 CJFL championships in their history and the last six CJFL titles in a row. This isn’t an organization that needs to do a publicity stunt like this.

Legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant, who is the all-time leader in amateur post-secondary wins in Canada, and defensive coordinator Jeff Yausie aren’t the type of people who will put players on the team as a novelty.

They put players on the team they believe will be able to play and contribute in games. 

Emmarae Dale has done a tonne of media interviews this week.

In bringing on board the first female players the Hilltops have ever had on their roster and the first female player to be in the CJFL, both Sargeant and Yausie are aware enough that they will not put someone in a position where they will fail or not be able to handle things.

Dale is a very mature young woman at the age of 22. She is an elite athlete with special gifts in the speed, power and strength departments.

On top of her natural athletic abilities, Dale is an experienced football player. She hit the field for four seasons as a middle linebacker with the Saskatoon Valkyries from 2016 to 2019 helping them win WWCFL titles in 2016 and 2019.

Yausie was the Valkyries head coach in Dale’s first year with the team and defensive coordinator in Dale’s second year with that squad. As a result, Yausie has a strong idea of what Dale can do as a player.

Emmarae Dale (#45) makes a tackle for the Valkyries in 2016.

Dale was voted the Valkyries most outstanding defensive player in 2017 and 2019.

She has been a dominate player in the WWCFL since stepping on the field as a rookie. Dale is a fireplug standing at 5-foot-6, and she can flat out fly to the ball.

She has a natural instinct to know where the ball is going on the football field, and her ability to read plays is second to none.

Even with the handful of workouts she has had with the Hilltops veterans, Dale has shown the ability to understand and breakdown plays, when the Hilltops have done non-contact offense versus defence sets.

Dale’s football knowledge is aided by the fact two of her older brothers in Anthony and Donovan played for the Hilltops in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Anthony played on the offensive line, while Donovan suited up on the defensive line.

Emmarae Dale (#45) makes a hit in 2019 for the Valkyries.

Besides the exploits in football, Emmarae Dale has been a member of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s track and field team in the U Sports ranks for the past four seasons. Specializing in throws, Dale has helped the Huskies win the Canada West women’s team title in each of the past three seasons.

That adds to showing the well-roundedness of her athletic ability.

On top of her athletic abilities, Dale has other intangibles that make her a good fit for the Hilltops. She has worked out at Ignite Athletics for a number of years, and most of the Hilltops players do their off-season training there.

She already knows a large number of players on the team, and they have seen firsthand how hard she works to get herself in the best shape possible. A respect tangible already exists.

Emmarae Dale (#45) tracks down a QB in 2019.

Dale is also one of the best and most modest and humble first rate persons you will find anywhere.

She approaches life in a mature and good confident way and is very well spoken. Those traits have shown through in the various media interviews she has done over the past week.

Dale has the make up to handle the spotlight and the extra attention that will come her way in the right way.

The best part is the news of her making the Hilltops roster has been warmly received seemingly everywhere. Over social media, you will still find a couple of crank negative comments, which you have to expect will surface in today’s world, but those types of comments have been few and far between.

Thanks to the CJFL ruling that players who were supposed to be 22-years-old this year will be able to play at age 23 next year, Dale will have one season to enjoy her time as member of the Hilltops assuming the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic stops throwing wrenches into how the world operates.

Emmarae Dale and the Valkyries enjoy their 2019 WWCFL title win.

Even with just being on the Hilltops roster, Dale has already accomplished something really special. It is an accomplishment she has earned and deserves.

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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Instagram is insta-crack

Instagram on my phone.

    I tried to resist as much as possible, but bit by bit I am getting taken down by the power of Instagram.

    Due to working in media and communications, I find I pile up way too much screen time dealing with the social media platforms of Facebook and Twitter. I long resisted going on Instagram.

    I constantly see people in their late teenage years and early 20s buried on their phones even during nights out to the nightclubs and Instagram was the platform they were usually hooking into.

    I started my account in late 2014 and didn’t really actively start using it until about a year ago.
    I found it to be a useful platform to share my action shots from sports.

    I have found I am taking more selfies, which is something I don’t really do a lot of.
    I try to use Instagram the way veteran colourful hockey executive Brian Burke uses Twitter and follow virtually nobody.
    I have slowly worked my way to following 13 different entities due to the fact you can follow people and organizations.

Sage Watson’s Instagram profile on my phone.

    I am still in the process of studying how people and organizations conduct themselves on that platform.

    I check out how people conduct themselves that don’t have a big public profile to those in the other end of the spectrum in Canadian track and field star Sage Watson.
    She caught the attention of the tabloid and paparazzi type media in Europe since the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, due to her extremely attractive looks.

    Watson is an old friend I have known a long time from Medicine Hat, Alta., and it amazes me how she gets glamorously portrayed in the tabloid press in Europe causing her to have over 51,000 followers on Instagram.

    Recently, I have found the charm to Instagram at least for myself.

    Out of all the social media platforms, Instagram is the one I find I am most often triggered in a good way.
    I constantly see pictures of people in happy times at least when I have gone on the account.

    Besides pictures of high moments in sports, I see pictures with people in happy settings like parties, a night out, going to the beach, attending weddings, graduations and a whole host of other fun activities.

The Instagram news feed on my phone.

    I used to see an influx of these photos on Facebook around a back of years from 2007 to 2014.
    People used to use simple digital point and shoot cameras and download their photos from fun times to their accounts.

    However, the cameras on mobile phones have become so good people in recent years just post their photos to the Instagram account.
    Instagram is so easy to use on your phone too.

    As for how good cameras on mobile phones have become, my phone takes normal portrait and set up shots better than my digital SLR camera I used to shoot sports action with.

    I can see how going through photos on Instagram can give people constant Dopamine hits. \   Dopamine is a neurochemical in the brain that provides people with a sense of pleasure.

    In recent years, I find people are placing less of their photos from fun times on their Facebook and Twitter accounts.
    As a result, you get left with a host of written posts were people are giving their two cents regarding the news of the day be it Donald Trump, school shootings, Roseanne Barr or Canadian Politics.

An  Instagram picture on my phone.

    When you engage in debates on any of those subjects, it seems all you do is go down a toxic road.
    Besides getting into verbal fights with people you know, you end up spending way too much time in verbal altercations with people you only know online. It seems like people won’t agree to disagree and want to keep on fighting.

    I know for myself there have been way too many times I can’t stand looking at my news feeds on Facebook or Twitter, because it triggers me into moving emotionally into a negative space.

    On Instagram, I haven’t seen anyone one pushing political or social justice agendas looking for a confrontation.
    People can write hurtful things under the comments sections in pictures, but you have to click into them to see them.

    The fun photos make Instagram a more upbeat place to be than Facebook and Twitter, which seems devoid of fun photos these days.

    Here is hoping Instagram can be a more fun escape type place in the future.
    Judging by the numbers that use it, it is a social network you have to be on these days.

Return of Cougars wrestling teams should always be open

The Carillon after the Cougars men’s wrestling team’s second national title.

    I knew it was coming, but it still felt strange to see the dropdown menus eliminated on the University of Regina’s athletics website for the Cougars men’s and women’s wrestling teams.

    The two storied programs along with the University of Regina Cougars men’s volleyball team were eliminated without warning on April 30 due to a budget crunch felt by the athletics department. The dropdown menu for the men’s volleyball team is no longer there too.

    In about a week after the cuts came down, Global News in Regina produced a story off a confidential recording of a meeting between Harold Riemer, the U of R dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies, and members of the U of R women’s wrestling team.

    That story reported that in 2016-17 campaign the administration in the athletic department was told they needed to raise $580,000 in fundraising and fell about $220,000 short. During that fiscal year, Riemer said in the Global story that the U of R athletics department had expenses totally $3.1-million and with $2.7-million coming in to support the department, there was a deficit of $400,000.

    Out of the $2.7-million brought in to support athletics, $2.3-million comes from the recreation and athletics fee that is charged to students and is split between the universities teams and other recreation programs. The athletic teams only collected $445,000 in gate revenue, sponsorships and Sask. Sport Inc.

    Riemer said the U of R didn’t want to rely on fundraising to operate the teams.

    There has been a lot of push back against this decision. An online petition has been started to bring back the wrestling programs.

A couple of items of Cougars wrestling gear.

    If there were thoughts that the athletes would go away quietly when these programs were cut, the administration at the U of R was mistaken.

    With that said, a month has passed and the reality of next school year is approaching. The next three months will fly by.

    Athletes that were with the cut U of R programs are actively exploring their options, because they have to.

    When I was covering the Memorial Cup in Regina, I met personable and talented Regina Leader-Post photographer Troy Fleece. Fleece did a compelling photo essay following the life of Sara Tokarz, who just finished her rookie season with the Cougars women’s wrestling team and is trying to figure out the next move in her life.

    Her older brother, Paul, was with the Cougars men’s wrestling team, and he is searching for another program to join.

    This past season at U Sports nationals, the Cougars women’s team finished fifth in the team standings, while the Cougars men’s team placed eighth. At the school’s athletic awards night in April, Lucas Hoffert of the Cougars men’s wrestling team was named the winner of the U of R’s highest individual honour in the President’s Award for outstanding achievement in athletics and academics.

    Cutting the Cougars wrestling teams is a major blow to the identity of the U of R’s athletics department. You can’t just go and erase those programs storied histories.

    At Memorial Cup, I wore my University of Regina Cougars Wrestling team T-shirt under my suit and tie for a round robin game and the title game at the CHL championship tournament as a show of support to bring back those programs.

    The post I wrote about the U of R Cougars Wrestling team cuts being startling is my fourth all-time most viewed post with over 5,800 page views. In another development since the U of R team cuts were made, my old post of Brock Lesnar of UFC and WWE fame coming to the U of R to compete against the Cougars was rediscovered.

    I originally wrote that post when a UFC card was held in Saskatoon in August of 2015, and it was at 1,000 views at the end of April. It is now my sixth all-time most viewed post with over 5,400 views.

    Those numbers show there is a sizable amount of people that care about the U of R Cougars Wrestling teams. The U of R will face the inevitable of having to induct wrestlers and wrestling teams to its U of R Sports Hall of Fame.

    Due to the fact the athletes from the U of R programs attend all sorts of academic faculties, hopefully, the school can find a way to spread the costs of the athletics program throughout the institution.

    Here is hoping the pressure continues to bring these programs back.

    The online petition to bring back the Cougars Wrestling teams can be found here.

    Troy Fleece’s photo essay on Sara Tokarz can be found here.

    My May 3 post on the Cougars Wrestling teams can be found here.

    The August 21, 2015 post of Lesnar competing against the Cougars can be found here.

Leschyshyn signs with Golden Knights

Jake Leschyshyn has signed an NHL contract with the Vegas Golden Knights.

    Saskatoon product Jake Leschyshyn took another step towards one day playing full time for the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights.

    On Friday, Leschyshyn, who just completed his third season playing centre for the WHL’s Regina Pats, signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Golden Knights.  The 18-year-old returned to the Pats lineup early on this past season after recovering from tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee on February of 2017.

    During the 2017-18 campaign, Leschyshyn, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 188 pounds, appeared in 64 regular season games with the Pats collecting 18 goals and 22 assists. He added three goals and two assists in seven WHL playoff games, and he scored one goal in five games at the Memorial Cup.

    The Golden Knights selected Leschyshyn in the second round and 62^nd overall in last year’s NHL Entry Draft.

Blades sign prospect, trade for another prospect

    The Saskatoon Blades signed a prospect and traded for another prospect on Thursday.

    The Blades signed 15-year-old defenceman Marek Schneider to a standard WHL standard players’ agreement. The Prince Albert, Sask., product was selected in the second round and 30^th overall in the WHL Bantam Draft held this past May.

    Last season, Schneider, who stands 6-feet and weighs 176 pounds, appeared in 30 regular season games with the bantam AA Raiders collecting three goals and 19 assists. He also dressed in six regular season games with the Prince Albert Mintos midget AAA team. Schneider expects to play next season with the Mintos. He isn’t eligible to make the Blades full time out of training camp until September of 2019.

    On the trade front, the Blades acquired 17-year-old prospect forward Nakodan Greyeyes from the Seattle Thunderbirds for a conditional sixth round selection in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft.

    Greyeyes, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 175 pounds, netted 24 goals and 29 assists appearing in 36 regular season games with the Rink Hockey Academy midget prep team in Winnipeg. He also played two games in the junior A ranks with the Dauphin Kings of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.

    Greyeyes is eligible to make the Blades this coming season.

    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.