Blades’ Flodell slams door on Winterhawks

Logan Flodell makes one of his 34 stops to power the Blades past Portland.

    Logan Flodell has become the man of the hour during the early part of the WHL season for the Saskatoon Blades.

    The 19-year-old Regina product continued his hot start making 34 stops to help his Blades slip past a high flying Portland Winterhawks 3-1 before 3,016 spectators Saturday night at the SaskTel Centre. 

    In his four starts with the Blades since coming over in a trade with the Seattle Thunderbirds on Sept. 17, Flodell has posted a 3-1 record, a 1.75 goals against average, a .947 save percentage and one shutout.

    Flodell’s latest win came on the heels of making a 31-save shutout performance on Thursday, when the Blades blanked their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders 2-0.

    “It is good to get the win for the boys,” said Flodell, who team has won three straight to improve to 4-2. “Definitely, they played really well in front of me.

    “They kept the shots to outside like they did last game against P.A., and it is always good to get another win.”

Blades goaltender Logan Flodell keeps the Winterhawks at bay.

    Last season with the Thunderbirds, Flodell had a strong campaign appearing in 42 regular season games posting a 22-13-4 record, a 2.68 goals against average, a .904 save percentage and three shutouts. He was Seattle’s starter until the Thunderbirds acquired overage netminder Landon Bow in a deal shortly before the WHL’s trade deadline.

    Bow played every minute of the post-season for the Thunderbirds as they marched all the way to the WHL championship series, where they fell to the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Flodell was expecting to be with the Thunderbirds this season, so being traded didn’t cross his mind.

    “Definitely, it was a bit of a shock,” said Flodell, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 166 pounds. “I wasn’t aware of it until I got told of course.

Blades goalie Logan Flodell tracks a shot into his chest.

    “I am honoured to be here. It is a great organization. I am proud to play for the Saskatoon Blades.

    “Seattle was an amazing city to play in, and I thank them for everything. It is awesome to be here.”

    He did admit it was difficult to leave the only WHL team that he had known, which contained a roster of core guys he has grown with.

    “We had a great group of guys last year, and they have a good group of guys this year,” said Flodell. “It was tough leaving a bunch of good friends.

    “It is hockey. You get traded all the time. They have a great group of guys here, and we are going to make the experiences last.”

    The Blades jumped ahead 1-0 in Saturday’s game, when high energy right-winger Mason McCarty potted his third of the season on a turnaround shot. Before the first period ended, Jake Gricius potted a goal for the Winterhawks to tie the score at 1-1.

    With 2:44 to play in the second, left-winger Braylon Shmyr scored an absolute highlight reel goal for the hosts to put the Blades ahead 2-1. Shmyr came flying down the left win on a one-on-one rush, undressed Winterhawks defenceman Henri Jokiharju on a deke move and roofed a shot top corner on goaltender Kole Kehler.

Braylon Shmyr scores a highlight reel goal to put the Blades up 2-1.

    Over the first 40 minutes, Flodell kept making key saves to give the Blades a chance to pull ahead. Portland held a 21-14 edge in shots after two periods.

    In the third, he made a couple of game-saving stops that could have gotten the visitors rolling. First, Flodell robbed Winterhawks centre Alex Overhardt with a kick save after the visitors put together a pretty passing play on a three-on-one rush to create a golden scoring chance for the Cherry Hills, Colorado, product. A short time later, Flodell stoned Portland right-winger Evan Weinger on a breakaway.

    Last season, the Blades didn’t receive enough of these type of key saves, when they gave up the second most goals in the league at 318. Blades head coach Dean Brockman said Flodell’s play has been key to helping his club get some traction heading into games.

    “He (Flodell) had been huge,” said Brockman. “We’ve got a pretty young group.

    “When you’ve got young players and if they are going to make mistakes, he has been there to kind of solve the little mistakes that we are making. For us, that is huge. When you get a guy that is playing as well as he is, probably the puck looks like a beach ball right now for him.”

The Blades celebrate their 3-1 victory over the Winterhawks.

    Centre Josh Paterson sealed the win for the Blades with an empty-net tally with 64 seconds remaining in the contest.

    Kehler turned away 20-of-22 shots taking the loss in goal for the Winterhawks, who fell to 5-3.

Flodell was also pleased he didn’t feel any fatigue playing in two games over three nights. He noted that is part of life in the WHL.

    “I felt pretty good in there,” said Flodell. “It is what you have to do, especially if you want to be a starting goaltender.

    “You have to be able to play back to back. I thought I did pretty well tonight.”

The Blades return to action Sunday when they host the Edmonton Oil Kings at 2 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

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Wheat Kings put Thunderbirds on ropes

Seattle’s mental toughness faces huge test in WHL finals

The Wheat Kings mob Jayce Hawryluk (#8) after his OT winner.

    BRANDON, Man. – Jayce Hawryluk potted one of those ugly overtime winners that drove a dagger through the hearts of the Seattle Thunderbirds.

    With the host Brandon Wheat Kings locked in a 2-2 tie in overtime with the Thunderbirds in Game 2 of the WHL championship series on Saturday night, Hawryluk had the puck in the right corner of the Seattle zone. The Roblin, Man., product tried to hit linemate Nolan Patrick with a backdoor pass for a scoring chance. 

    Hawryluk’s pass banked off the inside of one of the pads of Thunderbirds goaltender Landon Bow and bounced into the Seattle goal 6:56 into extra time. The marker gave the Wheat Kings a 3-2 victory before 5,621 delirious onlookers at Westman Place, which seats 5,102.

Ethan Bear gave Seattle a short-lived lead.

    Brandon takes a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, which moves to Seattle for Game 3 on Tuesday. The Thunderbirds aren’t dead as they also host Game 4 on Wednesday and a potential Game 5 on Friday, but they are on the ropes. Saturday’s loss has to be a tough pill to swallow, as even the winning goal scorer himself admitted he wasn’t trying to put the puck in the net with his pass attempt.

    “I was trying to hit Patrick backdoor,” said Hawryluk. “I saw him going in. It caught a fortunate bounce.”

    That positive bounce marked the second straight overtime victory for the Wheat Kings, who took Game 1 a night earlier by a similar 3-2 outcome. Brandon centre Tanner Kaspick netted the winner in the series opener, when he showed great hand-eye coordination in knocking a puck out of the air into the Seattle net.

    Seattle’s mental psyche is being tested like it never has before in the 2016 post-season. Over the first three rounds of the WHL playoffs, the Thunderbirds won 12 out of 13 games. Now, they have lost two straight overtime games in a battle for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, and they drop two contests they could have won, if they had just a couple of breaks go their way.

Jayce Hawryluk finds a way to come through for Brandon.

    On Saturday, the Thunderbirds never trailed until Hawryluk’s winner went in. Seattle led 1-0 and went up 2-1, when a point shot from defenceman Ethan Bear found the back of the Brandon goal. Donovan Neuls scored Seattle’s first marker just a minute into the second period.

    The Wheat Kings, who were swept out of last year’s WHL title series by the Kelowna Rockets, found a way to get it done, and that has ultimately made the difference so far in this year’s league title series.

    Just 81 seconds after Neuls’s goal, Patrick wired home his 12^th of the post-season on a two-on-one break to tie things up at 1-1. Patrick’s goal came when the Thunderbirds were on the power play.

    After Seattle went up 2-1, Wheat Kings left-winger Tyler Coulter netted the equalizer with 5:20 to play in the third to force a 2-2 score.

    Wheat Kings goaltender Jordan Papirny proved to be a Thunderbirds nemesis making 37 stops to earn the win in goal for Brandon. Bow, who had a stellar night outside of Hawryluk’s winner, turned away 36 shots to take the loss in goal for Seattle.

The Thunderbirds couldn't crash in a potential winner late in the third.

    Right now, the Wheat Kings, who have won 14 of their 18 post-season games, have to be feeling they can overcome every obstacle that comes their way. Some doubt has to be creeping in the minds of the Thunderbirds, who don’t have a whole lot of history of recent long playoff runs.

    Game 3 is a must win for the Thunderbirds. If the Thunderbirds fall, a sweep will likely be in the cards for the Wheat Kings.

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

WHL trade deadline not all fun and games

Adam Helewka is a recent Rebels addition.

    Fans might find the WHL’s trade deadline fun, but it far from that for a lot of people associated with the league.

    This year’s deadline passes at 12 p.m. Mountain Time on Sunday, and its conclusion is often greeted with relief. As soon as the Christmas break ends, anxiety heightens on the part of the players from that point until the deadline passes. It is recognized that this short time span becomes the last chance for some clubs to bolster their rosters for a long playoff run, while other teams might be looking towards the future.

    Players that might think they are safe might get thrown into a multi-person blockbuster deal, because you often have to give up a good asset to acquire a good asset. Most of the brain trusts in the league are pretty sharp, so it is pretty hard for one club to fleece another club in a trade.

    During this lead up, players often wonder if they will have to leave friends they have made and the billet families they have gotten to know in short order to venture into a new world. That will often leave their parents and agents scrambling to help them relocate to a new centre.

    The lead up to the deadline is also hard for general managers. They often work mobile phones day and night mostly in an effort to tire kick to see what is out there. The deals result from only a small amount of the tire kicking.

    While working the phones, general managers often give up whatever short family and personal time they already have. When the deadline passes, that sacrifice no longer has to be made.

    Believe it or not, the trade deadline is often not fun for a number of the media outlets that cover the league. Most of the media outlets in WHL centres have a minimum of resources to work with. Reporters are often trying to squeeze in a trade story along with covering other local sporting events in their respective communities and satisfying the technical aspects that come with producing stories in print or broadcast.

Jake DeBrusk's addition adds to the Rebels offence.

    Trades often break at the strangest times, and reporters are often left scrambling to rework their schedules.

    The only person that seems to have any control on what goes on is Richard Doerksen, who is the WHL’s vice-president of hockey. All of the league’s trades go through Doerksen, who gives deals the final stamp of approval.

    When I interviewed for a trade deadline feature about a couple of years back, Doerksen said the only time trades can’t be made are from 11 p.m. at night to 7 a.m. in the morning, because he shuts his mobile phone off during those hours in order to sleep. He still has somewhat of a set schedule.

    During the final stretch leading up to this season’s trade deadline, the Red Deer Rebels, who will host this year’s Memorial Cup tournament, have to be viewed as the big winners so far. When action resumed after the WHL’s Christmas break on Dec. 27, 2015, the Rebels sat third overall in the 22-team league with a 23-12 mark.

    Since that time, the Rebels have swung three big deals that have bolstered their chances to enter the Memorial Cup tournament as possible WHL champions. On Dec. 27, 2015, they acquired 19-year-old winger Jake DeBrusk from the Swift Current Broncos in exchange for 18-year-old forward Lane Pederson, a first round pick in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft and a third round selection in the 2016 Bantam Draft.

Taden Rattie is caught in a scrum against the Blades.

    DeBrusk had been the face of the Broncos franchise and will likely add some strut to the Rebels lineup. He has 14 goals and 22 assists in 30 games this season.

    On Jan. 1, the Rebels acquired high-scoring overage winger Adam Helewka from the Spokane Chiefs. The Chiefs picked up overage winger Wyatt Johnson, 15-year-old prospect Eli Zummack, a second round selection in the 2016 Bantam Draft and a fifth round pick in the 2017 Bantam Draft. Helewka has 19 goals and 18 assists in 22 total games this season, while Johnson had been the Rebels captain.

    Red Deer’s third major move came on Sunday, when they picked up overage centre Luke Philp from the Kootenay Ice in exchange for overage winger Presten Kopeck, 17-year-old defencaman Ryan Pouliot, the rights to 16-year-old forward Tanner Sidaway, and a second round and a third round selection in the 2016 Bantam Draft. Kopeck was dealt a day later to the Chiefs in exchange for overage winger Riley Whittingham and a fourth round selection in the 2017 Bantam Draft.

    Philp has 13 goals and 16 assists in 22 games with the Ice, but he is still out with an ankle injury he suffered back on Nov. 21, 2015.

    In a minor move on Dec. 28, 2015, the Rebels picked up 18-year-old winger Taden Rattie from the Portland Winterhawks for a fourth round selection in the 2016 Bantam Draft. Rattie, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 190 pounds, recorded seven goals, five assists and 155 penalty minutes in 53 games at the junior A level last season with the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Whitecourt Wolverines, and he should add a physical presence.

Landon Bow was traded by the Broncos.

    The additions of DeBrusk, Helewka and a healthy Philp make the Rebels that much more of an extremely dangerous offensive team. Red Deer (28-13) hosts the Lethbridge Hurricanes (28-12) on Friday in a battle for first overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

    The Rebels would benefit from having a little more depth on defence, but a running theme among scouts that watch the WHL is that this is a thin campaign when it comes to the number of good rearguards and goaltenders that are in the league. The asking price for those spots will be at a premium.

    With that in mind, the Seattle Thunderbirds were able to acquire standout overage goaltender Landon Bow from the Swift Current Broncos in exchange for 18-year-old netminder Taz Burman and overage winger Jamal Watson on Tuesday.

    A hockey family reunion was created in a Monday deal involving the Saskatoon Blades and the Brandon Wheat Kings. The Blades sent 17-year-old defenceman Schael Higson, overage rearguard Mitch Wheaton and second round selection in the 2017 Bantam Draft to the Wheat Kings for 18-year-old winger Braylon Shmyr and overage defenceman Colton Waltz.

    Waltz’s younger sister, Jerrica, is a sophomore goalie for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.

Kennedy to get WHL Alumni Achievement Award

    On Thursday, the WHL announced that Sheldon Kennedy will be presented with the WHL Alumni Achievement Award.

    Kennedy will receive the honour in a pre-game ceremony in Swift Current before the host Broncos take on the Moose Jaw Warriors at 2 p.m. at the Credit Union i-plex. The Brandon, Man., product was a star winger for the Broncos from 1986 to 1989 and was the captain of the 1989 Memorial Cup championship Broncos squad.

    Kennedy is best remember for coming forward about how he was sexually abused by his former coach in Swift Current, Graham James. James was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in a federal prison after pleading guilty to sexual offenses against Kennedy and another player.

    Since that revelation in the 1990s, Kennedy has been an unprecedented leader in the cause of awareness and prevention of child abuse, and was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2014.

    On Friday, Kennedy will be in Swift Current as that centre launches a new initiative called “Youth Certification and Safe Places,” which is a certification and registration strategy that requires background checks for anyone that works directly with children.

    It has been good to see Kennedy and the community of Swift Current move forward in a number of positive ways in recent years.

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