Blades’ Priestner one day should get executive of the year nod

From left, Colin Priestner with Trevor Wong and Steve Hildebrand.

Colin Priestner is a hockey guy.

Actually, he has been a hockey guy for some time now.

There was a time Priestner was known for being a folk-rock singer and songwriter, a high level tennis player, and a car dealership owner. Those were all roles he had filled at one point before his family bought the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades before start of the 2013-14 campaign, where father Mike assumed majority ownership of the club. Colin, who was 29-years-old at the time, became a managing partner of the team in early September of 2013.

Fast forward to the current day, and the now 40-year-old Priestner is the veteran general manager and president of the Blades. His Blades topped the WHL regular season standings in 2023-24 with a 50-13-2-3 record. They have made the Eastern Conference Championship Series for a second straight year.

The Blades open the best-of-seven conference championship series against the Moose Jaw Warriors this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. It will mark the first time since the 1993 post-season the Eastern Conference Championship Series will be an all-Saskatchewan battle. Back in 1993, the Swift Current Broncos swept away the Regina Pats 4-0 and advanced on to win the WHL Championship Series in seven games against the Portland Winterhawks.

This year’s Eastern Conference final has the potential to be a classic with the Warriors having finished fifth overall in the WHL regular season with a 44-21-0-3 mark. Both the Blades and Warriors are in search of their first WHL championship.

One day, Priestner should be tabbed as the winner of the Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s executive of the year. It is actually too bad he didn’t win that honour last year or was named to be up for that honour this year.

Colin Priestner pictured in the Blades dressing room in 2016.

With that said, Seattle Thunderbirds general manager Bil La Forge took that honour on a league level a year ago and Warriors general manager Jason Ripplinger is the nominee for the East Division, which the Blades play out of, this year. Both are long time good executives, and you can’t argue against their respective nods.

Still, Priestner in the current day is best known as being the general manager of the Blades, and he has built a reputation of being an outstanding executive. When he became the Blades general manager before the start of the 2016-17 campaign, you can bet there was some skepticism around that move.

At that time, Priestner was still viewed as more of a hockey outsider and was thought of being a folk-rock singer and songwriter, a high level tennis player, and a car dealership owner. Of course, the thought was out there Priestner was able to hold the role of Blades general manager because his father was the majority owner of the team.

Colin’s younger brother, James Priestner, was known as the hockey guy in the family. James was a goalie in the WHL suiting up for the Kamloops Blazers, Brandon Wheat Kings and Prince George Cougars from 2007 to 2011. These days James is the frontman and chief songwriter Vancouver based band Rare Americans.

As the Blades were stuck in a lengthy rebuild due to the fact the Priestner family bought the team after hosting the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup - in 2013, the club turned heads trying new things on the business promotion side with theme nights, which included a Star Wars Night on November 28, 2015. There were people around the WHL that didn’t know at the time what to make of the Blades trying out new things on the promotional side.

Early on in his time as Blades general manager, you could sense Colin had a pretty good grasp of what he was taking on. He grew into his role quite quickly, and it safe to say he learned lessons observing various general managers he saw during his time on the circuit.

During his first season in the league in 2013-14, Lorne Molleken was still serving as the Blades general manager. While the Priestners would move in a new direction parting ways with Molleken following the 2013-14 campaign, Colin likely learned what it was like to have a strong and good passion for the team and how to treat people with class.

Colin Priestner, left, with Aidan De La Gorgendiere in 2017.

Molleken, in the roles of head coach and general manager, tried his hardest to see the Blades become WHL and Memorial Cup title winners. The Blades had a lot of great teams under Molleken’s watch, but they weren’t able to achieve those two much desired championship wins. No matter where Molleken goes in life, he will always be a member of the Blades, and Priestner got see what it was like when a team is more than a team.

Priestner got to see how former Brandon Wheat Kings head coach, general manager and owner Kelly McCrimmon, who is currently the general manager of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, built a team. McCrimmon is best known for being the master when it comes to making trades.

During his second season as the Blades general manager in 2017-18, Priestner showed how skilled he could be on the trade front leading and on the WHL Trade Deadline of January 10, 2018. The Blades at the time were trying to end a playoff drought that spanned four consecutive seasons. They were battling for a playoff spot in an East Division when that division might have been the toughest it has ever been.

Priestner made a series of deals that allowed the roster to still compete for a playoff berth that season, but really set the club to take off the following season. The Blades two best players in star centre Cameron Hebig and Czech import defenceman Libor Hajek were sent to the Memorial Cup hosting Pats as 19-year-old veterans.

On top of various draft picks that came back, the Blades landed 19-year-old offensive-defenceman Dawson Davidson and 16-year-old forward prospect Tristen Robins from the Pats. Saskatoon also acquired 19-year-old star centre Max Gerlach from the Medicine Hat Tigers and centre Eric Florchuk from the Victoria Royals.

The Blades would finish with a 35-33-3-1 record finishing seventh overall in Eastern Conference, but with the playoff rules at the time mirroring the current NHL post-season rules, the Blades missed the playoffs by three points.

Colin Priestner, left, with Mitch Love in 2019.

The moves Priestner made were the right ones as Davidson, Gerlach, Florchuk and Robins would play key roles helping the Blades finish fourth overall in the WHL standings in 2018-19 with a 45-15-8 mark. Robins would become one of the Blades top players for the next three seasons. Priestner had found lots of success on the trade front since that time.

Another person Priestner likely picked up tips from came from observing Lethbridge Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt.

One day after the 2017-18 campaign ended, Priestner released head coach Dean Brockman, who was about 16 years older than Priestner. While Brockman was a great coach with a lengthy resume of success at the junior A level with the Humboldt Broncos, things just didn’t work out with him and Priestner. Those things happen in the world of hockey and no hard feelings are kept.

At a time when WHL teams often recycled veteran head coaches, Anholt out in Lethbridge hired 32-year-old Brent Kisio to be his head coach with the Hurricanes before the start of the 2015-16 campaign. Kisio had been a long time assistant coach with the Calgary Hitmen and was more than ready for a head coach opportunity.

Anholt went back to a previous era in the WHL, when the circuit saw a lot of good younger head coaches move on to the professional ranks. The Hurricanes experienced a fair amount of success with Kisio as head coach before he moved on to join the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL as an assistant coach.

Priestner went the younger route and hit grand slams with his next two head coach hires. In May of 2018, Priestner hired then 33-year-old Mitch Love to be the Blades head coach.

Love had been a long time Everett Silvertips assistant coach before joining the Blades. The Blades were one of the WHL’s top tier teams in the three seasons Love served as head coach before moving on to the professional ranks. He is currently an assistant coach with the NHL’s Washington Capitals.

Colin Priestner speaks at a press conference in 2019.

After Love left for the professional ranks, Priestner hired the Blades current head coach Brennan Sonne on July 21, 2021. Sonne was 34-years-old when he came to the Blades. He has been a Silvertips assistant coach for three seasons and head coach of the Angers club in the professional league in France for four seasons.

Before Sonne became Saskatoon’s head coach, the last time the Blades were in the Eastern Conference final was back in 1994, when Molleken was guiding the team as head coach. It is a safe bet to believe Sonne is going to get a professional opportunity sooner than later, but Blades fans can hope Sonne decides he could be to the Blades what Brian Kilrea was to the Ottawa 67’s.

Priestner likely picked up some lessons studying Medicine Hat Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins. The biggest lessons there would be invest in and have empathy for your players.

Arguably the best work Priestner did as general manager was helping a pair of his best players in Aidan De La Gorgendiere and Egor Sidorov navigate rough waters there are no textbooks for.

De La Gorgendiere had to deal with the passing of his mother, Marla Meginbir, due to cancer on November 12, 2019 at age 51. At the time, De La Gorgendiere was skating through his 17-year-old sophomore season.

In the past, it was common that careers for WHL players that deal with the passing of a parent don’t end up being as successful as they should have been. The passing of a parent is a lot for a teenage aged player to deal with.

From left, Les Lazaruk, Colin Priestner and Lorne Molleken in 2022.

With Priestner’s help in that situation, De La Gorgendiere went on to become the Blades captain in his last two seasons with the club in 2021-22 and 2022-23 before graduating from the major junior ranks. He still has the potential to be in the NHL one day but at the moment is looking after his schooling playing for the storied University of Alberta Golden Bears Men’s Hockey Team in the U Sports ranks.

Sidorov is current the Blades star 19-year-old right-winger from Belarus, who posted 50 goals, 38 assists and a plus-eight rating in 66 contest in the 2023-24 regular season for the Blades. Late in Sidorov’s 17-year-old rookie season with the Blades, Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, and Belarus supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Due the instability in that part of the world, it was decided that Sidorov would remain in Canada. Priestner went the extra mile dealing with immigration to allow Sidorov to remain in the country.

With the support of Priestner and the Blades, Sidorov had a stellar 2022-23 campaign recording 40 goals, 36 assists and a plus-25 rating in 53 regular season games. He posted nine goals, 10 assists and plus-three rating in 16 appearances in the 2023 WHL Playoffs.

That resulted in Sidorov being selected in the third round and 85^th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Ducks on April 3.

Once he was drafted by the Ducks, Sidorov made it back to Belarus to visit his family.

If you’re a parent and you saw how spectacularly Priestner handled De La Gorgendiere’s and Sidorov’s situations, you would want your kid to play for the Saskatoon Blades.

Colin Priestner hugs Blades star RW Egor Sidorov.

Once viewed as the hockey outsider, Priestner has grown into an elite level general manager. On the side, he could still craft a good song or show off a few tricks on the tennis court when those opportunities present themselves too.

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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Blades need to win Game 2 versus Bedard and Pats

The Blades try to corner Pats C Connor Bedard (#98).

It isn’t a must win, but it is a need to win game for the Saskatoon Blades.

After dropping Game 1 of their best-of-seven first round WHL playoff series 6-1 to the Regina Pats on Friday at the SaskTel Centre, it would very much help the Blades cause to win Game 2, which is set for 4 p.m. on Sunday at the SaskTel Centre. If the Blades aren’t able to get Game 2, the series could snowball to a quick post-season exit for “The Bridge City Bunch.”

The Regina Pats are an institution in “The Queen City.” If Pats fans feel like the 2023 post-season can turn into something special for their team, they can make the Brandt Centre one of the toughest buildings to play in all of the WHL. The series switches to Regina for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

Of course, the Pats have the best junior aged hockey player in the whole world on their roster in 17-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard. He is a generational talent that makes most superstars at the junior level look ordinary.

His brand took a big jump upward after he set numerous Canadian team records at this past world juniors held in Halifax, N.S., and Moncton, N.B., Canada won gold taking the gold medal final 3-2 in overtime over Czechia this past January 5 in Halifax. Since returning to the Pats, Bedard has been packing rinks across the WHL taking the regular season scoring title with 143 points coming off 71 goals and 72 assists to go with a plus-39 rating in the plus-minus department in 57 games.

While the presence of Bedard is enough for Pats fans to get excited about their team, you don’t have to look too far into the past to see how excited and passionate fans in Regina can get over the Pats.

Connor Bedard is the world’s best junior aged hockey player.

First, the Pats have a rich history. They were created in 1917 and named for the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

As the world’s oldest major junior hockey team, the Pats have appeared in the Memorial Cup championship series and later tournament 13 times and won the Memorial Cup on three occasions in 1925, 1930 and 1974.

They once had links to the NHL’s storied Montreal Canadiens as the big club’s junior hockey affiliate for a time in the 1950s and 1960s. This was in an era that pre-dated the current NHL Entry Draft. Since the Pats were born, around 163 of their grads have gone on to play in the NHL.

With that pre-existing history, you just need some sparks in Regina and the fans there will rally around that team in a big way, even if a long span of time had elapsed with the team’s last long playoff run. This sparks transformed into a passionate flame in the 2016-17 campaign.

That Pats team finished first overall in the WHL with a 52-17-7-1 mark and advanced to the WHL Championship Series falling to the Seattle Thunderbirds in six games. During that campaign, the Pats sold out the Brandt Centre 23 times between the regular season and playoffs with capacity capped at 6,484 spectators.

During that entire campaign, the Pats Regiment cheered for a group of players that seemed to be almost superhero like in WHL MVP Sam Steel, charismatic captain Adam Brooks, standout offensive-defenceman Connor Hobbs, clutch overager Dawson Leedahl, skilled rookie Nick Henry, speedy Austin Wagner, steady rearguard Josh Mahura and gutsy goalie Tyler Brown.

The 2016-17 Pats salute their fans at the Brandt Centre.

For the people in Regina, this group of players were “the Boys.”

The core of that group had been together for three seasons, and people in Regina saw them play with their hearts on the sleeves. Under the watchful eye of head coach and general manager John Paddock, who was named the WHL’s coach of the year and executive of the year in 2016-17, Regina fans watched that group grow into good young men.

On top of that, the fans could tell it meant a lot to the players to play for the city and the team, and they respected the Pats history. With the snap of the fingers, the fans were there in droves. They stayed there in droves when the Pats fell behind the Swift Current Broncos 3-1 in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.

After the Pats took Game 5 of that series in a 3-2 playoff classic at the Brandt Centre, Pats fans flooded into the Dewdney Avenue strip after that contest. When you walked on to the strip, one would have thought the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders won the West final to advance to the Grey Cup.

Instead, people were decked out in red, white and blue yelling “Go Pats!”

A few alcoholic beverages were being drunk in the streets and the parties at the nightclubs went well into the early hours of the morning. That Pats hadn’t even won that series yet.

Pats fans cheer their team in the 2017 WHL Playoffs.

They would three days later posting a 5-1 win in a series-deciding Game 7. That marked the first time the Pats had ever completed a 3-1 series comeback in team history.

If you happen to be on the ice right after that Game 7 win, you looked up and saw this incredible celebration in the stands and the first thought that comes to mind was, “Holy (explanative)!”

From that Game 7 series win onwards, Pats playoff tickets sold out within 10 minutes upon going on sale. Dealing with scalpers became an issue as tickets that were sold for $25 a seat were being sold second hand for $125 per seat.

The current Pats are nowhere near as deep as that 2016-17 squad. During the 2022-23 campaign, the Pats posted a 34-30-3-1 record to make the WHL Playoffs finishing sixth overall in the Eastern Conference.

While Bedard is a generational player, he has heart, and it is obvious he cares about his junior team. When there were speculators saying Pats management should convince Bedard he needed to be traded to get a windfall of draft selections and players, the North Vancouver, B.C., product said he wanted to be with the Pats.

Bedard has shown by his play on the ice those words weren’t just lip service. The Pats are a young team and they do have some skilled players that care about club Tanner Howe, Alexander Suzdalev and Stanislav Svozil to go along with a cast of grinders. They have enough character there that the people of Regina will rally around that team.

Adam Brooks was the Pats charismatic captain in 2016-17.

If those intangible elements start working against the Blades, they will have a mountain to scale, especially if they lose Game 2 of their series with the Pats.

Unlike the Pats in Regina, the Blades, who began play in 1964, aren’t an institution in Saskatoon. If the Blades win a playoff series, there won’t be any street parties on 8^th Street or in the pub district in downtown Saskatoon on 2^nd Avenue and 21^st Street.

If feels like there is an element of the fan base in Saskatoon that can’t get over some sort of post-traumatic stress disorder from the fact the Blades made it to the WHL Championship Series five times in their history and lost each of those series in 1973, 1975, 1976, 1992 and 1994.

In 1975, 1992 and 1994, the Blades were in position to claim the WHL title in a series deciding Game 7 with a win, but fell in each of those contests. For the fans that don’t get over those results, it feels like they don’t realize how hard it is or how impressive the journey is to get to that point.

The 1992 and 1994 losses came to the dynasty Kamloops Blazers, who advanced to win the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in both those years along with 1995.

Add in the Blades hosted the Memorial Cup tournament twice in 1989 and 2013 and didn’t capture major junior hockey’s biggest prize on either occasion to increase the heartbreak. They made it to the event’s title game in 1989 and lost 4-3 in overtime to the Broncos on Tim Tisdale’s winner.

The vocal critic fans have dubbed the Blades as traditionally, “The great regular season team that can’t get it done in the playoffs.”

There are a lot of times when that tag is an unfair one.

Sam Steel was the WHL MVP in 2016-17.

(*It should be noted the Pats have their share of vocal fan critics too, but they seem to get minimized when the Pats get rolling*).

With all that said, the Blades do have a loyal and core ultra-passionate fan base. 

When you go to games on a frequent basis during the regular season, you will see those fans in the building game after game, and they are as good as the best fans in the rest of the WHL. It would be nice if there were more of them in the building.

They respect the honest efforts that the team’s builders put in over the decades in the late Jim Piggott, the late Jackie McLeod, the Brodsky family, Daryl Lubiniecki and Lorne Molleken to capture the WHL title and the Memorial Cup. 

They respect the honest efforts put in by the Priestner family now, which includes seeing Colin Priestner grow into a fantastic general manager.

When the Blades honoured Molleken for his work as the team’s all-time great head coach and general manager, 5,609 spectators turned out at the SaskTel Centre on April 15, 2022 before the Blades downed the Brandon Wheat Kings 2-1. 

Many of the Molleken’s former players turned out that night along with lifetime best friends in Lubiniecki and Jack Brodsky. Molleken very much deserved that night and to have his name added to the Blades Builders banner.

The Blades are the example of how unfair sports can be. They are the example that you can have all these great seasons, do everything right and in a classy manner but still don’t win the top championships you pursue. 

Aidan De La Gorgendiere has invested a tonne in the Blades.

The Blades have been worthy enough to win one WHL title or one Memorial Cup, but in a lesson on how unfair life can be, it hasn’t happened.

Still, the Blades in 2022-23 finished fourth overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. For just the fifth time in team history, they recorded 100-or-more points in the standings.

Under head coach Brennan Sonne, they have put together a talented group that is a tight one too. Over the course of the campaign, they have done various team building things which ultimately should great that special will and desperation that you need to win in the post-season. 

Teams do team building activities over the course of the season to create that family feeling and attachment which is the intangible that gives you the drive to get through the tough times in the post-season.

The current Blades including captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere, who has put a lot of emotional investment in the team, Trevor Wong, Egor Sidorov and the rest of the roster want to help this year’s team accomplish more special milestones.

The Pats and Blades will square off in Game 2 on Sunday.

If the Blades can win Game 2 on Sunday, the series with the Pats is truly on. If the Blades fall in that contest, the Pats story will become the tale that resonates.

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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Bedard should be allowed to stay with Pats

Connor Bedard jets up ice for the Pats in a game in April.

If Connor Bedard wants to stay with the Regina Pats, he should be allowed to stay with the world’s oldest major junior franchise.

Since the start of the current season, there has been no end to the speculation that the Pats should trade the phenom centre for what would be a massive haul of players and WHL Prospects Draft selections. That speculation has increased due to the fact the Pats appear to be your typical middle of the road post-season team.

Without Bedard on Friday night, the Pats downed the Raiders in Prince Albert 3-2 for third straight win to improve to 15-12-1-1.

Bedard, who is the Pats captain, is a generational talent and was one of a handful of players to be granted exceptional player status to play in the major junior ranks at age 15.

 During an abbreviated 2020-21 regular season, Bedard at age 15 suited up in 15 games for the Pats posting 12 goals, 16 assists and a plus-nine rating in the plus-minus category. The 2020-21 campaign was an abbreviated one due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

In 105 career regular season contests with the Pats, Bedard has recorded 90 goals, 102 assists and a plus-23 rating. He is currently at the selection camp for Canada’s world junior team and is pretty much a lock to be on that squad again to play in the world juniors that start December 26 and run through to January 5, 2023 in Halifax, N.S., and Moncton, N.B.

Bedard, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 185 pounds, helped Canada win gold at the last world juniors that were held this past August in Edmonton. He is the consensus pick to be selected first overall in the next NHL Entry Draft, which will be held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, from June 28 to 29.

Following the first overall selection, Bedard will be signed to an NHL entry-level contract and be playing in the NHL full time as an 18-year-old. Only something unforeseen would see that chain of events not play out.

Bedard handles himself so well on and off the ice with a maturity seemingly beyond his years that one tends to forget the North Vancouver, B.C., product is still 17-years-old. He isn’t old enough to vote in a political election or have an alcoholic drink legally.

Yet, it seems people already expect him to be Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux, when they were in their prime as NHL players. At the moment, Bedard is still technically an amateur hockey player. While Bedard has a tonne of maturity for his age, he still deserves to have some leeway to be your typical 17-year-old who is finishing a final year of high school.

When Bedard met the media in Regina on Wednesday before departing for the selection camp of Canada’s world junior team, he said he wanted to remain with the Pats and play the entirety of his junior hockey career in Regina. Right there, that should be the end of the story.

Connor Bedard has 192 points in 105 career WHL regular season games.

If Bedard wants to stay in Regina and is able to stay there, it would meet the spirit of the rules that are currently in place in the WHL when it comes to making trades.

Following the 2017-18 season, the WHL put in rules that teams aren’t allowed to trade 15-or-16-year-old players who have signed WHL contracts. The only time a 17-year-old player will be allowed to be traded is if that player requests a trade.

The 17-year-old player will have to approach the team’s general manager to ask for a trade, and a team won’t be able to make the first move asking a 17-year-old player to waive his no trade clause.

The rule changes were made in response to the large number of trades that were made involving younger players leading to the WHL’s trade deadline of January 10, 2018. There were cases where 15-year-old players were being dealt before they had a chance to play a regular season game with the club that originally drafted them.

The spirit of the rules were to allow those players the chance to play with the team that drafted them and not have to worry about changing schools, while they were still in high school. The request for trade provision was put in to allow players who felt they were slipping through the cracks with regards to a lack of playing time to get a fresh start with a new club. A reality of junior hockey is that happens.

There are fans out there that believe somehow Bedard should be convinced that he wants to be traded to a club that is viewed to be a contender for the WHL championship and a CHL title, which is awarded to the winner of the Memorial Cup tournament. Often talk involves Bedard being moved to the Memorial Cup hosting Kamloops Blazers, the WHL leading Winnipeg Ice, Red Deer Rebels, Portland Winterhawks or Seattle Thunderbirds.

There are some fans that say if Bedard doesn’t want to be traded to a contender that has a major shot to win a Memorial Cup that there is something wrong with him and maybe he shouldn’t be the first overall selection in the NHL Entry Draft.

Once again, Bedard is 17-years-old and he is still not a professional hockey player at the moment. If he wants to remain with the Pats, that should be the end of the story.

He should be allowed to be a 17-year-old in some ways, because he will have lots of time in his life to deal with the business aspect of hockey. As a generational talent, it is unlikely he will be passed up as the first selection of the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

Back on November 30, Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock got old school confrontational and testy with the media in Kamloops regarding questions about trading Bedard. Once it was clear Bedard wasn’t going to be traded, things calmed down and he had a pretty good discussion with the media.

Frankly, Paddock should have the freedom to go the old school route of being confrontational and testy with the media if he believes that is what is needed if Bedard doesn’t want to be traded and that question comes up. Over the years, Paddock has often been viewed by former players as the best coach they’ve ever hard, and Bedard is fortunate to have Paddock as his junior head coach and general manager.

With the way the WHL trade rules are, the only exception that could come up with the trading of a younger player would be to deal them to their hometown club, if their parent is dealing with a critical illness. Back in the 2006-07 season, then Pats general manager Brent Parker and then Saskatoon Blades head coach and general manager Lorne Molleken made one of the classiest trades ever involved left-winger and Saskatoon product Derek Hulak, who was 16-years-old at the time.

Connor Bedard said he wants to stay with the Pats.

Derek’s mom, Alina, was battling cancer and ultimately passed away on March 27, 2007. Derek was playing with the Pats at the time, and Parker and Molleken ensure he was dealt to the Blades partway through that season to allow him to be closer to his mom.

If that type of situation came up again, you can be sure WHL office and the league’s member teams wouldn’t stand in the way of that type of trade being made to help a player off the ice.

In Bedard’s case, he doesn’t have to deal with anything like that. If his heart is set on staying with the Pats, that is the team he should be rejoining once his time with Canada’s entry at the upcoming world juniors concludes. That would also show the WHL’s current trade rules are doing what they are supposed to be doing too.

Benson nets first hat trick in Ice win, other notes

Zach Benson had a hat trick for the Ice on Friday.

Zach Benson had a milestone night powering the Winnipeg Ice to victory.

On Friday night playing before 1,621 spectators at the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg, the 17-year-old centre recorded his first career WHL hat trick. Benson also picked up an assist as the Ice, who are rated third in the CHL Top 10 Rankings, doubled up the visiting Spokane Chiefs 6-3.

On the season, Benson, who is eligible for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, leads the Ice in scoring with 43 points coming on 18 goals and 25 assists to go with a plus-26 rating in the plus-minus department in 27 games.

Conor Geekie had a pair of goals and an assist for the Ice, while import centre Vladislav Shilo potted a single into an empty net for the Winnipeg side.

Tommaso De Luca had a pair of goals for the Chiefs, while Carter Streek had a single.

Daniel Hauser made 25 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Ice, who top the WHL’s overall standings with a 24-4 mark. Cooper Michaluk turned away 38-of-43 shots for the Chiefs, who fell to 5-19-0-1.

The Chiefs return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Brandon to take on the Wheat Kings (11-15-3).

The Ice get back at it on Sunday, when they host the Pats.

• The Moose Jaw Warriors hammered the visiting Calgary Hitmen 9-2 on Friday night at the Moose Jaw Events Centre. Import left-winger Martin Rysavy had a huge night for the Warriors recording two goals, three assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.
• Tyson Greenway scored 21 seconds into overtime as the Tri-City Americans slipped past the visiting Prince George Cougars 4-3 at the Toyota Centre in Kennewick, Wash. The Cougars led 3-1 early in the third period, before the Americans rallied back to take the game. Netminder Ty Young turned away 48 shots to take the setback in goal for the Cougars.
• On Friday, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a feature on University of Saskatchewan Huskies place kicker and punter David Solie, who recently signed with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. Solie has worked at the Complex for a number of years and made a tonne of good relationships there over that time. The piece on Solie can found by clicking right here. I also created a photo roundup that focuses on showing the Indoor Training Centre getting into its busy season, and that piece can be found by clicking 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.

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Maier ensures Blades banner night stays festive

Netminder makes 35 saves in 2-1 win over Wheat Kings

Blades G Nolan Maier stops Wheat Kings LW Brett Hyland (#7)

The Saskatoon Blades goat in goal made certain the party to honour the team’s goat behind the bench was a festive one.

On Friday night playing before 5,609 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, Blades star overage netminder Nolan Maier made 35 saves to backstop his club to a 2-1 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. Maier came out with one of his best performances of the season on a night the Blades honoured their legendary former head coach and general manager Lorne Molleken.

Molleken was celebrated during a pre-game ceremony for his 14 seasons of service over two stints with the team by having his name added to the club’s builder’s banner that hangs in the rink.

Brett Hylund brings the puck up ice for the Wheat Kings.

Following the ceremony for Molleken, Maier was put to work in a contest that saw the Blades close their WHL regular season schedule. The Wheat Kings came out of the gate on fire holding a 14-6 edge in shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes.

Early the first, Wheat Kings 17-year-old right-winger Nate Danielson had a point blank chance to open the scoring from the front of the Saskatoon net, but he was stoned by Maier.

Later on in the frame, Maier robbed Wheat Kings left-winger Brett Hyland close in on the right side of the Saskatoon net. The rebound deflected to Wheat Kings 17-year-old centre Rylen Roersma for a backdoor chance at the left side of the Saskatoon goal.

Blades G Nolan Maier stops Wheat Kings RW Nate Danielson (#29).

Maier sprawled across his crease to make a steal of a save on Roersma’s backdoor opportunity.

The Wheat Kings finally got a puck past Maier and took a 1-0 lead on a positive bounce break at the 2:57 mark of the second. 

A dump in by Wheat Kings defenceman Logen Hammett saw the puck rim around the left corner boards in the Saskatoon zone, take a weird bounce out of the left corner boards off a crack where a door in the boards opens, hit the post of the Saskatoon net and shoot out in front of the Blades goal.

Rylen Roersma (#11) celebrates scoring for the Wheat Kings.

Maier had gone around behind his net to play where he expected the puck to be and was caught flat footed when the puck took the unusual deflection. The puck came right to Roersma, who promptly put the disk into an empty cage for his 19^th goal of the season.

Then, the momentum shifted in the contest.

Just under four minutes after Roersma’s goal, Blades centre Trevor Wong found himself on a breakaway. He snapped home his 17^th tally of the season to even the score at 1-1.

At the 11:56 mark of the second, the Blades went ahead 2-1 off a rush into the offensive zone. 

Trevor Wong scored for the Blades on Friday night.

Blades centre Jayden Wiens drove straight to the centre of the Brandon net and made a drop pass to star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic, who was rushing down the left boards.

Crnkovic wired a shot short side on Wheat Kings overage netminder Ethan Kruger to the top left corner of the Brandon goal for his 39^th tally of the season. That marker turned out to be the sixth game-winning goal Crnkovic would net on the campaign.

The Wheat Kings made a hard charge in the third to try and force overtime holding an 11-6 edge in shots on goal, but Maier kept the visitors at bay.

About five minutes into the frame, Maier flashed his glove to deny a laser drive by rookie import centre Zakhar Polshakov. With about 7:45 remaining in the third, Maier put up a wall to stone Wheat Kings overage import right-winger Marcus Kallionkieli on a redirection chance from the front of the Saskatoon goal.

Kyle Crnkovic smiles after scoring for the Blades.

Inside of the final minute of the third, Maier turned away Wheat Kings star 19-year-old centre Nolan Ritchie on two prime scoring chances. Maier stoned Ritchie close in at the right side of the Saskatoon goal with about 30 seconds to play and made another big stop from that same spot on the ice in the frame’s dying seconds to preserve victory for the host side.

Kruger turned away 20 shots to take the setback in net for the Wheat Kings.

The Blades improved to 38-26-3-1 closing out their regular season schedule with two straight wins to finish fifth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with 80 points in the standings. They will face the Moose Jaw Warriors in a best-of-seven WHL first round playoff series.

The Wheat Kings buzz round the Saskatoon goal.

The Warriors locked up a fourth place finish in the Eastern Conference and home ice advantage for that first round series with the Blades picking up one standings point falling 5-4 in overtime to the Hurricanes in Lethbridge on Friday night. Moose Jaw’s record moved to 37-23-4-3 for 81 standings points.

The Warriors will face the Pats in Regina on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Brandt Centre to close the regular season schedule for both of those clubs.

The Blades and Warriors will open their upcoming playoff series this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw.

The Wheat Kings fell to 35-27-3-2 and are cemented to finish sixth overall in the Eastern Conference and take on the Red Deer Rebels in a best-of-seven first round playoff series. The Wheat Kings close out their regular season schedule on Saturday when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Blades start celebrating their win on Friday night.

With the Blades win on Friday, Maier rounded out his WHL career regular season goaltending wins record at 122 victories. 

Since joining the Blades on a full-time basis in November of 2017, Maier has appeared in 216 career regular season games posting a 122-72-18 record, a 2.89 goals against average, a .905 save percentage and 12 shutouts.

Along with those statistics, Maier has played 12,609 career minutes in goal for the Blades and made 5,788 career saves.

Maier’s career shutout, games played, minutes played and saves totals are all Blades franchise records.

Saskatoon still has four regulars on the injury list. Defenceman and captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere is out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.

The Blades salute their fans after their win on Friday.

Overage star centre Tristen Robins, who is the Blades captain for the rest of the current season, is out day to day with a lower body injury, while utility player Spencer Shugrue is day to day with an upper body injury. Rookie centre Lukas Hansen out indefinitely with an upper body injury.

Robins took part in the post-game ceremony the Blades held to honour their three overage players along with Maier and rugged defenceman Rhett Rhinehart. Odds are high that Robins will be in the Blades lineup when they open their post-season series with the Warriors.

In the post-game ceremony for their overages, the Blades played tribute videos and gave each player special artistic paintings.

Following the presentation, the trio did a victory lap on the ice with Maier waving a big team flag. It was fitting as the puckstopper’s memorable outing allowed the Blades organization to have a banner night.

Molleken gets his night in “Blade City”

Lorne Molleken speaks to the crowd at the SaskTel Centre.

Lorne Molleken received a well deserved hero’s welcome when he stepped on to the ice surface at the SaskTel Centre on Friday night.

The legendary former head coach and general manager of the Saskatoon Blades was honoured by the team in a pre-game ceremony before the Blades closed their regular season schedule downing the Brandon Wheat Kings 2-1. When Molleken stepped on to the ice surface with his wife, Patsy, and their children and grandchildren, the veteran bench boss received a loud standing ovation from the 5,609 spectators in attendance.

A number of those in attendance included former players and team staffers.

Molleken spent 14 total seasons with the Blades over two stints. He will forever be linked with some of the Blades best days under the ownership of the Brodsky family working alongside Rick and then Jack. Jack Brodsky would quickly become a lifetime best friend.

The first stint from 1991 to 1995 saw Molleken serve as the Blades head coach with one of his lifetime best friends in Daryl Lubiniecki toiling in the role of general manager.

During that run, the Blades advanced to the WHL Championship Series on two occasions in 1992 and 1994. In both appearances, the Blades fell in a series deciding Game 7 to the dynasty Kamloops Blazers, who went on to win the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in both of those year as well as taking the WHL and CHL crowns again in 1995.

Lorne Molleken, right, watches the video scoreboard.

Molleken returned to the Blades as both head coach and general manager before the start of the 2004-05 campaign.

He served as head coach and general manager through to the end of the 2012-13 season after the Blades hosted the Memorial Cup. The Blades were sold from the Brodsky to the Priestner family during the 2013 off-season, and Molleken stayed on for one more campaign just as the general manager with Dave Struch handling the duties of head coach.

Molleken had a 539-325-58 regular season record with 23 ties over his career as the Blades head coach.

Friday’s ceremony for Molleken started with Blades play-by-play voice Les Lazaruk reminiscing about the days when Molleken was with the team. Lazaruk, who was the master of ceremonies for the pre-game festivities, added in a couple of humourous spots.

One of the spots that got the crowd chuckling came when Lazaruk talked about a bad loss the team experienced in Moose Jaw. Lazaruk got to the bus 35 minutes after the game ended, and Molleken mentioned there was a 15 minute rule.

Lazaruk said he was on the air and didn’t know what was talked about in the dressing room and was content to go about his business.

The Blades long time play-by-play voice said it was special him to have Molleken as a friend and that friendship expand beyond life around the rink.

Lorne Molleken gathers with his family.

Blades current general manager Colin Priestner delivered a second speech where he talked about how much Molleken meant to the team and the city. Priestner said he was always impressed with the class and dignity Molleken carried himself with.

Following those speeches, attention turned to the rafters of the SaskTel Centre as Molleken’s name was unveiled on the banner that hangs in the building to honour the WHL team’s builders.

Molleken then took the podium to speak. The 65-year-old delivered a classy and dignified speech where he thanked seemingly everyone that was involved with the Blades during his years with the team.

 He got emotional and started tearing at the end of his speech when he began thanking his family.

During that part of the speech, Molleken told his wife, “I love you Pat.”

Molleken also thanked the fans and said he believed the day would come when the Blades would win the WHL title and the Memorial Cup under the watch of the Priestner family.

The Blades builder’s banner with Lorne Molleken’s name on it.

Molleken was presented with a big frame picture marking his time with the team. The pre-game festivities finished with handshakes and embraces.

Molleken gave a big hug to Blades associate general manager Steve Hildebrand, who was an athletic therapist and equipment manager when Molleken guided the club.

The veteran bench boss also shared some big hugs with his grandchildren.

Originally, the Blades were set to honour Molleken on March 21, 2020. When the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic gripped the world sparing shutdowns in North America starting on March 11, 2020, those original plans to honour Molleken were postponed.

Ultimately, the wait just made Friday night’s ceremony that much more special.

Raiders keep post-season hope alive with 4-1 win over Broncos

Carson Latimer had a goal and two assists for the Raiders.

The Prince Albert Raiders thrived in a do-or-die game to keep their playoff hopes alive.

On Friday night, the Raiders traveled to Swift Current and downed the host Broncos 4-1 before 2,093 spectators at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex. The win allows the Raiders to tie the Broncos for eighth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and the conference’s final post-season berth.

That encounter closed the Broncos regular season schedule as they finished with a 26-35-5-2 mark.

The Raiders improved to 27-35-4-1 with the win, and they have one game remaining on their regular season slate. Prince Albert closes its regular season schedule on Saturday when they host the 35-27-3-2 Brandon Wheat Kings (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The race for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference is a tight one. The 25-34-6-2 Calgary Hitmen are still alive in the playoff chase sitting one point behind the Raiders and Broncos.

The Hitmen close their regular season schedule on Sunday hosting the 32-30-4-1 Lethbridge Hurricanes (2 p.m. local time, Scotiabank Saddledome).

The 26-35-3-2 Regina Pats are two points back of both the Raiders and Broncos and have two games remaining on their regular season schedule. The Pats take on the Winnipeg Ice on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

That contest is penciled in as a home game for the Ice, because that contest was originally scheduled to be held in Winnipeg but was moved due to adverse weather in the area. The Ice have locked up top spot in the WHL with a 52-10-3-2 and dumped the Pats 6-1 on Friday at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

That Friday encounter was also penciled in as an Ice home game and was originally scheduled to be playing in Winnipeg until the venue was changed due to adverse weather in the area.

Sloan Stanick scored for the Raiders on Friday.

The Pats close their regular season schedule on Sunday when they host their archrivals the 37-23-4-3 Moose Jaw Warriors (4 p.m., Brandt Centre).

The Raiders could potentially lock up a playoff berth on Saturday night, if they beat the Wheat Kings and the Pats suffer any type of loss to the Ice.

If the Raiders fall to the Wheat Kings on Saturday night, there are still a number of playoff scenarios that could come into play.

If two teams finished tied for eighth place in the Eastern Conference, a tiebreaking game will be held to determine the club that moves on to the post-season.

In Friday’s contest between the Raiders and Broncos, the Prince Albert side was paced by right-winger Carson Latimer, who posted a goal and two assists.

Left-winger Sloan Stanick gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead in the first period potting his 22^nd goal of the campaign.

Just 27 seconds into the second period, overage centre Cole Nagy scored for the Broncos to even the score at 1-1.

Latimer scored four minutes after Nagy’s tally to give the Raiders a 2-1 lead. Following that tally, Latimer combined with overage defenceman Remy Aquilon to setup rookie import right-winger Vladislav Shilo for a power-play goal to give the Raiders a 3-1 advantage heading into the second intermission.

Veteran centre Evan Herman rounded out the 4-1 final in favour of the Raiders scoring into an empty net with 2:33 remaining in the third.

Standout defenceman Nolan Allan had a pair of assists and was a plus-one in the plus-minus department for the Raiders.

Nolan Allan had a pair of assists for the Raiders on Friday.

Rookie import netminder Tikhon Chaika stopped 32 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Overage goalie Isaac Poulter turned away 24-of-27 shots to take the setback in net for the Broncos.

Now, the Raiders will try and take potential their final step to locking away a post-season berth playing in what should be a raucous gathering at their storied home rink.

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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Molleken to get deserved banner night from Blades

Lorne Molleken mans the Blades bench on March 1, 2013. (Steve Hiscock/Saskatoon Blades)

Lorne Molleken was genuinely “all in” when it came to trying to take the Saskatoon Blades franchise to new heights.

Having spent 14 seasons with the WHL club over two different stints in the roles of head coach and general manager, Molleken authentically cared about the hockey team, his players and Saskatoon as a city. The emotion could be seen during his farewell press conference in late March of 2014 when he mutually parted ways with the team that just finished its first season under the ownership of the Priestner family.

The always classy Molleken said at that farewell presser the time had come to shake hands and move on and that there were no hard feelings. He was doing his part in clearing the way for the new owners to properly put their stamp on the team.

On Friday, the Blades will honour their all-time leader in head coaching victories as the 65-year-old Molleken will have a builder’s banner raised to the rafter of the SaskTel Centre before the club’s regular season finale against the Brandon Wheat Kings set for 7 p.m. The game should be a good one too as the Blades sit fifth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 37-26-3-1 record with the Wheat Kings sitting sixth overall in the conference with a 35-26-3-2 mark.

Molleken will forever be linked with some of the Blades best days under the ownership of the Brodsky family working alongside Rick and then Jack. Jack Brodsky would quickly become a lifetime best friend.

During his first stint with the Blades from 1991 to 1995, Molleken served as the Blades head coach as another one of his lifetime best friends in Daryl Lubiniecki toiled in the role of general manager.

That group of men took the Blades to the WHL Championship Series on two occasions in 1992 and 1994. In both appearances, the Blades fell in a series deciding Game 7 to the dynasty Kamloops Blazers.

The Blazers of that era are still viewed as having hit the ice with some of the best teams ever seen in the history of major junior hockey winning the WHL championship and Memorial Cup as CHL champions in 1992, 1994 and 1995.

Had the Blades been able to best the Blazers in one of those Game 7 encounters in the WHL Final in 1992 or 1994, there could well have been a Memorial Cup championship parade through downtown Saskatoon.

The deep playoff runs and success the Blades were having saw Molleken depart to the professional ranks following the 1994-95 campaign. He ultimately served as head coach of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks for the last part of the 1998-99 season and the first part of the 1999-2000 campaign.

The Regina product returned to the WHL to serve as head coach of his hometown Pats when they hosted the Memorial Cup in the 2000-01 campaign. He departed to the professional ranks again after that season, but came back to the WHL part way through the 2002-03 campaign as general manager of the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Lorne Molleken gives instructions on the Blades bench in Oct. 2012

After the 2002-03 season wrapped up, Molleken return to the professional ranks as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins before Jack Brodsky brought him back to his true WHL home naming Molleken the Blades head coach and general manager for the start of the 2004-05 campaign.

Molleken served as head coach and general manager through to the end of the 2012-13 season after the Blades hosted the Memorial Cup. The Blades were sold from the Brodsky to the Priestner family during the 2013 off-season, and Molleken stayed on for one more campaign just as the general manager with Dave Struch handling the duties of head coach.

Struch was one of Molleken’s former star overage players from the 1991-92 campaign.

During Molleken’s second stint, the Blades topped the WHL’s East Division three times. They finished first overall in the WHL in 2010-11 posting the franchise’s best ever record at 56-13-1-2.

The regular season success didn’t translate into post-season success as Molleken’s second stint was littered with first and second round playoff exits.

Molleken’s combined 14 seasons with the Blades ultimate shows that life can be unfair. He put in a true and honest effort to build a team in Saskatoon that went all the way.

The Blades had teams that were good enough to go all the way in Molleken’s days. With that said, it is hard to win in the WHL, and there are lots of times in the sports world where ultimate victory just doesn’t get achieved.

The Blades with Molleken came incredibly close with those Game 7 WHL Championship Series losses in 1992 and 1994. The frustration was compounded when the Blades weren’t able to return to the WHL Final during Molleken’s second stint with the team.

There were times over the last four seasons Molleken spent with the Blades where fan criticism got extremely loud and sometimes was unfair.

Molleken might have been the most disappointed the ultimate victory never came with the Blades. He would always say he understood the fan disappointment and that not winning the WHL title and a Memorial Cup felt like those missing things.

Molleken had a 539-325-58 regular season record with 23 ties over his career as the Blades head coach. He deserved to enjoy one WHL title and one Memorial Cup win with the Brodsky family along with Lubiniecki.

While navigating all the ups and downs, Molleken always gave solid and accurate post-game interviews win or lose every game that often recognized the fact two teams were out there trying to win a hockey game. He often credited the opponents for what they were able to do to get wins or how well the opponents played when the Blades won.

Lorne Molleken makes a plea from the Blades bench in Oct. 2012.

It is common to run into numerous former Blades players that will say no matter where they went in hockey that Molleken was the best coach they ever had. While Molleken pushed for old school work ethic, accountability and discipline, he combined it with new school caring for his players, which wasn’t always seen in the sport at the start of Molleken’s coaching career.

Molleken was a players’ coach and the players were his boys. You could see that in the excitement he had when he delivered the starting lineups before games.

If you allow him, Molleken can tell numerous stories of the great memories he has of the quality players and people he coached.

The list of players he worked with included the likes of Norm Maracle, Ryan Fujita, Rhett Warrener, Struch, the late Wade Belak, Frank Banham and Andy MacIntyre in his first stint to Devin Setoguchi, Derek Hulak, Braden Holtby, Connor Cox, Darren Dietz and Nelson Nogier in his second stint. That list of names could obviously be much more lengthy.

Molleken always had his players’ backs and would go to old school lengths to ensure they were protected, if the opposition took liberties on them.

That was best shown when Red Deer Rebels right-winger Josh Cowen ran Blades netminder Steven Stanford inside the final minute of Game 2 of a first round playoff series on March 21, 2010 at the SaskTel Centre. When that incident occurred, the contest was already decided as the Blades were up by the 4-0 final score.

On the ensuing faceoff after Stanford got hit, Molleken sent out his five toughest players who went after the Rebels skaters on the ice starting a line brawl right after puck drop. Molleken was ensuring a message was sent that any cheap shots like the one Stanford took weren’t going to be tolerated.

During the brawl, Molleken was getting in a verbal confrontation with the Red Deer coaches. Of course, suspensions galore resulted from the extracurriculars.

Molleken always carried a line of tough guys to protect the team due to the fact he was worried that there were still too many pure old school coaches in the WHL even near the end of his time with the Blades.

If the opponent played straight up, Molleken ensured his team played straight up. While Blades followers often like to talk about the sexy stories like the brawl against the Rebels, the Blades under Molleken usually had quite a bit of skill on their first three lines and could play some fantastic wide open offensive hockey.

After leaving the Blades, Molleken, who sits fourth on the WHL’s career regular season head coaching wins list with 626 victories, worked one more season in the WHL as the head coach of the Vancouver Giants in 2015-16 before leaving the major junior ranks all together. He is still involved in the game serving as the director of coach development of the Prairie Hockey Academy.

While he no longer works for the Blades, Molleken has popped back into the SaskTel Centre every now and then to see the Blades play. When he pops in, Molleken will often be sitting with Jack Brodsky and Lubiniecki sharing stories about the good old days.

Molleken will be viewed as the greatest coach the Blades ever had until a bench boss comes along and oversees the Blades winning their first WHL title and Memorial Cup. Whenever that happens, you can bet Molleken would be the first person that wants to shake that coach’s hand.

Lorne Molleken, right, with Jack Brodsky on March 5, 2013.

As time moves on, Molleken might hold the distinction of being the classiest coach and general manager the Blades ever had. He raised the bar for the franchise in so many ways on and off the ice that it is only fitting the team honours him by raising a builder’s banner to the rafters of their home rink.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. All photos in this post are courtesy Steve Hiscock/Saskatoon Blades. Stanks’ Sermon passes on a huge thanks to Hiscock for the photos of Molleken.

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