Number retirement fitting honour for Blades’ Wouters

Chase Wouters signs autographs for young fans in March of 2019.

In a final Zoom post-game press conference, general manager and president Colin Priestner ensured his outgoing captain Chase Wouters had a top tier moment with the Saskatoon Blades.

On Wednesday, Wouters had just helped the Blades down the Brandon Wheat Kings 5-2 in a contest that closed a shortened developmental WHL regular season for both sides. The Blades and Wheat Kings were two of seven clubs that participated in the WHL East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina, Sask.

The shortened season and the bubble in Regina were all brought on due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

Chase Wouters played in 280 career WHL regular season games.

Wouters, who is well known as one of the WHL’s best men in the faceoff circle, had the winning goal, an assist, was a plus-three in the plus-minus department and won 19-of-32 faceoffs that night. That win over Brandon was the 21-year-old centre’s final game in the WHL.

After media members fired questions Wouters way during a post-game Zoom press conference, Priestner jumped in at the end to deliver a career highlight to the product of Lloydminster, which is a centre that sits on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

“I’m so proud of you,” said Priestner. “You embody everything we want in a Blade.

“I want you to be the first to know that nobody is going to ever wear number forty-four for this club again. We can do ceremonies and stuff in later years. As far as I’m concerned, forty-four belongs to you for not only what you did on the ice but off the ice for our community, for the fans and for everybody.

Chase Wouters (#44) battles for the puck as a rookie in 2016-17.

“I couldn’t be more proud of you. I wish I was there to give you a big hug.”

Priestner thanked Wouters for everything he did for the team.

Wouters fought back tears in giving a response.

“Thanks Colin, I appreciate all the words,” said Wouters. “It was just an honour being drafted here when I was 14 there.

“It is just crazy how fast time flies by. I know we all wish we could be together right now.”

Chase Wouters on a rush as a rookie in 2016-17.

Wouters’s #44 will be the sixth number the Blades have retired in their history. The numbers the Saskatoon side has retired include the #7 of Brent Ashton and Gerry Pinder, #10 of Brian Skrudland, #12 of Bob Bourne, #15 of Bernie Federko and #22 of Wendel Clark.

It is a fitting tribute by the Blades to Wouters to retire his #44. Since being selected by the Blades in the first round and 19^th overall way back in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft, Wouters has been the perfect player you want representing the Blades on and off the ice.

Besides being talented on the ice, it doesn’t take you long to see he was raised well by his parents in father, Scott, and his mother, Janice. It would be safe to add in that older sister, Ally, played a role too in helping Chase become a humble, polite and classy young man.

Scott, Janice and Ally provided an outstanding support system for Chase.

Chase Wouters has been the Blades longest serving captain holding that role since the beginning of the 2018-19 campaign. On the ice, he has been perfect in that role as he never gets too high with the highs or too low with the lows.

Chase Wouters in action in 2017-18.

He always has a steady emotional tone, and that helps his teammates to not get too rattled when adversity hits during a game. During times that need a little extra emotional kick, Wouters is able to bring that kick when it is needed.

Off the ice, Wouters has seeming done every community appearance the Blades have asked of him. The Blades could have let Wouters permanently keep the team’s community service award and likely no one would put up an argument.

Wouters tenure will always be remembered for the time the Blades rose back to being one of the WHL’s better teams and for being the captain when the club entered these crazy COVID-19 pandemic times.

When Wouters was drafted by the Blades, they were still in the midst of a major rebuild from making a major trade to acquire Brayden Schenn in the 2010-11 season and making a number of deals to strengthen the team’s roster to host the Memorial Cup tournament in May of 2013.

The team also went through an ownership change following the 2012-13 campaign, when Jack Brodsky sold the club to Mike Priestner. Colin, who is Mike’s son, joined the team immediately as a minority owner and managing partner and became general manager before Wouters rookie campaign in 2016-17.

Chase Wouters jets up ice as a sophomore in 2017-18.

Wouters first two campaigns marked the first times in the rebuild that the Blades had a legitimate shot to make the playoffs. A late season slump in each of those campaigns saw the Blades just miss qualifying for the post-season having fallen out of a playoff position in March.

A day after the Blades season ended in March of 2018, Colin Priestner made a coaching change removing Dean Brockman as head coach and hired Mitch Love to fill the head coach role in May of 2018.

Even with the disappointments of missing the playoffs in 2017 and 2018 and the Blades going through a change at the head coach position, Wouters kept focused on controlling what he could control and continued to work to get better.

It would be human for Wouters to have some frustrations, but if he did have them, he didn’t show them. He handled himself professionally over that time period.

Chase Wouters became the Blades captain in September of 2018.

That likely caught the eye of Priestner and Love as Wouters was named captain before the start of the 2018-19 campaign, which turned into a dream season for the Blades.

In 2018-19, the Blades finished fourth overall in the WHL with a 45-15-8 record and made the post-season for the first since 2013. From wire to wire in 2018-19, the Blades were one of the WHL’s elite teams.

As the Blades continued to experience various successes they hadn’t seen in some time, Wouters didn’t get too high with the highs. With that said, he seemed to enjoy watching his teammates take in all the positives along with the Blades coaches, management and staff.

Chase Wouters (#44) and Max Gerlach (#9) enjoy an OT win.

Shortly after becoming captain, Wouters often displayed a best buddy type relationship with his teammates, and he seemed to soak in talking way more about his teammates than himself. Overall, the Blades had a great vibe.

In the Blades first post-season game of 2019, Wouters had a big highlight moment on the ice scoring the overtime winner on a backhand shot to give his Blades a 3-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. 

The crowd of 5,193 spectators at the SaskTel Centre was super engaged in that contest, and the noise they made on that overtime winner made you think the building was full that night.

You could tell in the eyes of the Blades players that this playoff thing was pretty cool. 

Chase Wouters celebrates a goal in January of 2019.

They would sweep the Warriors 4-0 in that best-of-seven opening round series.

The only problem for the Blades that season was the fact their arch-rivals in the Prince Albert Raiders were enjoying one of their best campaigns ever. 

The Raiders topped the WHL standings with a 54-10-2-2 record, and they faced the Blades in the second round of the playoffs due to the fact both clubs play out of the same division.

The rivalry between the sides fired up to new heights during that campaign. 

Janice, left, and Scott Wouters cheer a playoff goal from son, Chase.

The best-of-seven series was tied 2-2 after four intense contests.

The Raiders were just a little bit deeper and better and hit the gas to win the next two contests to take the series 4-2. Prince Albert moved on to capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions.

After going through a little bit more off-season player turnover than expected including losing star centre Kirby Dach to the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, Wouters led the Blades through what became a reloading year.

The Blades improved steadily as the 2019-20 campaign went on and had a second consecutive playoff berth clinched with a 34-24-2-3 record before the season was halted and the rest of the campaign was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chase Wouters recorded 75 goals and 106 assists with the Blades.

With all the players in the WHL sent home, Wouters often took part in doing videos for the Blades social media channels offering positive vibes to fans and showing how he was training back in Lloydminster.

As the players seemed to wait and wait to see if there would be a campaign in 2020-21, Wouters stayed even emotionally as best he could and on course with his training.

When the Blades were confirmed to play a 24-game regular season in a bubble environment in Regina in March and April, Wouters returned for a last tour. 

He appeared in 21 games collecting 10 goals, 12 assists, a plus-12 rating and won 310-of-559 faceoffs.

The Blades finished third in the East Division with a 16-5-2-1 record to sit two points behind the second place Winnipeg Ice (18-5-1) and three points behind the division winning Brandon Wheat Kings (18-4-2).

Chase Wouters (#44) was well known for his faceoff skills.

Including two games he played as an associate player call up in February of 2016, Wouters appeared in 280 career regular season games with the Blades collecting 75 goals, 106 assists and a plus-22 rating.

It seem right that his final goal would be a game winner that came from tipping home a point shot from defenceman Rhett Rhinehart after winning an offensive zone faceoff clean back to Rhinehart. Wouters goal gave the Blades a 3-2 lead over the Wheat Kings with 1:22 remaining in the second period.

The Blades scored twice in the third to cement a 5-2 victory.

After Wouters sent appreciation Priestner’s in that final post-game Zoom press conference for the number retirement announcement, Priestner wrapped up the night perfectly with some great vibes sent back in Wouter’s direction.

Chase Wouters enjoys his playoff OT winner on March 22, 2019.

“I know everybody is thinking of you,” said Priestner. “You represented us so proudly and with class.

“You’re going to have a great career and a great and a great life ahead of you. Just keep doing what you are doing, because we are all so proud of you.”

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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