20-year-old’s Game 7 OT winner sinks Oil
Kings
Locked in a 2-2 with the host Edmonton Oil Kings at Rogers Place in overtime on Monday, the Blades went to the power play when Oil Kings sophomore right-winger Kanjyu Gojsic collided with Saskatoon star netminder Evan Gardner at the 6:59 mark of the extra session and was penalized for goaltender interference. The collision came after Gardner made a sprawling left pad stop on a backhand shot from Oil Kings rookie centre Andrew O’Neill, who turned 19-years-old in February.
On the ensuing power play, Blades star import left-winger David Lewandowski fired a point shot that was deflected home by Blades heart and soul 20-year-old left-winger Rowan Calvert just 24 seconds later. Calvert’s tally allowed the Blades to prevail 3-2 in the series-deciding Game 7 to the disappointment of most of the 4,857 spectators at Rogers Place.
The Blades also take the best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs against the Oil Kings 4-3. In the 2020s, the Blades have played more Game 7s than any other team in the WHL going 3-1 during that time in those series-deciding contests, which have all happened since 2023. Monday’s game also marked the first time the Blades have won a Game 7 on the road in their team history dating back to their inception in 1964.
Monday’s win also meant the Blades can lay claim to having the only series upset in the first round of the WHL’s post-season. The Oil Kings finished third in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and fifth in the circuit’s overall regular season standings with a 45-18-3-2 mark. They were pegged as having a serious chance to go all the way to the WHL Championship Series.
The Blades were sixth in the Eastern Conference and placed 10th in the overall regular season standings with a 34-27-5-2 mark. There weren’t a lot of expectations outside of those linked to their club that they would even make it out of the first round of the post-season.
During the regular season, Saskatoon was a club that was consistently inconsistent. The Blades were able to go out and pick up victories against the top teams in the league and would turn around and lose to squads that missed the post-season and were at the bottom of the overall standings.
They have played their best hockey of the campaign in the 2026 WHL Playoffs in their seven game series win against Edmonton. The Blades were legit good even in the games they lost to the Oil Kings. As a result, they were the only team in the first round of the WHL Playoffs that eliminated an opponent that had a superior regular season record.
The best part about Monday’s win was the fact Calvert got the winner. The Moose Jaw, Sask., product first skated for the Blades for 13 regular season contests in the 2021-22 campaign. He proceeded to join the Blades on a full-time basis the next season.
During his career with the Blades, Calvert has done everything the team has asked of him in a quiet and businesslike manner. He will kill penalties, play the power play and play the defensive shutdown role protecting a lead in the last two minutes of a contest.
For the past two seasons, Calvert has taken on more of an offensive role. In the 2024-25 campaign, he had 24 goals and 29 assists in 64 regular season appearances. This past regular season as an overager, he had 31 goals and 22 assists in 67 regular season contests.
When he scores, there are no exuberant celebrations. Calvert usually displays a big smile.
It was fun to see him let loose by celebrating his overtime winner against the Oil Kings taking a dive to centre ice and being mobbed by his teammates. The Blades also showed him leading the “our house” chants on their social media channels in the dressing room after the contest.
Actually, Calvert had two huge moments in Game 7. The first huge moment came in the third period.
When the two sides were locked in a 1-1 tie, Oil Kings captain Gavin Hodnett fired home his first goal of the 2026 post-season from the right faceoff dot in the Saskatoon zone to give the hosts a 2-1 lead with 5:41 remaining in the third.
Just 33 seconds later when the announcement for Hodnett’s tally was still being made, Calvert had the puck along the right side boards in the Edmonton zone. He put a backhand pass out to Blades star centre Cooper Williams, who was alone in front of the Edmonton net. Williams fired home the equalizer that forced a 2-2 tie and ultimately overtime.
Calvert’s family has strong links to the WHL. His father, Jeff, was a goaltender for five seasons on the circuit from 1989 to 1994 with the Moose Jaw Warriors and the then Tacoma Rockets. Older brother, Atley, cemented himself as one of the Warriors all-time greats playing forward from 2019 to 2024 helping Moose Jaw win a WHL championship in his final campaign with the club in 2023-24.
Rowan Calvert has built his own legacy as a career member of the Blades. He will go down as one of the all-time fan favourites in Saskatoon for his will to do anything for the team.
The Blades started out Monday’s contest taking the game to the Oil Kings holding a 9-1 edge in shots on goal just eight minutes into the opening frame. As has been the case in what was the most compelling series in the first round of the WHL Playoffs, the Oil Kings pushed back resulting in the first period ending in a scoreless tie with the Blades holding an 11-8 edge in shots on goal.
The visitors caught a big break at the 6:11 mark of the second period. They would go on a two-man advantage for two minutes after Oil Kings right-winger Landon Hanson took a minor for high sticking and centre Andrew O’Neill took a minor for tripping.
Just 35 seconds into the power play, Lewandowski one-timed home a shot from the right faceoff dot to put the visitors up 1-0. He converted a beauty cross ice pass from Williams.
The Oil Kings authored a quick response. Working on the power play just two minutes later, Oil Kings standout centre Aaron Obobaifo took up position in front of the Saskatoon net and deflected home a point shot from star defenceman Carter Sotheran to even the score at 1-1.
That set up the dramatics for the third period and overtime.
Gardner stopped 30 shots to pick up the win in goal for Saskatoon. Parker Snell turned away 29 shots to take the setback in net for the Oil Kings.
Lewandowski and Williams each finished with one goal and one assist for the Blades. Star 19-year-old right-winger Hunter Laing had a pair of helpers for Saskatoon.
Obobaifo had an assist to go with his goal for the Oil Kings. Sotheran finished his final career WHL outing with a pair of helpers for Edmonton.
The Blade converted on 2-of-5 power play chance on Monday, while the Oil Kings were 1-for-4 with the man advantage. During the seven games of this series, the road team pulled out five victories.
The Blades held Oil Kings star centre Miroslav Holinka and star right-winger Lukas Sawchyn off the scoresheet. Both players had minus-one ratings in the plus-minus department.
Along with Sotheran, Holinka and defenceman Austin Zemlak all exhausted their WHL eligibility with Edmonton’s Game 7 loss. The Oil Kings also fell in Game 7 in a first round series in the 2025 WHL Playoffs to the Prince Albert Raiders.
Speaking of the Raiders, the Blades now advance to face their archrivals in the Raiders in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Raiders topped the Eastern Conference with a 52-10-5-1 mark and placed second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings. They were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.
Game 1 is slated for Friday at 7 p.m. at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.
When this series gets going, both teams will likely show the Highway 11 Rivalry is the most intense right now not just in the WHL but the entire CHL.
Before even looking forward to that set, the Blades can soak in the fact they concluded their series with the Oil Kings with an all-time memorable moment for the franchise. Even Raiders fans have to give a nod of respect to the fact that Calvert was the one to deliver it.
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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