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| Randen Schmidt, centre, loves representing and playing for the Blades. |
Being from Regina,
he cheered for the WHL’s Pats when he was young. The Pats are a team Blades
fans arguably hate more than the Prince Albert Raiders.
“I loved the Pats
like Jordan Weal, (Jordan) Eberle, Garrett Mitchell, guys like that,” said
Schmidt, who turned 19-years-old in January. “I went to like some of those guys’
camps like they would have in summer.
“I definitely
idolized those guys when I was younger for sure.”
After he joined the
Blades partway through the 2017-18 campaign, Schmidt had an awakening.
Along the way,
Schmidt has appeared in 41 regular season games this season recording one goal,
three assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.
Schmidt has relished being teammates with high character guys like captain Chase Wouters, feisty guys that can be pranksters like Riley McKay, guys that never get rattled like defenceman Brandon Schuldhaus and skilled youngsters like rookie Kyle Crnkovic.
“He comes to the
rink with a good attitude each and every day. He has been given some opportunity
here, and he is relishing in it whether he plays forward or D.”
“We ended up having
like a regular season of WHL,” said Schmidt. “All those extra playoff games and
regional games, it is just like a WHL playoff atmosphere in a way.
Love fires off on Raiders as head hunters
Business is picking
up in the best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series between the
Saskatoon Blades and Prince Albert Raiders.
“It is funny to see
as soon as I was with the Blades I kind of hated the Pats,” said Schmidt with a
sly grin. “It was weird.”
Schmidt played
mainly defence for the Blades last season before being moved to forward for the
majority of this season. He has switched back to defence for short spurts, when
the Blades had a few guys all nursing injuries at the same time.
 |
| Randen Schmidt in action for the Blades on March 9. |
These days, Schmidt
is helping the Blades get prepared in their current best-of-seven WHL Eastern
Conference semifinal series with the Prince Albert Raiders. The Raiders lead
the series 2-0 after the opening two games in Prince Albert.
The series switches
to Saskatoon for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at 7 p.m.
on both nights at the SaskTel Centre. Schmidt played in the Blades first two
post-season games and has been skating with the “black aces” since.
He is willing to
take on any task sent in his direction.
“It is definitely
nice to be that like Swiss army guy that can kind of step into any role and
help the team out,” said Schmidt. “I like doing that, whatever I can do to help
the boys out.”
While Schmidt hardly appears in the limelight, he has enjoyed playing on a team with stars like Kirby Dach, netminder Nolan Maier, right-winger Max Gerlach, left-winger “Uncle” Gary Haden and offensive defenceman Dawson Davidson.
 |
| Blades F Randen Schmidt (#2) tracks down a Brandon Wheat Kings forward. |
Schmidt could say something good about all his teammates.
“They’re awesome,”
said Schmidt, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 160 pounds. “Last year, I got
called up kind of midway through the start of the season. I feel like I didn’t
jell as much.
“This year being
with the guys from the start of camp, they are a great group of guys and guys
that want to win in hockey. It’s fun to be here.”
The fact that
Schmidt has been unselfish is something that Blades head coach Mitch Love has
definitely appreciated.
“Randen is a natural
forward and then moved to defence and then back to forward,” said Love. “He has
been our Swiss army knife all year.
 |
| Randen Schmidt has been a utility player for most of his hockey life. |
Actually, Schmidt
has made a living playing switching between forward and defence for his entire
hockey life. He said it came from playing for fun on the outdoor rink with his
father, Cal Schmidt, after getting over some initial uncertainties about the
game.
“I remember the
first time I tried skating I think I was crying,” said Schmidt. “I was maybe
like two or three.
“Dad let me have a
little break there, and then I tried it again when I was about four. Me and my
dad would just go out to the outdoor rink, and we would play a little game. I
would skate forward and shoot the puck on him.
“Then he would make
me skate backwards to go back to my net. I got good at skating both ways and
became a good skater, so I started out playing D when I was younger a lot, because
I could skate so well.”
Schmidt, who was never selected in the WHL Bantam Draft, kept switching between forward and defence as he grew up playing the game.
During the 2016-17 season, Schmidt
found himself cemented on defence with the Regina Pat Canadians midget AAA team
after Tylor Ludwar was called up and finished that campaign with the WHL’s
Kamloops Blazers.
Schmidt, who was never selected in the WHL Bantam Draft, kept switching between forward and defence as he grew up playing the game.
 |
| Randen Schmidt jets into the offensive zone on a rush. |
Appearing in 41 of
the 44 regular season games the Pat Canadians played, Schmidt posted six goals
and 16 assists for 22 points. The Pat Canadians topped the SMAAAHL regular
season standings with a 36-8 record, captured the SMAAAHL championship and
earned a berth in the Telus Cup national championship tournament.
At that year’s Telus
Cup in Prince George, B.C., the Pat Canadians lost a heartbreaker in a
semifinal 4-3 in overtime to the Blizzard du Seminaire Saint-Francois.
“That was one of my
best years of hockey,” said Schmidt. “We had such a close group.
“I kind of had a
breakout year for myself I thought. Darrin McKechnie, an old time Regina Pat,
he is a great coach. I know this year they got first in the league and they
weren’t able to do as well in playoffs.
“I loved playing
there.”
Schmidt said that
experience was big for him now as he skates in the post-season with the Blades.
 |
| Randen Schmidt (#2) celebrates one of the Blades wins this season. |
“On your body, it is
such a grind and mentally. It definitely helps once I get to this point with
the WHL.”
Schmidt believed his
team’s series with the Raiders would turn out to be as hard fought like it has been.
The Raiders finished first overall in the WHL regular season
standings posting a 54-10-2-2 record and were rated second in the final CHL Top
10 rankings. The Blades finished fourth overall in the WHL with a 45-15-8 mark
and were an honourable mention in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.
“It is going to be
fun,” said Schmidt. “They like to fill that barn, and the boards are hard in
it.
“It is fun to play
there. It riles you up. They have a great group of guys over there, so it will
be tough series.”
Love fires off on Raiders as head hunters
 |
| Blades head coach Mitch Love engages in a war of words. |
Before their series
began, Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said in a number of media outlets the
Blades like to dive and embellish to draw penalties. The Raiders ultimately won
the first two games of the series last Friday and Sunday in Prince Albert.
The series shifts to
Saskatoon for Games 3 and 4 that will be held Tuesday and Wednesday
respectively at 7 p.m. both nights at the SaskTel Centre.
On Monday afternoon,
Blades head coach Mitch Love held a news conference and accused the Raiders of
targeting the heads of Blades players.
“After watching two
games in which I felt there were several incidents, especially in (Sunday)
night’s hockey game and even in Game 1, there was a lot of contact to players’
heads,” said Love. “I know our league stresses player safety, so I think the
story is here people have turned a blind eye to that kind of thing based on
comments that were made previous to the start of the series.
 |
| Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid engages in a war of words. |
Love said he
expressed his concerns to league officials and thought his concerns fell on
deaf ears. He added he believed there was a level of gamesmanship in Habscheid’s
comments before the series took place looking to get an edge.
“I’m tired that we’ve
had 11 minor penalties to their six,” said Love, who was a rough and tumble
defenceman with the Moose Jaw Warriors, Swift Current Broncos and Everett
Silvertips from 1999 to 2005. “They are not that innocent of a hockey club.
“It is plain and
simple. It starts with the guy that is in charge on their bench, and it goes
right across the board. I get playoff hockey is gritty and it is tough and you
have to battle through some stuff. I am all about that.
“Again, that is the
way I play the game. Look at my nose. I played the game that way.”
Pat McKay of CTV Saskatoon
made the astute move to post the entire media conference involving Love online.
Feel free to make your own judgment and checking out that video by clicking
here.
Don’t go over the line in fan reaction
 |
| The Blades faithful cheer their team at the SaskTel Centre. |
I am sure it will
add extra interest when the two sides tangle in Game 3 of their series on
Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.
Unfortunately, I am
well aware we live in an era where Donald Trump is president of the United
States. In this era, people in all sorts of walks of life will go too far and
cross lines to doing something inappropriate in debates about various issues.
In sports, you can
create an atmosphere where the ultra passionate fans do something where they
cross the line and do something they might regret later.
For the fans on both
sides, have fun with the series. Make entertaining signs that support your team
or heckle the other team.
 |
| Raiders fans cheer on their team at the Art Hauser Centre. |
Engage in fun
traditions like when the Art Hauser Centre plays “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon”
after every time the Blades lose there.
Make mention that the family members of Raiders star right-winger Brett Leason are 7-0 in the post-season against Saskatoon based teams.
Note that Love was veteran rugged defenceman of the expansion Everett Silvertips when they rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to upset the Habscheid coached Kelowna Rockets 4-3 in the 2004 WHL Western Conference Championship series.
Make mention that the family members of Raiders star right-winger Brett Leason are 7-0 in the post-season against Saskatoon based teams.
Note that Love was veteran rugged defenceman of the expansion Everett Silvertips when they rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to upset the Habscheid coached Kelowna Rockets 4-3 in the 2004 WHL Western Conference Championship series.
Have fun, be smart,
try to take care of each other and remember at the end of the day the two sides
are just playing a game out there. It may sound strange to the fans on either
side, but both Habscheid and Love are great guys and very accommodating to work
with.
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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