Yorkton product starting to make a mark in
Saskatoon’s goal
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| Nolan Maier is growing with the Blades as a 16-year-old rookie. |
Nolan Maier has had a baptism in fire to start his WHL
career.
The Yorkton, Sask., product was added permanently to the
roster of the Saskatoon Blades on Nov. 14 after playing goal for Team Canada
Black at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge held jointly in Dawson Creek and
Fort St. John, B.C. In three appearances, Maier posted a 1-2 record, a 3.02
goals against average, a .917 save percentage and one shutout. He had the best
save percentage among netminders who started three or more games.
As a 16-year-old goalie with the Blades, Maier was slated to
see apprentice type action playing goal behind 19-year-old veteran Ryan Kubic.
Maier had played his first regular season game with the Blades on Oct. 7
against the Pats in Regina, and he made 34 saves and gave up seven goals in a
7-3 loss to this season’s Memorial Cup hosts.
Still, Maier made some big saves, and you could see why the
Blades selected him in the second round and 25th overall in the 2016
WHL Bantam Draft. During the pre-season and that first regular season outing,
you could tell Maier had talent, and all he lacked was experience playing in
the WHL. He started the campaign in the junior A ranks with the Yorkton
Terriers.
When WHL clubs have a 16-year-old rookie goalie on their
roster, those teams try to get that puck stopper’s feet wet and gradually
working him into a more active role. Besides learning the league, 16-year-old
goalies like all 16-year-old players are adjusting to living away from home usually
for the first time and juggling high school studies with hockey
responsibilities.
WHL teams usually want all 16-year-old rookies to gain
experience with the league and temper expectations on those players, especially
if they are a high Bantam Draft pick.
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| Nolan Maier made 48 saves in a shutout of the Portland Winterhawks. |
He has started the last eight straight games for the Blades
and is blossoming right before the team’s eyes.
The quality of his play has improved pretty much each time
he has taken the ice to play goal for the Blades.
The first obstacle was to get Maier, who stands 6-feet and
weighs 168 pounds, his first career win. The Blades accomplished that on Nov.
24 at the SaskTel Centre, when they scored three times in the last 1:56 of the
third period to erase a 5-3 deficit and down the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings
6-5.
With his first win nailed down, Maier’s next challenge came
playing every contest on the team’s five-game road trip through the WHL’s U.S.
Division. He stopped 171-of-185 shots over those five contests for a .924 save
percentage. The Blades posted a 2-3 record, but Maier gave Saskatoon a
realistic chance to win every time out.
His most impressive performance came last Sunday in
Portland, when he made 48 stops in a 4-0 win over the host Winterhawks. The
Winterhawks top the WHL’s Western Conference with a 20-8-1 record and are rated
fourth in the Canadian Hockey League’s Top 10 rankings.
Maier has played big when the Blades have needed him to, and
he performed well beyond what a 16-year-old rookie should. Still, he is a
16-year-old rookie, and he will likely face some adversity. It would still be
wise to temper expectations.
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| Logan Maier has started eight straight games for the Blades. |
The Blades (11-15-2-1) return to action on Saturday when
they host the Kamloops Blazers (13-15-1) at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. That
contest is the team’s “Girls Rock Game,” and it features a girl empowerment
talk from Claire Hanna, who is a former member of Canada’s national women’s
volleyball team and a sports reporter for Global Saskatoon. Hanna’s talk is
slated to run from 5:30 to 6 p.m. pre-game at the SaskTel Centre.
On Sunday at 2 p.m. at the SaskTel, the Blades host the
arch-rivals the Prince Albert Raiders in their annual “Teddy Bear Toss” game.
Spectators are invited to throw stuffed animals on to the ice surface after the
Blades score their first goal.
Blades hand down injury update, make trade
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| The Blades traded Joel Grzybowski to the Victoria Royals. |
While 19-year-old goalie Ryan Kubic is listed as out
day-to-day with a knee injury, the Blades have three forwards on their injury
list including 17-year-old Michael Farren (shoulder, day-to-day), 19-year-old Gage
Ramsay (groin, slated to return after Christmas break) and 19-year-old Caleb
Fantillo (knee, 6-to-8 weeks).
Big kudos to the Blades for releasing this information.
Players usually receive a lot more get well wishes from the fans, when the fans
know what a players’ injury is. The players can feel less guarded in letting
information slip, and it allows them up to more freely represent the team
during community appearances.
In Fantillo’s case, he is a fan favourite, so news of his
injury will give team supporters that much more initiative to wish him a speedy
recovery.
Besides the injury update, the Blades traded 18-year-old
netminder Joel Grzybowski to the Victoria Royals for 18-year-old goalie Hunter
Arps. Arps, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 165 pounds, was playing in the
junior A ranks with the Melfort Mustangs posting a 6-1-1 record, a 2.66 goals
against average, a .903 save percentage and one shutout in 10 appearances.
Grzybowski, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 172 pounds, saw
action in six games for the Blades this season posting an 0-1-1 record, a 4.31
goals against average and a .841 save percentage. He appeared in three games
with the Battlefords North Stars in the junior A ranks posting a 3-0 record, a
2.32 goals against average and a .915 save percentage.
Huskies quartet to face Canada’s
world junior prospects
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| Kendall McFaull, left, and Jordon Cooke deserve pro shots. |
Netminder Jordon Cooke, defenceman Kendall McFaull, who is
the Huskies captain, and forwards Josh Roach and Logan McVeigh will join a U
Sports all-star team that will face the prospects looking to crack Canada’s
world junior roster in a two game series. The U Sports all-stars will arrive in
St. Catharines, Ont., for a training camp beginning on Monday. They will face
the prospects for Canada’s world junior team in live game action on Wednesday
and Thursday.
Cooke, McFaull, Roach and McVeigh have all played a key part
in helping the Huskies post a 13-2-1 record to sit second in the Canada West Conference.
The Huskies are rated third in the U Sports Top 10 rankings.
Cooke has posted an 11-2 record, a 2.34 goals against
average, a .917 save percentage and two shutouts so far this season. His 54
career regular season victories ranks second on the Huskies all-time career
list.
McFaull is in his fifth year with the Huskies and has posted
four goals, three assists and a plus-11 rating in the plus-minus department in
15 games.
Roach is also in his fifth campaign with the U of S and has
posted nine goals, 17 assists and a plus-14 rating to lead Canada West in
scoring. His nine goals is a career high and his 26 points matches a career high
achieved last season.
McVeigh is in his third year with the Huskies and has posted
six goals, 15 assists and a plus-six rating.
All four are worthy of earning a professional contract and a
spot on the U Sports all-star team. They should give Canada’s best major junior
players all they can handle.
This season’s world juniors run Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in
Buffalo, New York.
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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