Graduating captain played entire WHL career
in Saskatoon
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| Aidan De La Gorgendiere (#5) enjoys a goal with his teammates. |
Way back in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft, the Blades selected De La Gorgendiere in the first round and fifth overall. In late May of 2017, the Langley, B.C., product took part in an introductory press conference along with good friend Kyle Crnkovic, who is currently playing with the WHL champion Seattle Thunderbirds at the Memorial Cup tournament in Kamloops, B.C.
A short time after the Blades drafted De La Gorgendiere, the reliable defenceman found out his mother, Marla Meginbir, had been diagnosed with cancer. She would pass away on November 12, 2019 at age 51, when De La Gorgendiere was skating through his 17-year-old sophomore season with the club.
With the support of the Blades he had though that time, De La Gorgendiere couldn’t imagine playing for another WHL team.
“I’m going
to be really thankful and happy,” said De La Gorgendiere about playing his entire
WHL career with the Blades. “I wouldn’t be here without the Priestner family
(and Blades owners) drafting me at 15-years-old and not really knowing what to
expect.
“My first
year, it was a really big learning experience for me. They’ve been awesome to me.
This past year was awesome.”
De La Gorgendiere missed the tail end of the Blades abbreviated season in 2020-21 when they were playing in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that had gripped the world. During his first campaign as the team’s captain in 2021-22, De La Gorgendiere missed the last part of the regular season and the entire WHL Playoffs due to season ending shoulder surgery.
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| Aidan De La Gorgendiere, right, at his first Blades presser in 2017. |
De La Gorgendiere helped the Blades post a 48-15-4-1 regular season record to finish fourth overall in the WHL and 10th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Blades advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series for the first time in 29 years where they got swept by the Winnipeg Ice.
In a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series, the Blades fell behind the Red Deer Rebels 3-0 before rallying to take the best-of-seven set 4-3. The Blades became the third team in the history of the WHL to comeback after being down 3-0 in a best-of-seven series to take the set 4-3.
They joined the 1996 Spokane Chiefs and the 2013 Kelowna Rockets as the three clubs to pull off that comeback.
During the first round of the WHL Playoffs, the Blades eliminated 17-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats in an exciting seven-game series. The Blades drew over 10,000 fans for the first three home games of that series and a sellout crowd of 14,768 spectators to the SaskTel Centre for their 4-1 victory in Game 7.
Overall, De La Gorgendiere found this past season to be his most enjoyable campaign with the Blades.
“It was
probably the most fun I’ve had just with our group we’ve had and how tight we
are off the ice,” said De La Gorgendiere, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 184 pounds.
“I think that has big correlation to our play on the ice there.
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| Aidan De La Gorgendiere spent his whole WHL career with the Blades. |
De La Gorgendiere’s WHL career came to an end on May 3, when the Blades dropped a 3-2 decision to the Ice in Winnipeg’s Game 4 Eastern Conference Championship Series win at the SaskTel Centre. After the Blades saluted their fans while being saluted themselves by their faithful, De La Gorgendiere was the final Saskatoon player to step off the ice.
Before coming off the ice, he first gave a stick to some friends in the crowd. De La Gorgendiere then reflected on all the good memories he collected playing for the team before stepping off the ice to depart for the dressing room. He also felt sad at the same time knowing his time playing for the Blades had come to an end.
The star rearguard was also happy to think about how far the team had come during his time with the club. When he joined the Blades, they were going through a stretch of missing the post-season for five straight campaigns.
That drought came in an end in De La Gorgendiere’s rookie year in 2018-19 finishing fourth overall in the league with a 45-15-8 mark. This past season, the Blades had their longest post-season run since making the WHL final in 1994, when they fell in seven games to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Kamloops Blazers.
“It is pretty cool,” said De La Gorgendiere about seeing the Blades progress during his time with the squad. “I think being part of that culture change around our organization and a lot of change that happened throughout those years.
“I’m
fortunate enough to stick around through it all, so I’ve kind of seen it. I’m
so fortunate to be around here. I tried and did my best for this team and this
organization and helped with my leadership qualities I guess.”
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| Aidan De La Gorgendiere was the Blades captain the past two seasons. |
“For me,
certainly in the last two years he was one of the best defencemen in the league,”
said Patrick. “I’d put him up in the top two or three D.
“Every game
we played them over the last couple of years he was a handful for us. He was a
guy who played 30 minutes a night. He could join as a fourth man.
“He is as
mobile a D as there is on the blue-line. I told him what an outstanding career
he has had here. I told him I know he can play at the next level, and I hope he
gets that opportunity.”
Blades head coach Brennan Sonne said that De La Gorgendiere did a tonne for getting the Blades to where they are today.
“What a job
at building a culture, because it is not just the coaches,” said Sonne, who was
named the WHL’s coach of the year for this past season. “The players have to
want that too.
“Sometimes,
they don’t, and there is the push back. He steered the ship. When we left the
room, he steered the ship in terms of fitness culture, in terms of how we do
business, in terms of how we act, how we work in practice.
“Incredible
leader. I’m very, very proud of him. He has a very long pro career coming.”
De La Gorgendiere is still exploring what his future options are in continuing his playing career. He added that one of the biggest honours he received in his time in Saskatoon was being named the captain of the Blades.
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| Aidan De La Gorgendiere (#5) hugs Tanner Molendyk. |
Overall, De Le Gorgendiere wanted to carry on the outstanding work Wouters put in as the Blades captain. De La Gorgendiere was proud to be the captain of the Blades.
“It means a
lot to me,” said De La Gorgendiere. “I pride myself in being a good teammate
and a good person and trying to be a leader for our team.
“Young guys
coming in, I try and welcome them and make them feel comfortable. I’d say I
pride myself in wearing this letter. I’m just happy I could be that guy for
this team.”
DaSilva inks extension with Blades,
named associate coach
.JPG) |
| Dan DaSilva, back row centre, checks out action from the Blades’ bench. |
On Wednesday, the club announced DaSilva, who is from Saskatoon, signed a two-year extension with the team and has been promoted from assistant coach to associate coach. DaSilva, who is 38-years-old, joined the Blades before the start of the 2021-22 campaign and has helped the club post an 86-41-7-2 over the past two seasons.
Last season with DaSilva on a staff led by head coach Brennan Sonne, the Blades finished fourth overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. In the post-season, the Blades advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series for the first time in 29 seasons falling in a sweep to the Winnipeg Ice.
In an Eastern Conference semifinal series, the Blades fell behind the Red Deer Rebels 3-0 before rallying to take the series 4-3. With that rally, the Blades became the third team in the history of the WHL to rally from behind down 3-0 in a best-of-seven series before coming back to take the set 4-3. They joined the 1996 Spokane Chiefs and the 2013 Kelowna Rockets as the three clubs to pull off that comeback.
“I’m very happy to be coming back for another two years,” said DaSilva in a release. “I’d like to thank the Priestner family and (associate general manager) Steve Hildebrand for believing in me and giving me this opportunity.
“The organization has been unbelievable to me and my family over the past two years, and so it was an easy decision to return for two more. I look forward to getting back to work with the coaching staff and players later this summer. We have a great group, and I see big things happening over the next two seasons.”
A graduate of the Saskatoon Contacts under-18 AAA team, DaSilva played right wing for three seasons from 2002 to 2005 with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks appearing in 200 WHL regular season contests piling up 76 goals and 75 assists for 151 points. He moved on to play professionally for 15 seasons from 2005 to 2020 with various clubs in North America and Europe.
“Since day one, Dan has been a leader with his care and passion for the players,” said Sonne in a release. “His positivity within the coaches’ office and in the dressing room is infectious, and his growth as a coach has been exponential.
“The best coaches are those that are simultaneously good people and (have) good hockey minds, and when you already have one within your organization, you do your utmost to retain them.”
DaSilva rejoins Sonne’s staff that features assistant coach Wacey Rabbit, goaltending coach Jeff Harvey, assistant coach Jerome Engele and video coach Braeden Dahl.
Blades deal Roulette to Chiefs
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| Conner Roulette in action for the Blades in the WHL Playoffs. |
On Wednesday, the Blades dealt the 20-year-old standout right-winger to the Spokane Chiefs for a second round selection in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft and a third pick in the 2027 Prospects Draft. The Blades acquired Roulette in a trade on August 30, 2022 with the Seattle Thunderbirds.
In the 2022-23 campaign, Roulette appeared in 60 regular season games with the Blades recording 24 goals, 39 assists and a plus-19 rating in the plus-minus department. He picked up another three goals and four assists in the Blades 18 games played in the 2023 WHL Playoffs.
In 191 career WHL regular season games played with the Thunderbirds and Blades, Roulette has posted 73 goals, 107 assists and a plus-59 rating. Roulette was selected by the Dallas Stars in the fourth round and 111th overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
“We would like to thank Conner for a great season with us,” said Blades general manager Colin Priestner in a release. “He was a great player on the ice and his leadership with Indigenous youth in our city will have a lasting impact.”
With having dealt Roulette to the Chiefs, the Blades now have six players who could return this coming season to compete for three 20-year-old sports. Defencemen Charlie Wright and Spencer Shugrue along with forwards Jayden Wiens, Trevor Wong, Justin Lies and Jake Chiasson are the players that could potentially be battling for the Blades three 20-year-old spots. Chiasson has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers.
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