Saskatoon following up strong on stellar
2022-23 campaign
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| The Blades celebrate a win earlier this season. |
So far this season, the Blades sit first in the WHL’s East Division and Eastern Conference with a 19-8-1 mark. They are providing a strong follow up to a stellar campaign in 2022-23.
Last season, the Blades finished fourth overall in the WHL and second overall in the Eastern Conference with a 48-15-4-1 record. They downed Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats in a tough first round series that went seven games and rallied from a 3-0 series deficit the take out the Red Deer Rebels in seven games in the second round.
With the series win against the Rebels, the Blades joined the 1996 Spokane Chiefs and the 2013 Kelowna Rockets as only teams to fall behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven series and rally back to take the set in WHL history. Appearing in the Eastern Conference Championship Series for the first time since 1994, the Blades fell in four games to the Winnipeg Ice, who have since relocated to Wenatchee, Wash., and become the Wild.
In the current campaign, the Blades are 11-7-1 on the road having just completed a seven game road swing where they went 4-2-1. On that jaunt, the Blades played all six teams in the tough U.S. Division going 3-2-1 against those clubs. The road trip concluded on Friday, when “the Bridge City Bunch” downed the Hurricanes in Lethbridge 3-1.
The Blades are 8-1 at home, and are averaging 4,666 spectators per game. Saskatoon’s marketing department has tried to capitalize on the excitement created by last season’s playoff run to keep people coming back to the rink with some cool promotions.
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| Egor Sidorov fires a shot on goal. |
While the Blades have to feel positive about the crowds they have been able to draw, they have a lot of room on the bandwagon for anyone who wants to jump on board. If you haven’t been on the Blades bandwagon this season or haven’t had a chance due to the hustle and bustle of life, now would be a great time to jump on board.
The Blades have a number of returning veterans who have a strong identification with the team in captain Trevor Wong, Egor Sidorov, Brandon Lisowsky, Tanner Molendyk and Charlie Wright.
Wong, who is playing in his swan song 20-year-old season in the WHL, leads the Blades in scoring with 43 points coming off six goals and 37 assists to go with a plus-12 rating in the plus-minus department. The skilled centre currently sits sixth overall in the WHL scoring race.
Sidorov has posted 25 goals, 10 assists and a plus-six rating in 26 games so far this season. The import right-winger sits second in the WHL in goals.
Star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky is in pursuit of a third straight season where he scored 30-or-more goals. So far this season, Lisowsky, who was selected in the seventh round and 218th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, has 16 goals, 15 assists and a plus-eight rating.
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| Brandon Lisowsky is going for a third straight 30-goal season. |
Charlie Wright is a 20-year-old defenceman who has been with the Blades since the 2019-20 campaign, and he has made a name for himself with his solid work in the defensive zone. He has three goals, 15 assists and a plus-one rating so far this season.
The Blades have been solid in goal. Austin Elliott is the 19-year-old veteran star who has posted a 13-4-1 record, a 2.56 goals against average, a .907 save percentage and one shutout in 20 appearances.
Evan Gardner is a 17-year-old who is finding his stride in the league. He has posted a 6-4 record, a 2.04 goals against average, a .928 save percentage and two shutouts in 10 appearances.
Veteran underrated Blades general manager Colin Priestner has worked to bolster his club’s roster as the season has progressed. Saskatoon has acquired 20-year-old right-winger Easton Armstrong, 19-year-old right-winger Rhett Melnyk, 19-year-old defenceman Grayden Siepmann and 18-year-old defenceman Carter Herman via the trade route.
Saskatoon’s biggest pickup might have been 19-year-old centre Fraser Minten in a deal made on November 24 with the Kamloops Blazers. Minten has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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| Tanner Molendyk is a smooth skating offensive-defenceman. |
The Blades play an exciting brand of hockey where they transition up and down the ice well under the guidance of an outstanding coaching staff that contains head coach Brennan Sonne, associate coach Dan Da Silva, assistant coach Wacey Rabbit and forever assistant coach Jerome Engele.
Saskatoon’s fan following over the years had been a dynamic and fluid one. You have supporters that are both ultra-passionate fans and legacy fans.
It can be argued that the majority of Blades fans are causal supporters, who balance going to games with the various other demands of life or new fans, who have just discovered going to games.
Last year, the Blades pretty good job of keeping the casual fans engaged and going to games. It takes an influx of casual fans for the Blades to post their biggest attendance numbers during a campaign.
Still, the Blades give a tonne of reasons by their strong play on the ice for fans to come out to games. They return to action on Friday, when they host the Rebels at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. That contest will be the Blades “Pride Night” game, which has been popular each of the past two seasons.
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| Trevor Wong (#38) skates away after giving a young fan a stick. |
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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