Blades part ways with Brockman

Dean Brockman no long the Blades head coach.

    Two years of struggling down the stretch have cost Dean Brockman his position with the Saskatoon Blades.

    On Sunday a day after their regular season concluded, the Blades announced Brockman has been relieved of his duties as head coach immediately. Blades general manager Colin Priestner said the decision came due the fact the Blades were holding a playoff position late in the season over the past two campaigns only to miss the post-season.

    With five games remaining on their regular season schedule in 2016-17, the Blades held a three-point edge over the Calgary Hitmen for the last playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. The Blades won one of their final five games, while the Hitmen claimed five of their last six regular season contests to vault into a playoff berth.

    During this past season, the Blades held an eight point lead over the Prince Albert Raiders for the second wildcard spot when action concluded on Feb. 19. The Blades were two points behind the Brandon Wheat Kings for the first wildcard position. The Blades had 11 games remaining on their regular season schedule, while the Raiders and Wheat Kings had 13 contests each to play.

    Saskatoon posted a 4-6-1 record over those final 11 contests, which included a season ending three-game winning streak. The Raiders went 9-2-0-2 to leap into the second wildcard spot, and the Wheat Kings held the first wildcard spot going 9-4.

    “I felt we faltered, and I think some of the habits that were created and developed throughout the year showed themselves a little bit in those big important games,” said Priestner. “It is a results based business, and unfortunately, we didn’t meet the expectations, which is we feel the fans deserved a playoff team. I feel we have a playoff level team.

    “The fact that we were playing meaningless games at the end of the year with an eight point lead was extremely disappointing to me and our player and our coaches. Nobody was happy with what happened. The fact that it happened last year and it happened again this year just led us to the decision that we needed a new voice.”

    The Blades have missed the WHL’s post-season for five straight years, which is the team’s longest playoff drought in its history.

    Brockman joined the Blades as an assistant coach before the start of the 2014-15 season and moved up to head coach in June of 2016, when former head coach Bob Woods moved on to be an assistant coach with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. Woods is now an assistant head coach with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.

    Before joining the Blades, Brockman was best known for his 17 years in the junior A ranks working with the Humboldt Broncos from 1997 to 2014. He started as an assistant coach and assistant general manager before becoming the head coach and general manager in 2004. During Brockman’s years in Humboldt, the Broncos won the Royal Bank Cup for junior A supremacy in 2003 and 2008.

Dean Brockman works the Blades bench.

    During the 50-year-old’s run as head coach, the Blades posted a 63-68-10-3 record. Brockman is credited with 62 of those victories having to miss one of those wins to attend a funeral.
    The Blades posted a 35-33-3-1 mark this past season to finish three points behind the Raiders (32-27-9-4) for the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

    Saskatoon actually ranked seventh overall in the 12 Eastern Conference due to its point total. With the record the Blades posted this season, they would have made the playoffs in 2015-16 and 2016-17 if they had posted the same mark in those campaigns.

    Due to the WHL’s playoff format where the top three teams in each division and the two best records after that in each conference make the playoffs, the Blades missed the post-season finishing sixth in the East Division.

    Priestner said talks were going on the past 10 days on what to do if the Blades missed the post-season. An actual parting of ways didn’t become clear until following the Blades 5-4 victory over the Raiders at the SaskTel Centre to end the regular season for both clubs on Saturday night.

    “Last night, Dean (Brockman) and I had a conversation after the game,” said Priestner. “We spent an hour talking about things.

    “It was clear at the end of the conversation that we were going to go in that direction.”

    The decision caught Blades sophomore centre Chase Wouters, who will entering his 18-year-old season in the upcoming campaign, off guard.

    “It was a surprise it happened so quick,” said Wouters. “I didn’t see it coming.”

    Wouters elected to not answer questions regarding coaching style. He said the fact the Raiders rolled off a nine game winning streak was really what did in his club’s playoff hopes.

    “We just couldn’t get the points when we needed them,” said Wouters. “That is what it just came down to.”

    When asked of the Blades were feeling heighten stress over their last 11 games to help cause their struggles, Priestner wasn’t sure if that was the fact that caused his club to fall out of a playoff position.

    “It is stressful, when you come into a team rebuilding a team,” said Priestner. “It is stressful when you haven’t made the playoffs in a few years, and it amplifies itself.

    “I am sure there was lots of stress. We all feel stress. We want to do well for this city.

    “Maybe there needed to be more levity. I don’t know what it was, but the team didn’t play to the way it played for the first 60 games in the last 12.”

Dean Brockman takes part in an old Blades press conference.

    Priestner noted there was one upswing over the club’s last stretch of 11 or 12 games.

    “I thought we played fine in the last three games when we were eliminated,” said Priestner. “We were really good.”

    Before the season started, Brockman along with assistant coaches Bryce Thoma and Ryan Keller all had their contracts extended to the end of the 2019-20 campaign. Priestner said no decision has been made on the fates of Thoma, Keller, veteran assistant coach Jerome Engele or goaltending coach Tim Cheveldae.

    Priestner added there is no timeframe to hire a new head coach as the decision to part ways of Brockman just became a reality and there were no candidates on who could possibly become the team’s next head coach.

    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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More work still awaits Blades

WHL club takes baby steps, misses playoffs again

Blades captain Nick Zajac looks dejected after a Wheat Kings goal.

    The Saskatoon Blades might be a perfect case study to show how long a rebuild normally takes in the Western Hockey League.

    A charter member of the WHL, the Blades entered the 2015-16 campaign with hopes of returning to the playoffs. Instead, they ended up missing the post-season for a third straight year – first for the team - after hosting the Memorial Cup tournament in 2013.

    While they are still one of the youngest squads in the league, the Blades jumped out to a 7-4-3 start and comfortably held a playoff spot posting 9-7-3 mark going into action on Nov. 20, 2015. From there, they went on a down stretch posting one win in 10 games.

    Going into the WHL Christmas break, the Blades record sat at 14-19-3, and they were two points out of a playoff position. They kept slowly slipping further and further out of the playoff picture, but did manage to play meaningful games in early March.

    Saskatoon finished with a 26-42-6 record to sit 20^th overall in the 22 team league with 56 points. Had they been able to earn 10 more points in the standings, they would have held down the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

Connor Gay led the Blades in scoring with 72 points.

    Still, they improved upon last season’s 19-49-2-2 mark and a 16-51-2-3 record posted in the 2013-14 campaign. After hosting the Memorial Cup, the cupboard was close to being empty, so a return to post-season action was expected to take some time.

    Even with all that in mind, the Blades hard their hearts set upon making the post-season at the start of the 2015-16 campaign. To some degree, it felt like the 2015-16 season was an opportunity that was missed.

    The double blue’s struggles occurred because they could never find consistency in goal or on defence. Saskatoon product Brock Hamm was the starter posting a 21-26-3 record, a 4.02 goals against average, a .885 save percentage and one shutout. Parker, Colorado, product Evan Smith finished as the back-up posting a 2-9 record, a 5.75 goals against average and a .843 save percentage.

    Looking at those statistics, one could see the Blades were going to be hard pressed to win games. Both netminders had their moments when they looked great, but they also had too many moments when it appeared the confidence was gone.

    The goalies didn’t have much help from the defensive unit. The Blades play from their defensive unit was as erratic as the play of their netminders.

Colton Waltz one of the more steady rearguards for the Blades.

    All the Blades regular defencemen had minus ratings in the plus-minus department. Overager Colton Waltz had the best campaign statistically recording five goals, 25 assists and a minus-five rating in 65 regular season games, but much of those stats were built playing 34 contests with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Waltz was acquired shortly before the WHL’s trade deadline.

    Payton McIsaac, who was a midget AAA call up from Fort Saskatchewan, had a plus-four rating in 10 appearances for the Blades to go along with an assist.  The second round selection in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft has a good chance to be part of the Blades on a full-time basis next season as a 16-year-old rookie.

    Saskatoon couldn’t do much to strengthen both of those departments via the trade route due to the fact goaltending and defence on average wasn’t as strong this season in the WHL as it has been in the past. Had both of those units just been slightly more productive, the Blades might have made up the 10 points they needed to get into the post-season.

    Up front, the Blades probably received what they could have out of their forward unit. Connor Gay, Cameron Hebig, captain Nick Zajac and Ryan Graham all netted 20 or more goals. Gay topped the team in scoring as an overager with 25 goals and 47 assists. Hebig battled injuries, but he still piled up 26 goals and 43 assists in 59 contests.

Head coach and GM Bob Woods has more retooling to do with the Blades.

    The Blades also had too many games in 2015-16 where their work ethic just disappeared. It seemed like the stench from the struggles from the previous two campaigns started to rear its head this season. If the opponent jumped out to a quick two-goal edge, the Blades folded way too often and lost by a convincing outcome.

    In 2014-15, it seemed like the work ethic was always there, even though the team was outmatched on most nights.

    With that in mind, head coach and general manager Bob Woods and assistant coach Dean Brockman both just finished their second seasons with the club. Both are capable hockey men and need to continue the progress that has been made.

    The Blades still pulled in 8,932 spectators for their final regular season game on Saturday, which they won 3-2 over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. Saskatoon’s average attendance of 4,377 was still down from the past two seasons, but was 12^th overall in the league.

    “The Bridge City” bunch is getting there. A light at the end of the tunnel is visible. Playoffs may be a reality in 2017.

Ridley to call 3,700^th game

Bob Ridley calls a game at The Arena in Medicine Hat.

    When the Medicine Hat Tigers appear in their first standings tiebreaker game, their iconic play-by-play voice will hit another milestone.

    Bob Ridley, who has been the WHL team’s play-by-play voice since the club’s inception in 1970, will call his 3,700^th career game when the Tigers host the Edmonton Oil Kings on Tuesday at 7 p.m. local time at the Canalta Centre. He has called 3,291 of the 3,292 games the Tigers have played in the regular season, all of the club’s 388 games in the WHL playoffs and all 20 contests the team has played in the Memorial Cup tournament.
    Tuesday’s match will mark the first time Ridley has called a tiebreaking game in his career.
    It is believed that no one in Western Canada has called more hockey games as the play-by-play announcer for one team at the amateur or professional level than Ridley has.

    The Tigers and Oil Kings both recorded 65 points in the WHL standings to finish in a deadlock for eighth overall in the Eastern Conference and the conference’s final playoff berth. The Tigers were 30-37-3-2, while the Oil Kings were 29-36-6-1. Medicine Hat earned home ice advantage due to having more wins.

    The winner of that contest travels to Brandon on Thursday to meet the Wheat Kings in Game 1 of a best-of-seven first round playoff series. Brandon topped the Eastern Conference and finished second overall in the league with a 48-18-4-2 record.

    The Tigers have made the WHL playoffs for the last 13 consecutive years and advanced to the second round in 12 of those appearances.

Shirley in the Express

Sophie Shirley in action last year for the Saskatoon Stars.

    I recently caught up with local hockey standout Sophie Shirley for a feature story in the Saskatoon Express.

    The 16-year-old forward was spent the 2015-16 campaign as a rookie with the Notre Dame Hounds squad that plays in the Junior women’s Hockey League. She was also a member of Canada’s team that won a silver medal at the under-18 world’s in January in St. Catharines, Ont.

    Last season, Shirley helped the Saskatoon Stars win their first Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League title and a bronze medal at the Esso Cup national championship tournament. Her Express feature story can be found right here.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Hebig hits stride with Blades

Cameron Hebig has exploded offensively for the Blades.

    When Cameron Hebig achieves a milestone, he automatically sets his sites on a higher goal.

    After his hometown Saskatoon Blades selected him in the third round and 56^th overall in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft, Hebig saw that moment as an opportunity he wanted to take advantage of.

    “I just wanted to make it a goal of mine to make it into the WHL,” said Hebig. “The goals just keep getting hirer and hirer. I am always setting goals.”

    The speedy centre cracked the Blades lineup as a 16-year-old in the 2013-14 campaign. With the Blades having turned over most of their roster after hosting the 2013 Memorial Cup, Hebig received a lot of opportunity to gain experience and picked up 13 goals and 13 assists in 67 games.

    Having learned what the grind of the circuit was about, Hebig set out to improve his game in both the offensive and defensive zones as a 17-year-old sophomore last season. He dressed for all of the Blades 72 regular season games picking 18 goals and 22 assists.

    This season Hebig has become a force offensively piling up 22 goals and 27 assists in 43 games.

    “I just had a good start to the year and have just been positive,” said Hebig, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 190 pounds. “I think if you are working hard chances will come, and you just have to bury those.

    “I’ve been grateful for the points I have got and just keep going.”

    In their third season since hosting the Memorial Cup, the Blades are still going through growing pains. After jumping out to a strong 7-4-3 start, the Blades, who still have one of the youngest teams in the WHL, hit the wall in the middle of November. After falling 6-2 to the Brandon Wheat Kings before 4,637 spectators on Saturday night at the SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon’s record dropped to 17-27-4.

    Hebig’s jump has not waivered during the down stretches. On Saturday night, he netted both of the Blades goals on a couple of nice shots and was a plus-two in the plus-minus department. On his second tally, he stole the puck from a Wheat Kings defender, used another rearguard as a screen and tucked a shot home past netminder Logan Thompson.

Cameron Hebig celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal.

    “He (Hebig) is our best player, and he brings it every night,” said Blades head coach and general manager Bob Woods. “He is not a real vocal guy, but he leads by example because of his work ethic.

    “He is a big part of our offence, so we really depend on him to take care of that.”

    Woods believes a missed goal helped kick Hebig into another gear this season.

    “I think not getting drafted (into the NHL) was kind of not a wakeup call, but he just didn’t like it,” said Woods. “He worked extremely hard this summer on his game.

    “We talked a little bit about just being the complete player. I thought last year maybe he didn’t do the things that he has to do. He is a skilled player, but he is not skilled enough to live on that.

    “He has to be that guy that can kills penalties and block shots and play good defensively. I think he has really come through with that, and I think that is a big reason why he is having more success.”

    Hebig prides himself in playing a strong two-way game. On the intangible side, he finds he just doesn’t get down on himself or his team when things get rough.

    While the Blades trail the Edmonton Oil Kings (19-22-6-1) by seven points for the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference, Hebig believes it is still possible for his club to make an appearance in the post-season.

Cameron Hebig looks to make a play in the offensive zone for the Blades.

    “We’ve got a good group here, and we believe in ourselves,” said Hebig. “When things get tough, we can’t pack it in. We always have to bring it every game and always try to get better.

    “Obviously, we want to make the playoff push. It is a goal of ours. It is just about sticking together as a team and playing together. Anything is possible.”

    When it comes to making the NHL, Hebig’s lack of size might be the biggest obstacle he has to overcome. He is quick to point out you don’t have to be 6-foot-2 and weigh over 200 pounds to make an impact in the NHL.

    The shifty skater lists off Tyler Johnson of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Brendan Gallagher of the Montreal Canadiens and Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins as smaller players that have made an impact in hockey’s top professional league. Gallagher and Marchand both stand 5-foot-9, while Johnson is 5-foot-8.

    “When you are small, you just have to use your speed and show that you can play there and show that you are worthy of a draft pick,” said Hebig, who is rated 140th among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting's midterm rankings. “I don’t like the size comparison. I think it is what is in the heart.”

Cameron Hebig gets set to take a draw for the Blades.

    In Saturday’s tilt with Brandon, the Wheat Kings, who top the WHL’s East Division with a 29-13-2-2 mark, led 2-1 after the first period and 5-2 after the second frame after Hebig gave the Blades a short-lived 1-0 edge.

    Reid Duke had a hat trick for the Wheat Kings, who received a two-goal performance from Jayce Hawryluk and a single from John Quenneville. Thompson made 18 stops to earn the win in goal.

Brock Hamm turned away 25 shots to take the loss in net for the Blades.

    The Blades return to action Friday, when they travel to Regina to take on the Pats. The Wheat Kings are in Regina to face the Pats on Sunday.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Gardiner relishes Raiders rise

Reid Gardiner celebrates after scoring a goal for the Raiders.

    Reid Gardiner is having a lot more fun playing in the WHL this season.

    Now in his fourth full season with the Prince Albert Raiders, the 19-year-old right-winger has enjoyed the fact his club is battling amongst the league’s best. As the league wrapped up play to go into the Christmas break, the Raiders have surprised posting a 20-11-2-1 record to sit two points back of the Brandon Wheat Kings (21-11-1-2) for first in the WHL’s East Division and fifth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

    Actually, the Raiders, who have relied on a strong work ethic and an attention to detail, are only five points shy of first place in the Eastern Conference trailing another surprise team in the Lethbridge Hurricanes (24-11).

    When the season started, the Raiders, who missed the playoffs last season with a 31-37-2-2 mark, were expected to battle for a playoff spot at best. At times, they have sat first overall in the Eastern Conference and the East Division. First place in the East Division was supposed to be conceded to the Wheat Kings, so Gardiner is pretty pleased his team is in the mix.

    “It is obviously a lot more fun,” said Gardiner. “Nobody likes losing obviously. It is not very fun.

    “To kind of be in the top five or six in the east is a pretty good feeling for our group. I think we have a good group. We’ve got a close team, and that has helped kind of propel us kind up in the standings.”

    The Humboldt, Sask., product, who has always had good offensive skill, is also having what might be his best campaign in the league. Having appeared in all of the Raiders 34 games, he has posted 20 goals, 26 assists and so far a career best plus-15 in the plus-minus department.

    In his first two seasons, the Raiders had decent records posting a 37-28-3-4 mark in 2012-13 and a 35-32-3-2 record in 2013-14, when the club needed to down the Red Deer Rebels in a tiebreaking game to make the post-season. The Green, White and Gold were swept out of the post-season in both of those campaigns.

    Gardiner said there has been a better overall atmosphere with the team this season compared to past campaigns that he played with the club.

    “I think just changing the culture of our group and the overall attitude of playing in Prince Albert,” said Gardiner, who is the Raiders scoring leader. “I think back in the late 80s and early 90s it was a kind of a dynasty like team.

    “P.A. is a hockey town. I think lots of guys had a sour taste in their mouths coming into this year after not making playoffs last year. Everybody made a point of working hard over the summer and coming in with the right attitude. Things have worked out thus far.”

Reid Gardiner (#19) breaks up ice with Raiders teammate Vojtech Budik.

    Part of the atmosphere change occurred after Marc Habscheid took over as the team’s head coach about a third of the way into last season, when the Raiders relieved Cory Clouston of those duties. Coming to Prince Albert, Habscheid has a lengthy resume of being a star coach who is best remember for guiding the Kelowna Rockets to a WHL title in 2003 and a Memorial Cup championship as the tournament’s host squad the following campaign. He also guided Canada’s world junior team in 2002-03 as head coach.

    Habscheid said the key to his the Raiders strong start so far is the fact the players have stayed focused on the present.

    “In this league, it is a day to day thing,” said Habscheid. “You look at it overall, and you never want to be satisfied.

    “There are ebbs and flows throughout the season, and you just have to look at realistically and not get too high or too low. Overall, we are OK.”

    The Raiders signed Habscheid to a four year contract extension in the off-season and brought in Curtis Hunt, who was a former player on the clubs 1984-85 Memorial Cup championship  team, as general manager on a four-year contract after former GM Bruno Campese and the club mutually parted ways.

    Habscheid and Hunt have combined with associate coach Dave Manson, who was also a player on the Raiders Memorial Cup winner and a veteran coach with the club, to make the Art Hauser Centre a good place to be for the players. Habscheid, who is a former player with the Saskatoon Blades, and Manson also had lengthy playing careers in the NHL.

    Gardiner said the additions of Habscheid and Hunt have been big for the team.

    “They are willing to put their time in with us and make us better people and players,” said Gardiner. “It is definitely a benefit to us to have former players coaching us, and being a general manager for sure.

    “I think it was a smart move by the organization to sign Marc Habscheid for another four years and Curtis Hunt for four years.”

    The Raiders return to action on Sunday, when they host their archrivals the Blades at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

Blades aim to make second half waves

Right-winger Ryan Graham, right, sets a screen in the offensive zone.

    Connor Gay wanted to maintain a balance of enjoying family time while still having some focus on hockey.

    The overage right-winger wants to push his Saskatoon Blades back into the post-season after a two-year absence. The Blades finished last in the entire WHL each of the past two campaigns after hosting the Memorial Cup in 2013. After the 2013 Memorial Cup wrapped up, the Blades have been going through an extensive rebuild phase.

    They went into the Christmas break of the current campaign with a 13-17-3 record to sit ninth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and two points back of the Edmonton Oil Kings (14-19-3) of the conference’s final playoff berth with three games in hand.

    Gay was pretty aware of the opportunity that was before his club.

    “You have to keep it in the back of your mind,” said Gay, who has 11 goals and 22 assists in 31 games. “If you totally let go from it, you are not going to have a very good start of the second half.

    “It is a time to relax. It is time to let go and have some fun, obviously. You have to be able to come back in the second half and be ready for a tough second half of the season.”

    After jumping out to a 7-4-3 start, the Blades hit a slide starting on Nov. 15. They proceeded to go 3-12 from that date before winning three of their last four contests before the Christmas break.

    With the Blades having the youngest roster in the league, a November skid could have been expected, because that is the time the grind of the season kicks in. That grind is always a challenge for any young player to adjust to.

    Often during the losing stretch, the Blades would give the first goal and not be able to rally.

With that in mind, Saskatoon gained a nice boost after rallying from a 2-0 deficit to beat the league leading and defending WHL champion Kelowna Rockets 5-3 in the last contest before the break on Dec. 19.

    “We didn’t allow it to affect us,” said Blades head coach and general manager Bob Woods. “I thought our older guys kind of took charge and led by example.”

    Gay was happy to see the down stretch come to an end, and he can’t wait to get the second half going.

    “It is definitely frustrating to find a way out of it,” said Gay. “Right now, it is going well.

“We need to have a good Christmas break, have some fun, but when we get back on Boxing Day it is time to get back to work.”

Merry Christmas to everyone

    I hope all the readers out there have a Merry Christmas and a happy new year, and I also a big thank-you to you all for stopping by here to read my posts.

    I hope everyone was able to spend some quality time with friends and family. I have been able to enjoy a couple of sizable family gatherings in the Saskatoon area.

    While it has been for me to live in a centre with a large number of family members, I do miss being in Medicine Hat for the holiday season having lived there for 10 years from 2004 to 2014. One of the highlights was always attending the late night Christmas Eve mass at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church. It always felt like those nights were magical.

    Wherever you are, I hope you all were able to enjoy the annual traditions you partake in over the holiday season. Have a great one.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Christmas comes early for Blades

Double Blue earns huge upset victory over Rockets

The SaskTel Centre scoreboards flashes the final of the Blades upset win.

    The Saskatoon Blades gave themselves an early Christmas present.

    On Saturday at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades entered their final contest before the WHL’s Christmas break as huge underdogs against the league leading and defending league champion Kelowna Rockets. The Rockets were also rated fourth in the Canadian Hockey League's top ten rankings. After falling behind 2-0 after the opening 20 minutes, the hosts side roared back to pull out a well-earned 5-3 victory before an appreciative crowd of 3,997 spectators.

    “They are a pretty phenomenal hockey team,” said Blades overage right-winger Connor Gay. “They are team that is quite offensive, and I think we stuck to our game tonight.

    “We played good defence, and I couldn’t be happier that we won tonight.”

    The Rockets came into “the Bridge City” with two big absences as centres Nick Merkley and Rourke Chartier were both in Finland trying to crack the final roster for Canada’s world junior team. Kelowna was also without forward Tomas Soustal, who is trying to earn a spot on the Czech Republic’s team for world juniors, and left-winger Calvin Thurkauf, who will be part of Switzerland’s team at the world juniors.

    Despite the fact that foursome was overseas, the Rockets jumped ahead 2-0 on a pair of tallies coming off the stick of WHL scoring leader Tyson Baillie, who potted his first marker on a breakaway. While Kelowna held a 2-0 edge after first frame, Blades played at an even pace with the visitors.

Blades rearguard Mitch Wheaton, right, helps with the teddy clean up.

    Just 67 seconds into the second, the Blades were finally rewarded for their effort, as centre Wyatt Sloboshan scored to cut the gap to 2-1. Sloboshan’s goal triggered a flood of stuffed animals to get thrown on to the ice surface due to the fact Saskatoon was holding its teddy bear toss promotion.

    After the stuffed animals were cleared away, the Blades momentum continued to roll with goals coming from the sticks of captain Nick Zajac and stand out centre Cameron Hebig, which gave the hosts a 3-2 edge.

    The lead didn’t last long as five seconds later Rockets left-winger Justin Kirkland put a floater past Saskatoon netminder Evan Smith, who was making his first start with the Blades after being acquired in a trade with the Victoria Royals on Dec. 10.

    Before the second period ended, the Blades jumped back ahead 4-3. While working on a power play, Sloboshan got the puck down low by the right side of the Kelowna goal after a greasy bounce off the boards, and Vanscoy product made no mistake potting his second of the contest.

    After jumping out to a 7-4-3 start, the Blades hit a big slide starting on Nov. 15. Saturday marked the fifth time Saskatoon has won since that date as their record improved to 13-17-3. During the skid, they often couldn’t recover after giving up the first goal of a game, so Gay was pleased his side erased a two-goal deficit on Saturday.

    “There has been lots of talk about us obviously deflating after the first couple of goals get let in,” said Gay. “Lately, I think we’ve been really trying to stay positive and fighting back in games. Lately, it has been working out.

    “You never want to be down in a hockey game. If you are down, you have to stay positive and you have to work hard to get back in the game, and that is what we did.”

    Gay added another power-play goal at the 7:31 mark of the third to put Saskatoon up 5-3. Smith made 27 stops to pick up the win in goal.

    Star netminder Jackson Whistle turned away 28 shots taking the loss in goal for the Rockets, who fell to 25-9-1 but remain first overall in the WHL.

Evan Smith made 27 saves to earn his first win in goal for the Blades.

    “Our guys believe they can win any game,” said Blades head coach and general manager Bob Woods. “Last year we probably didn’t think that way. Now, we believe that.

    “We probably put a little bit more pressure on ourselves, because our expectations are higher than they have been. There is nothing wrong with that. I think that is a great step for our guys.

    “We want to have success, and we are not happy if we don’t. That to me is the type of environment you want to have especially with your young guys.”

    The Blades sit ninth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference, and they trail the 14-19-3 Edmonton Oil Kings by two points for eighth place and the conference’s final playoff berth. Saskatoon finished last in the entire WHL each of the past two seasons after hosting the 2013 Memorial Cup.

    Woods said wins like the one his squad earned over the Rockets help his players gain confidence, but he cautioned his squad still has a lot of room for improvement.

    “We are the type of team that still has a lot of growing pains,” said Woods. “We are the youngest team in the league, and I hate always bringing that up, but it is a fact.

    “There are lots of things for us to learn. We just have to keep going and take in every experience and build on it. The second half is going to be a tough go.

    “Hopefully, we are in some meaningful games and have a chance to battle for that last playoff spot.”

    The Blades and Rockets both return to action on Dec. 27. Saskatoon travels to Prince Albert to take on the Raiders, while Kelowna heads to Kamloops to take on the Blazers.

    NOTES – In the second period of Saturday’s game, Rockets defenceman Cal Foote received a major penalty and a game misconduct for a head check. That play will be automatically reviewed by the WHL office for a suspension.

    Whistle stopped Blades right-winger Mason McCarty on a penalty shot late in the third period.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this blog post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Confidence will be a battle for Blades

The Saskatoon Blades get tied up in a scrum with the Regina Pats.

    The Saskatoon Blades are expecting more than morale victories.

    On Saturday night in Brandon, the Blades earned a morale victory dropping a 5-3 decision to the host Wheat Kings, who are one of the top teams in the WHL with a 17-8-1-2 mark and have aspirations to contend for a league title. While the Wheaties controlled play in most of that contest, the Blades were able to gain traction during a couple of points to create legitimate hope of pulling out an upset.

    Saskatoon is also in year three under the ownership of Edmonton product Mike Priestner, which also includes being in year three of a massive rebuild after the club hosted the 2013 Memorial Cup tournament under previous owner Jack Brodsky. A blockbuster trade in 2011 that saw the Blades surrender a bunch draft picks to acquire Brayden Schenn from the Wheat Kings for that season’s playoff run also added another obstacle to the current rebuild.

    The retooling saw the club bring in Bob Woods as head coach and general manager at the start of the 2014-15 campaign as well as Dean Brockman as an assistant coach. Woods, who was an assistant coach with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, came to the Blades with boatloads of professional experience coaching in the NHL, AHL and East Coast Hockey League. Brockman was the storied head coach and general manager of the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

    The hires were very astute ones.

    With all that in mind, the Blades entered the 2015-16 campaign with hopes of seeing more tangible results in the win column and belief that a playoff berth could be achieved.

    After finishing last in the entire WHL for two straight campaigns, they jumped out to a 9-7-3 start and were comfortably holding a playoff spot.

    While they were 19-49-2-2 a season ago, the Blades work ethic was strong in most outings, and they dropped a number of close contests. The work ethic carried over into the current campaign and the wins were coming. Management, coaches, players and fans had to be excited about what was transpiring.

Brock Hamm has had struggles in goal for the Blades along with his defence.

    Recently, the wheels have fallen off.

    The Blades are 1-8 in their last nine games falling to 10-15-3 to sit four points back of the Edmonton Oil Kings (12-14-3) for the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

    The fact the Blades still have a young team surfaced in November, when the grind of the 72-game regular season really starts to sink in causing some to hit the wall. It also almost feels like the stench of the accumulated losses of the past two seasons is rearing its head.

    Last Monday, the Blades sent struggling 18-year-old sophomore netminder Nik Amundrud to the Calgary Hitmen for a sixth round pick in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft. Amundrud posted a 3-5-1 record, a 4.32 goals against average and a .870 save percentage. The Melfort, Sask., product showed a lot of upside as a rookie and took a step back this season.

    That left 18-year-old sophomore Brock Hamm to be the Blades projected number one netminder. Hamm started the season real strong looking like a top end number one, but he has struggle recently and currently posts a 7-8-2 record, a 3.92 goals against average, a .881 save percentage and one shutout on the campaign.

    In Wednesday’s 5-0 home loss to the Regina Pats, Hamm was beaten early on two deflection goals by the Pats that he had no chance on. He then looked lost trying to stop Regina centre Adam Brooks giving up a third marker at the 16:57 mark of the opening frame. Hamm was pulled after stopping eight-of-11 shots, but you could see in his eyes he was fighting demons in his head.

    Jake Morrissey, an 18-year-old goalie who was added to the Blades from the Drayton Valley Thunder of the Alberta Junior Hockey League last Monday, finished the game.

    The Blades defenceman haven’t been doing their netminders any favours as well. All of the Blades current blue-liners have minus rating in the plus-minus department. They appeared to have no faith in their defensive partners or other teammates against the Pats and would constantly try to pinch to one side of the ice or the other in the defensive zone only to be burned by a scoring chance or goal that came from the spot they vacated.

    The running around is a sign that the confidence in you teammates isn’t there as well as a lack of confidence in what is happening on the ice.

The Regina Pats celebrate their 15th straight win over the Saskatoon Blades.

    Standout offensive defenceman Brycen Martin was the Blades best player on the back end posting three goals, 21 assists and a plus-five rating in 25 games before being dealt to the Everett Silvertips last Monday. Marten and a conditional third round pick in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft went to Everett in exchange for 16-year-old defenceman Jantzen Leslie, who was a former first round WHL Bantam Draft selection, 16-year-old forward Ryan Anderson and a second round selection in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft.

    That move will likely help the Blades over the longer term. Leslie played in Saturday’s loss in Brandon. Anderson is playing in the Alberta major midget AAA ranks with Edmonton’s South Side Athletic Club Boston Pizza Athletics posting 15 goals and nine assists in 19 games.

    In the present, the Blades need to find overall confidence. Hamm might have some after making 43 stops in the setback to Brandon. He gave Saskatoon every chance to steal a win.

    Saskatoon’s defenders really have to focus on the basics of just chipping the puck out of their own end and holding their position on either side of the net.

    There is still lots of time to rally back to earn a playoff berth, which currently isn’t that far out of reach. A more prolonged slide makes that task much more difficult.

    If you would like to pass on any comments about this blog post, you can do so by emailing stankssports@gmail.com.

Saskatoon NHL game needs McDavid

Last year’s pre-season Oilers tilt was pretty much a dud

Edmonton and Chicago met in an NHL pre-season game in Saskatoon last year.

    Connor McDavid needs play in Saskatoon to give Saturday’s NHL exhibition contest a chance to have bang for the buck.

    The Edmonton Oilers are slated to square off with the Minnesota Wild on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre,  and everyone wants to know will the 18-year-old phenom play or not? As of late Thursday, reports coming from the Edmonton media state no decision has been made if McDavid will suit up in Saskatoon, or Friday when the Oilers travel to Winnipeg to face the Jets. McDavid could play in both games.

    If McDavid doesn’t play on Saturday, spectators may be well advised to save their money and do something else.

    Almost a year ago on Sept. 28, 2014, the Oilers fell 5-0 to the Chicago Blackhawks in a lackluster pre-season tilt in Saskatoon. A crowd of 10,760 spectators saw both sides ice rosters where only half of their players spent time in the NHL in the 2013-14 campaign. With so many non-NHL players on the ice, it seemed like those in the building weren’t all that enthusiastic about what transpired.

    There was cheering, but there wasn’t as much cheering as you would expect. Spectators paid $59.50 to $112 per ticket including fees, but in all honesty, they basically threw their money away.

    Ticket prices for this year’s game in Saskatoon have the same price range. If this year’s contest mirrors last year’s, fans would be wise to spend their money elsewhere. You could take your significant other to a nice dinner at one of the many great eating establishments in downtown Saskatoon, or hit up Earls on 2^nd Avenue.

    If McDavid takes the ice to play on Saturday, the buzz will hit the point that the SaskTel Centre will be the place to be. He was a hero helping Canada win gold at the world junior hockey championships back in January posting three goals and eight assists in seven games.

    With the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters last season, McDavid, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 195 pounds, potted 44 goals and 76 assists in 47 games. The Newmarket, Ont., product had 21 goals and 28 assists in 20 post-season contests. The 18-year-old centre had a pair of assists in the Oilers 4-2 pre-season win over the Calgary Flames on Monday at Rexall Place in Edmonton.

    McDavid is viewed as a once in a generation talent, and that alone would make Saturday’s game compelling for the masses, if he plays.

    With that said, the game could still be dud, even if McDavid does play. Barring something unforeseen like a major injury, McDavid will be on the Oilers roster for their regular season opener, when they travel to St. Louis on Oct. 8 to take on Blues, so a sure thing player will only put so much effort into a game that doesn’t mean anything in the regular season standings or the playoffs.

    The Oilers brass said that McDavid will be in Saskatoon regardless if he plays or not on Saturday. Hopefully, he will be on the ice and not sitting in a luxury box.
    UPDATE - Oilers head coach Todd McLellan announced on Friday that McDavid will dress for his team's exhibition game on Saturday in Saskatoon. Saturday's game will be McDavid's second outing of the pre-season. 

Blades will bring it

The Blades celebrate a goal last season.

    For hockey fans that are looking for a more guaranteed exciting outing, they would be wise to check out the Saskatoon Blades home opener on Friday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre, when they take on their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders.

    Last season, the Blades finished last in the entire WHL with a 19-49-2-2 mark, as they continued to rebuild from hosting the 2013 Memorial Cup and from the fact they also traded away picks and prospects to land Brayden Schenn for their 2011 post-season run, which ended in the second round.

    This will mark the third season the Blades will be under the ownership of Edmonton product Mike Priestner, and the hard work his staff has put in should yield some more tangible results in the 2015-16 campaign.

    Bob Woods, who is the team’s head coach and general manager, and Dean Brockman, who is the club’s assistant coach, are both entering their second season guiding “the Bridge City Bunch.” Under their guidance last season, the Blades’ work ethic was solid, and most of their setbacks were by a goal or two.

    That has to be deemed as impressive, because the roster often contained a number of players that shouldn’t have been in the WHL. The effort was there, but the skill was not.

    The Blades continued to retool in the off-season, and they believe their talent level is higher. They had pieces last year like goaltenders Nik Amundrud and Brock Hamm, as well as offensive-defenceman Brycen Martin. It will be interesting to see what Yorkton product Jake Kustra can do as a 16-year-old rookie after showing he could provide a spark last season playing seven games as a 15-year-old call up on the back end.

    Overager Nick Zajac and 18-year-old sophomore Wyatt Sloboshan should be a steady influence up front.

    Around the action on the ice, the Blades were strong at pulling off various promotions last season, and one should expect the same this season.

    While construction leading to the SaskTel Centre could provide a hassle, Friday’s opener has the makings of being a crowd pleaser.

    If you have any comments about this blog post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Blades make strides, more work ahead

The Blades bench during a stoppage in play.

    They finished last in WHL, but the 2014-15 season for the Saskatoon Blades can't be considered a write off.
    Still rebuilding from hosting the 2013 Memorial Cup and making a blockbuster trade to get Brayden Schenn for a run in the 2011 playoffs, the Blades were going to hard pressed to make the WHL playoffs. On ice, a modest goal would be to build on the 16-51-2-3 record the team posted in the 2013-14 campaign. They did better that mark in a modest fashion with a 19-49-2-2 finish.
    In the second season under the ownership of Edmonton product Mike Priestner and his management group, the team started to set more building blocks to steer the club back into the direction of being a contender and ensuring the Blades brand stays relevant in the community.
    The biggest sign of success came from the fact 8,929 people came to the Sasktel Centre to watch the Blades final regular season home game on March 20, which they lost 3-1 to the Medicine Hat Tigers. I know the cynics will say the only reason attendance was that high was due to the fact there was a guaranteed 50/50 pot set at $51,000, which saw spectators Ross Wiebe and Carly, his daughter, walk away with a prize of $67,207.50.
    Still, the fact was 8,929 came to watch a final regular season game, when the Blades had been playing out the string for about three weeks with no hope of making the playoffs.

Blades centre Wyatt Sloboshan battles for a draw.

    As a charter member of the WHL in 1966, the Blades have seen their share of excellent seasons and really bad campaigns. In past campaigns where the final regular season home game had no meaning due to the fact the Blades would miss the post-season, it was common for about 2,300 to attend that last game. Out of the 2,300 that came, it usually felt like half the crowd didn't really want to be there.
    That wasn't the case with the final regular season home game for this season. All you had to do was look into the stands, and you realized the 8,929 spectators in attendance wanted to be at the Sasktel Centre that night. There was a good atmosphere in the building.
    Besides having a strong draw for their final regular season home game, the Blades drew 6,718 spectators to their second last regular season home date on March 14, when they dropped a 3-1 decision to the Brandon Wheat Kings, who finished first overall in the WHL.
    Overall, the Blades averaged 4,563 spectators for their 36 home contests, which was a slight drop in average attendance from the 4,719 spectators that came to games in the 2013-14 regular season. Those numbers are still good for two non-playoff years.
    The Blades management and office staff put in a lot of ground work over the course of the season to engage the community, and those efforts appear to be paying off. Over the past eight years, Saskatoon proper has seen a population increase of about 50,000, so there is also an untapped base to go after.

The Blades break out of their own zone.

    It seemed like every game this season the Blades had some promotion going to make coming to the rink fun. One of the more enjoyable ones was likely a Las Vegas style kind of event they put on in January. Overall, it is starting to feel like the Sasktel Centre is the place to be again in Saskatoon on Blades game nights.
    The Blades also had a new head coach and general manager in Bob Woods this season and a new assistant coach in Dean Brockman. While the wins didn't pile up for a roster that was the youngest in the WHL, the work ethic of the players was there night in and night out. On most nights, the Blades players gave those that came out to see them perform an honest effort.
    They also appear to have been successful in setting up a good culture around the dressing room. While the setback stockpiled, players still wanted to be at the rink. Actually, a number of players the Blades traded away to stock up WHL Bantam Draft selections didn't actually want to leave.
    They wanted to stay in Saskatoon to help turn the team's fortunes around, but they also understood there is a business aspect to the league. If deals could be made to help the club in the future, they will be made.
    Junior hockey is the first level where players can feel the sting of the business side of the game. With that said, the Blades did their part to lessen the sting of that business blow.

The Blades celebrate a goal.

    That was shown on the night 18-year-old defenceman and local product Nelson Nogier made his return to the Bridge City. Nogier spent two-and-a-half seasons with the Blades, and he was the poster boy team player, who was huge in representing the club in the community. He was also the WHL's scholastic player of the year in 2013-14.
    He was dealt to the Rebels just before the Christmas break in a blockbuster trade.
    When he made his return to play in the Sasktel Centre on Feb. 18, the Blades honoured him in a pre-game ceremony. He was presented his old game jersey in a glass case, an amazing looking framed action photo, and he took the ceremonial faceoff.
    The ceremony sent a message to any player looking to join the Blades that they will always be respected, if they come in and give an honest effort. It makes players want to play for the Blades, and it makes parents hope their kids get to go play for the Blades.
    On the ice, the Blades appear to have some pieces of the puzzle in place. Netminders Nik Amundrud and Brock Hamm look like they could be a solid tandem, when they return as 18-year-old sophomores.
    Veteran defenceman Brycen Martin, who was picked up in trade with the Swift Current Broncos, is a solid part on the back end, and he has the ability to quarterback the power play. Yorkton product Jake Kustra played seven games as a 15-year-old call up, and he appears able to provide a spark.
    Up front, 17-year-old rookie Wyatt Sloboshan potted 10 goals and 21 assists in 49 regular season game for his hometown WHL club. He has some sound potential heading into his 18-year-old campaign.

The Blades salute the Sasktel Centre faithful

    Left-winger Nick Zajac is heading into his overage campaign and should provide some good leadership next season showing young players the ins and outs of the league.
    With all that said, the Blades were still last in the entire 22-team WHL. They scored the third fewest goals at 195, gave up the most goals against at 309 and finished with nine straight losses.
    The returning players have to work on their games and get stronger and faster physically. Woods also has to keep finding ways to keep improving the overall talent level.
    The Blades still have a lot more work to do in order to become an elite WHL club. If they keep following the current rebuilding blueprint they have drawn up, they should get rewarded in the long run.

    If you have any comments about this blog, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.