Blades, Wong yank spotlight from Bedard, Pats

Trevor Wong had a hat trick and an assist for the Blades on Sunday.

Fans at the Brandt Centre were looking for a star performance on Sunday, but the Wong guy took centre stage.

Trevor Wong recorded a hat trick and assisted on the winning goal to power his visiting Saskatoon Blades to a 5-2 WHL regular season victory over Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats to disappointment of most of the 6,022 spectators in attendance. Wong, who is the Blades 19-year-old star centre and alternate captain, picked up just the second hat trick of his WHL career in the win, while posting a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department.

Bedard, who is the Pats 17-year-old phenom centre, was held pointless and had a minus-five rating. He was held without a point for just the third time this season.

The North Vancouver, B.C., product still lead the WHL in goals (59), assists (64) and points (123) to go with a plus-36 rating. In the 20 games Bedard has played with the Pats since rejoining them after helping Canada win gold at world juniors this past January 5 in Halifax, N.S., he had piled up 32 goals, and 27 assists for 59 points to go with a plus-22 rating.

Bedard’s 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.

Barring something unforeseen, Bedard will be the first overall selection in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft which will be held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, from June 28 to 29. He is rated first among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Term Rankings.

Since returning from world juniors, Bedard has been attracting season high crowds for the Pats opponents on the road as well as sellouts and near sellouts at the Pats home rink. The Pats went into Sunday’s clash with the Blades have won six straight and playing their third game in three nights.

Wong has been a quiet lead by example leader all season for the Blades, and he tops his team in scoring with 77 points coming off 23 goals and 54 assists, while posting a plus-16 rating appearing in all of the Blades 60 games this season. 

The Blades have about 10 or 11 players who get more press or recognition than Wong does, but the Vancouver product is happy to just produce and see teammates enjoy the spotlight.

Egor Sidorov scored twice on Sunday for the Blades.

On Sunday, Wong helped the Blades improve their winning streak to five games and get standings points in their last 10 outings coming off nine wins and one overtime setback. That run has allowed the Blades to vault to third in the WHL’s overall standings and second in the Eastern Conference standings with a 42-14-4-1 record.

The Blades were also playing their third game in three nights along with their four game in five nights and claimed victory in all four of those contests.

They sit 10 points back of the WHL leading Winnipeg Ice (49-9-1). The Blades sit six points ahead of the Central Division leading Red Deer Rebels (39-17-2-3), who sit third overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

In the first round of the WHL Playoffs, the division winners in each conference are awarded top seeds in their respective conference brackets. In the second round, the seeds in the conference brackets are determined by standings points.

At the moment, the Blades would have home ice advantage if they should meet the Rebels in a best-of-seven playoff series.

With the loss on Sunday, the Pats fell to 31-25-2-1 and continue to sit sixth overall in the Eastern Conference.

In Sunday’s clash between the Blades and Pats, the first period featured a fight between Blades right-winger Vaughn Watterodt and Pats rookie defenceman Carter Herman.

The Regina side opened the game’s scoring 1:36 remaining in the first period, when Pats import right-winger Alexander Suzdalev one-timed home a bad angle shot from the right side boards in the Saskatoon zone. Import defenceman Stanislav Svozil fed a perfect pass for Suzdalev to one-time home.

At the 8:23 mark of the second, Wong put the Blades on even terms at 1-1 scoring his first of the contest. He tapped home a puck at the left side of the Pats net after receiving a pass from star left-winger Jake Chiasson, who entered the Regina zone on a rush down the right wing and fed a pass across the face of the Pats net.

Jake Chiasson had a pair of assists for the Blades on Sunday.

Just over two minutes later, the Pats jumped in front 2-1, when left-winger Sam Oremba drove home a goal from the left slot in the Saskatoon zone. Oremba was placed in prime scoring position after receiving a setup pass from Svozil.

Just 82 seconds after that tally, Wong evened the score at 2-2 potting the rebound from his own shot in close on the left side of the Regina goal.

Early in the third, the Blades and Pats ended up playing four-versus-four hockey after a minor penalty by each side was taking 13 seconds apart from each other.

During that stretch of four-versus-four play, Bedard drove into the Saskatoon zone and wired a shot off the right post of the Blades net.

The puck came right out to Wong who broke down the other way down the right-winger on a two-on-one rush into the Regina zone. Wong sauced a perfect pass past a Pats defenceman across the front of the Regina goal to star import 18-year-old right-winger Egor Sidorov, who buried the game-winning tally to put the Blades up 3-2 at the 2:17 mark of the frame.

Just over four minutes later, Sidorov popped home his second of the contest and his 40^th goal of the season to push the Blades advantage out to 4-2. Sidorov finished the night with those two tallies and sits second in Blades team scoring with 74 points coming off his 40 goals and 34 assists to go with a plus-26 rating in 49 games.

Sidorov became the first Blades player to tally 40 or more goals in a season since right-winger Max Gerlach fired home 42 goals for the Saskatoon side in the 2018-19 campaign.

Wong completed his hat trick scoring into an empty net with 1:27 remaining in the third.

Austin Elliott, an 18-year-old rookie netminder, stopped 22 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Drew Sim turned away 32-of-36 shots to take the setback in goal for the Pats.

Chiasson finished the contest picking up a pair of assists for the Blades. The Blades have won three out of four head-to-head encounters with the Pats this season.

The Pats, who have nine games remaining on their regular season schedule, will look to regroup when they next hit the ice on Wednesday by hosting the Edmonton Oil Kings (7 p.m., Brandt Centre). The Oil Kings sit last in the entire WHL with an 8-48-3 record.

Austin Elliott stopped 22 shots for the Blades on Sunday.

The Blades, who have eight games remaining on their regular season schedule, will try to keep their roll going as they also get back at it on Wednesday returning home to host the 28-28-1-2 Swift Current Broncos (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

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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Can the regular person identify with today’s elite athlete?

Most regular people can’t comprehend the work Tyler Chow (#5) put in.

    Can the regular person identify with today’s elite athlete?

    That is a question I have been struggling with for the past two years, especially looking at the sports scene in Canada. I don’t think the regular person realizes how hard today’s athlete has to work at their craft to be good at the elite levels of sport, unless the regular person worked in elite athletes in recent time in some capacity.

    I feel like there is a perception out there that lives of elite level athletes are like what had been before the late 1990s when year round training came into vogue.

    Before the late 1990s came around, there was a period of a good 80 to 90 years where the commonly viewed approach to elite athletics was the same.

    You basically showed up at training camp to get into shape and take part in practices and games. When you were not participating in a practice or a game, you likely weren’t doing something specific to your sport.

    You were doing normal real life things like tending to family matters, participating in social activities or even working a regular job in the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. hours.
    Actually, the elite athlete in the old days was viewed as a regular person who happened to be good at sports.

Most regular persons wouldn’t understand Libby Epoch’s joy for basketball.

    When the off-season came around, the time you spent on your sport likely got spent lying on a beach, golfing or partying. Often when one sports season ended, you might even follow another sport pursuit.

    For example, if you played hockey in the winter you might play baseball in the summer.

    If you worked out or lifted weights during a season, you likely got teased by your teammates.

    In the late 60s and early 70s, it was common for players in a sport like in professional tackle football to sit back, drink a coffee or smoke a cigarette at halftime.

    If you are an elite athlete in the current day in Canada, your sport is your full-time job, and it seems like you are doing something sports specific year round.

    There are very few athletes that participate in two sports at an elite level like Saskatoon’s Kaitlin Jockims, who is gifted in both hockey and basketball.

    The off-season conditioning programs of the current day are far more advanced and evolved than those offered in the early 1990s. If you visit a training facility like Ignite Athletics in Saskatoon, you will end up getting an education in core conditioning and be surprised how much goes into getting physically prepared for sport at the elite level.

    Most regular persons have never stepped into a facility like Ignite Athletics and would be shocked at what all happens there under the guidance of the facility’s outstanding staff.

Kaitlin Jockims is the rare star in two sports at the elite level.

    When the sports season begins right from training camp, elite athletes will also be immersed in classroom video sessions in their sport.

    In hockey, you are already starting to execute the systems a team wants to use during the regular season and playoffs. When the regular season starts, you hit the ice going at full pace.

    Regular persons would be shocked at how much time goes into video preparation.

    Even eating is different. Elite athletes are very aware about eating healthy. Even if they are out at a social function where alcohol is present, elite athletes will be aware about even having one alcoholic drink and might not even have an alcoholic drink at all.

    In athletics at the university level and even in major junior hockey just 10 years ago, athletes often looked forward to the Saturday game, because afterwards you were usually allowed to go out and party on a non-curfew night.

    That was usually time elite athletes in those sports were able to let loose and have fun, because in university you didn’t play a game again until the upcoming Friday.

Jaime Bourbonnais - a highly talented athlete who works hard.

    In major junior hockey, you usually went out and socialized on the Saturday if you next game wasn’t until Wednesday.
    Now, university athletes and major junior hockey players are worried about rest and recovery after the Saturday game even if a long break follows. In those situations, you often find players holding a protein shake and finishing off a cool down after visiting family.

    If teams go out on average twice every four months on a social outing these days, that is a lot.

    Even in curling which has always been viewed as the most social of sports, the athletes in that sport are now perfectly conditioned. The elite curlers aren’t stopping at the curling club lounge to have an alcoholic drink after their games, which was commonplace in the past.

    Most regular persons wouldn’t image putting all of that attention in to be able to do a sport. Also with the way the world has changed, most regular persons in Canada are often focused on the hustle and bustle of their own lives trying to get by.

    The goal is often to go on a vacation to a tropical spot like Hawaii. In most cases, the regular person worries about themselves and finds anything outside of their worlds as being irrelevant.

    Most of today’s elite athletes put full-time job efforts into their sport for very little financial reward.

Rylan Kleiter excels at football and curling.

    The number of athletes that reaches the level to make millions at the professional level is a very small fraction of the elite athletes who have tried to get to that spot.
    For most regular persons, it is all about the financial reward. They are better off financially working a full-time job than most elite athletes and will view those elite athletes as being stupid.

    The regular person can’t see positive traits elite athletes establish in pursuing their sport. Some of those traits and skills are better social skills, strong work ethic, teamwork and leadership skills.

    Due to the fact today’s elite athletes focus on their sports more than ever before, they don’t interact as much with persons in the regular work world. As a result, regular persons have no emotional investment in elite athletes.

    So yes, I believe there is a disconnection between regular persons and elite athletes in Canada in today’s world.

    The regular person just can’t get why elite athletes do what they do.

Dach watch intensifies for Blades fans

Kirby Dach has signed with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks.

    The watch by Saskatoon Blades fans to see if star centre Kirby Dach will return to the team next season got a surge in intensity.

    On Monday, the 18-year-old product of Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., signed a three year NHL entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks selected Dach in the first round and third overall in the NHL Entry Draft held in June.

    Due to Dach’s early draft selection and now that he has a signed NHL contract, the odds have increased that he could play in the NHL next season.

    As Dach hasn’t entered his overage season of junior eligibility, the Blackhawks have to return him to the major junior ranks if they don’t elect to have him play in the NHL.

    Last season, Dach, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 200 pounds, appeared in 62 regular season games with the Blades last season posting 25 goals, 48 assists and a plus-15 rating in the plus-minus department.

    He helped the Blades finish fourth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings at 45-15-8 and advance to the second round of the playoffs. The Blades fell in six games in the second round to the eventual WHL champion Prince Albert Raiders.

    If Dach makes the NHL this season, most would be happy for his success. The Blades would take that development as a good thing and move on as best they can.

“Texan Sniper” takes his talents to Switzerland

Max Gerlach is going to be sniping in pros in Switzerland.

    Sharpshooting right-winger Max Gerlach is on his way to Switzerland.

    On Wednesday, the former Saskatoon Blades standout, who is nicknamed the “Texan Sniper,” signed a one-year contract with HC Ambri-Piotta in Quinto, Switzerland. He will be loaned to the HCB Ticino Rockets in Biasca, Switzerland.

    Last season, Gerlach played out his overage major junior campaign with the Blades appearing in all of the team’s 68 regular season games posting 42 goals, 32 assists and a plus-seven rating in the plus-minus department.

    He played four seasons in the WHL split between the Medicine Hat Tigers and Blades recording 141 goals and 110 assists in 278 career regular season games.

    The product of Flower Mound, Texas, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 165 pounds, was a fan favourite in both of his WHL stops.

Nickolet departs Blades for NHL’s Hurricanes

    No matter Cody Nickolet will no longer be a fixture around Saskatoon Blades games.

    On Thursday, Nickolet joined the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes as an amateur scout. Last season, Nickolet was the Blades director of analytics for the WHL and one of their scouts in Saskatchewan.

    He first joined the Blades way back in 2011-12 as the team’s communications manager. Nickolet was on the Blades scouting staff for the past four seasons.

    His time with the Blades was broken up being a prospect analyst for one season with the NHL’s Florida Panthers.

    It will be a change for SaskTel Centre building staff and team supporters to no longer see Nickolet around the rink on a regular basis. He got along well with everyone, and you can bet those that know him are happy to see this opportunity come his way.

Raiders’ Leason signs NHL deal with Capitals

Brett Leason has signed with the NHL’s Washington Capitals.

    Prince Albert Raiders star right-winger Brett Leason further cemented his path to the professional game.

    On Thursday, Leason signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals. The Capitals selected Leason in the second round and 56^th overall in the NHL Entry Draft held this past June.

    Last season, Leason, who stand 6-foot-4 and weighs 210 pounds, had a breakout year with the Raiders posting 36 goals, 53 assists and a plus-55 rating in the plus-minus department in 55 regular season games.

    He helped the Raiders finish first overall in the WHL regular season with a 54-10-2-2 record and win their second WHL title and appear in the Memorial Cup tournament. In the WHL playoffs, Leason posted 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points and a plus-six rating in 22 games.

    The Calgary, Alta., product also earned a spot on Canada’s team at the last world junior tournament played in Vancouver and Victoria, B.C.

    Leason is eligible to return to the Raiders for an overage campaign, but he will likely play somewhere in the Capitals system next season.

Raiders’ Protas also signs with Capitals

Aliaksei Protas, left, has signed with the NHL’s Washington Capitals.

    Prince Albert Raiders import left-winger Aliaksei Protas professional hockey path has moved more towards the capital city of the United States.

    On Wednesday, Protas, who is from Vitebsk, Belarus, signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals. The Capitals selected Protas in the third round in and 91^st overall in the NHL Entry Draft that was held this past June.

    Protas, who is 18-years-old, signed a day before his linemate in right-winger Brett Leason inked a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Capitals.

    Protas, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 205 pounds, was a WHL rookie in the 2018-19 campaign, and he steadily improved posting 11 goals, 29 assists and a plus-24 rating in 61 regular season games. He had a head turning WHL playoffs posting 12 goals, 10 assists and a plus-12 rating in 23 games helping the Raiders win a league title.

    Protas will likely rejoin the Raiders next season for a sophomore campaign unless he makes the Capitals NHL team.

Football Canada Cup Hail Mary something to see

    If a television-type broadcast camera had been present, the Football Canada Cup would have had a highlight that could have potentially on viral across North America.

    This year’s Football Canada Cup is going on right now in Kingston, Ont., the first of two semifinal games held on Wednesday provided a crazy highlight.

    In the first semifinal, Team Quebec led Team Alberta 23-16 with one snap to go in the fourth quarter and Alberta had the ball around midfield. Alberta quarterback Eli Hetlinger fired a Hail Mary pass down the right sideline that deflected off the hands of two Quebec defensive backs to Alberta receiver Dawson Gladue.

    Gladue secured the catch at the Quebec 16 yard-line and raced the rest of the way for a touchdown that forced a 23-23 tie score and overtime.

    Quebec prevailed 29-27 after a fourth set of overtime possessions.

    Gladue’s touchdown catch was shown on TSN, but the cameras used for the Internet telecast of the game weren’t the best quality. The score still looked good on the overhead shot, but it could have been better.

    Had there been a television broadcast quality camera present, you would have had a crazy highlight that could have been shown anywhere.

    There are NCAA athletic programs in the United States that have Internet broadcast quality cameras that are almost as good as television broadcast cameras.

    Unfortunately, sports bodies in Canada don’t have that type of money to purchase technology that is used by the top end NCAA athletic programs.

    Gladue will always have that lasting memory of his catch. Still, it could have been bigger moment for amateur sports in Canada.

Final Play: @FootballAlberta sends it to overtime in the Canada Cup semifinals. #TryFootball @FootballCanada pic.twitter.com/pI9knpuuzH

— CFL (@CFL) July 12, 2019

    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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Remarkable season breathes new life into Blades

The Blades give a final salute to the SaskTel Centre crowd on Sunday.

    Apathy had to be the biggest concern for the Saskatoon Blades at the start of their recently completed season.

    Way back on Sept. 20, 2018, I typed a column that said the Blades would make the WHL playoffs in 2018-19. I said I had a gut feeling the Blades would have a playoff spot locked up when March 2019 begins. You can even check that piece out by clicking right here.

    Having missed the playoffs for five straight seasons, I was expecting followers of the team to be so jaded they would fall down with laughter.

    Instead, that prediction was greeted mostly with silence, which might have been a more scary reaction. The playoff drought that included two heartbreaking near misses in 2016-17 and 2017-18 seemed to quell most enthusiasm for the team.

    It seemed people were waiting for the tangible result of a post-season playoff berth before showing any interest in the squad.

Kirby Dach is one of the Blades biggest stars.

    In 2017-18, the Blades posted a 35-33-3-1 record to fall three points shy of the Prince Albert Raiders (32-27-9-4) for the second and final wildcard berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

Saskatoon had the seventh most points in the 12-team Eastern Conference, which meant two teams with records worse than the ones the Blades had made the post-season.

    I thought the nucleus was in place for the team to make a leap upwards in the standings. The Blades made a bigger leap than I had imagined.

    Fast forward to this past Sunday at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades were eliminated from the post season dropping a 6-3 decision to their archrivals, the Raiders, in Game 6 of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series before 10,521 spectators.

    Following the contest, the Blades received a salute from the crowd including a nod of respect from most of the large contingent of Raiders followers.

    Along the way the Blades finished fourth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 45-15-8 record to qualify for the post-season for the first time since 2013, while picking up honourable mention status in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. They officially locked up a playoff berth on Feb. 23 with a 4-3 win after a tiebreaking shootout over the Kootenay Ice at the SaskTel Centre.

Nolan Maier ensured the Blades had solid play between the pipes.

    They swept the Moose Jaw Warriors, who were seventh overall in the WHL at 40-20-6-2, in the first round of the playoffs.

    The Blades bowed out to a Raiders team that topped the WHL standings at 54-10-2-2 and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    How crazy was this Blades season?

    Last Oct. 25, the Blades acquired a left-winger named Gary Haden, who was in his 19-year-old season, in a trade with the Medicine Hat Tigers in exchange for forward Logan Christensen, who was also in his 19-year-old season. The deal at the time didn’t raise too many eyebrows as both had relatively average major junior careers to that point in time.

    Haden went on to become “Uncle” Gary in Saskatoon posting 30 goals, 32 assists and a plus-23 rating in 55 regular season games with the Blades. In his first nine games of the campaign with the Tigers, Haden posted one goal, two assists and was a minus-four.

    The Airdrie, Alta., product became a fan favourite and one of the Blades most well-known players.

Emil Malysjev made huge strides in his rookie season with the Blades.

    The “Uncle” Gary moniker was coined by Blades manager of communications and community relations Tyler Wawryk, who often comes up with nicknames or catch phrases to associate with Blades players.

    Alanna Priestner, who is the wife of Blades general manager Colin Priestner, helped use those nicknames and catch phrases to create novelty T-shirts for six of the team’s players in Haden, Kyle Crnkovic, Kirby Dach, Max Gerlach, Riley McKay and Nolan Maier. The T-shirts became hot sellers and in the process that inventive move helped make them more household names in the city.

    The Blades had the skill on the ice to back everything up. On Monday, it was announced that three Blades members cracked NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings.

    Dach, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 195 pounds, was rated third among North American skaters. The skilled centre finished third in team scoring recording 25 goals, 48 assists and a plus-15 rating in 62 regular season games.

Chase Wouters provided the Blades with stellar leadership as captain.

    Swedish import defenceman Emil Malysjev, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 187 pounds, cracked in at the 192^nd spot among North American skaters. He recorded three goals, 14 assists and a plus-13 rating in 63 regular season games with the Blades and made great strides improving in his rookie WHL campaign.

    Maier, who stands 6-feet and weighs 173 pounds, was rated 22^nd among North American goaltenders. He posted a 36-10-6 record, a 2.64 goals against average, a .910 save percentage and four shutouts in 53 regular season games.

    The Yorkton, Sask., product was invited to join Canada’s men’s team for the under-18 worlds that start Thursday and run through to April 28 in Ornskoldsvik and Umea, Sweden.

    Dach, Malysjev and Maier will all be entering their respective 18-year-old campaigns next season.

“Uncle” Gary Haden became a fan favourite with the Blades.

    The Blades had a great overage crew. Offensive-defenceman Dawson Davidson was the team’s leading scorer recording 13 goals and 62 assists for 75 points. He posted a plus-27 rating appearing in all of the Blades 68 regular season games.

    Right-winger Max Gerlach was second in team scoring with 42 goals, 32 assists for 74 points. He was a plus-seven appearing in all of the Blades 68 regular season games.

    Defenceman Brandon Schuldhaus showed he was the ultimate pro. Acquired in a trade last Oct. 2 with the Moose Jaw Warriors, Schuldhaus appeared in 61 regular season games with the Blades posting eight goals, 23 assists and a plus-15 rating.

    Chase Wouters became the team’s charismatic captain, and he has two more years of eligibility remaining. He got the playoffs started in style scoring the overtime winner to give the Blades a 3-2 victory over the Warriors in Game 1 of their first round series at the SaskTel Centre.

The Blades celebrate a goal from Ryan Hughes (#53).

    McKay became a fan favourite for his feisty style of play. While he topped the WHL with 149 penalty minutes, he showed an offensive touch putting up 12 goals and 17 assists appearing in all of the Blades 68 regular season games.

    Ryan Hughes proved to be a slick right-winger acquired in a Jan. 10 trade with the Portland Winterhawks. In 61 regular season games split between the Winterhawks and Blades, Hughes recorded 30 goals, 39 assists and a plus-13 rating.

    Defenceman Nolan Kneen was another astute acquisition arriving from the Kamloops Blades last Nov. 26. In 55 regular season games split between the Blazers and Blades, Kneen posted six goals, 39 assists and a plus-24 rating.

    Colin Priestner and his staff have to be given huge credit for assembling the Blades roster. During the season, Priestner added seven players via that trade route that bolstered the defence and created more depth on the forward lines.

    Out of all the Blades staffers, Priestner had to have felt the biggest sense of relief that this season came to pass. The same likely goes for his father, Mike, who bought the team before the start of the 2013-14 campaign. 

    The reward finally came from all the rebuilding that took place in the previous five non-playoff years.

Kyle Crnkovic turned heads with his play as a rookie.

    Priestner’s biggest hire might have been bringing Mitch Love on board as head coach last May.

    Love joined the Blades after spending the previous season as an assistant coach and assistant to the general manager of the Everett Silvertips. He was on the Silvertips staff for a total of seven seasons.

    It seemed there were few veteran staffers from other WHL teams that tried to test the youthful duo on the gamesmanship front noting Priestner is 35-year-old and Love is 34-years-old. Both showed they have some veteran savvy on that front.

    The rest of the Blades coaching staff played a key role in the team’s results this season. Associate coach Ryan Marsh played a huge part in shaping the club’s play on the ice. Returning assistant coaches Ryan Keller and Jerome Engele and returning goalie coach Tim Cheveldae all added their positive influences.

The fans poured into the SaskTel Centre in big numbers in the playoffs.

    That trio is popular in the Blades dressing room and seems to keep cementing spots as lifers on the team.

    Off the ice, the Blades worked a big group game getting into the community with various events.

All the hard work finally paid off with more people arriving at the SaskTel Centre. For the longest time, it appeared the Blades would have their worst average attendance since posting a franchise worst record of seven wins, 52 losses, 11 ties and two overtime setbacks in 2003-04.

    A surge at the gates in late regular season games helped the Blades avoid that distinction as they drew an average of 3,911 spectators for their 34 home regular season dates. That was a slight improvement from the average attendance of 3,851 spectators per game the club drew for 36 home dates in 2017-18.

HC Mitch Love and his staff have given great guidance to the players.

    In their five home dates in the 2019 playoffs, the Blades averaged 7,428 spectators per game concluding with the massive 10,521 spectators that came out for Sunday’s game.

    In Saskatoon, the Blades have been rejuvenated.

    Of course, the composition of the Blades roster next season will have a different composition than this past season. The team leadership has to remind fans that every season writes its own story.

    There will be times that factors out of team’s control like injuries can derail a season.

    At the moment, all the excitement with the Blades feels new again. The team brought back its traditional blue and gold Pac-Man look before the start of the 2017-18 campaign believing these good times were around the corner.

The Blades gained new life in a big way in 2018-19.

    Going forward, you can be sure everyone on the Blades staff will do their best to try and make what happened this season become a habit and maybe get the team to hit heights it has never see before.

    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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Overagers proud to put Blades back on map

Max Gerlach (#9) and Riley McKay (#39) embrace after Sunday’s game.

    Brandon Schuldhaus would have loved to have played in his 50^th career WHL playoff game, but grizzled veteran still marvelled at how far the Saskatoon Blades have come.

    The Calgary product, who turned 21-years-old in February, has almost seen it all since entering the league at the start of the 2015-16 campaign appearing in 250 regular season games with the Seattle Thunderbirds, Red Deer Rebels, Moose Jaw Warriors and finally the Blades.

    Having dressed for one regular season game early in the 2018-19 campaign with the Warriors, Schuldhaus was acquired by the Blades last Oct. 2 in a trade that sent a fifth round 2019 WHL Bantam Draft pick and a second round 2020 WHL Bantam Draft selection to the Warriors.

Blades D Brandon Schuldhaus marks Raiders LW Parker Kelly.

    In 62 combined games with the Warriors and Blades this season, Schuldhaus piled up eight goals, 23 assists for 31 points and a plus-16 rating in the plus-minus department. His assists, points and plus-minus totals were career highs and his goal total matched a career high.

    Schuldhaus, who is known as an ultimate pro on the WHL circuit, was a key member on the Blades defensive unit.

    The Blades had a remarkable season finishing fourth overall in the WHL with a 45-15-8 record and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Saskatoon swept the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs, before bowing out in six games to the Prince Albert Raiders in a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series.

    The Raiders, who finished first overall with a 54-10-2-2 record, claimed a 6-3 victory in Game 6 over the Blades on Sunday at the SaskTel Centre to pull the curtain on Saskatoon’s season. 

Brandon Schuldhaus played in 49 career WHL playoff games.

    That final game was played before a campaign high crowd of 10,521 spectators.
    “I think there is a lot for us to be proud of,” said Schuldhaus, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 205 pounds. “After not being in the playoffs for a few years, I don’t think anyone at the beginning of the year would have expected us to be having the team that we had and having the success that we had.

    “Obviously getting the city and the support behind us here this last few months it has been great. I think this is a really big year for the Blades as an organization, and I think there is a lot to be proud of.”

    Schuldhaus went to the WHL final with the Thunderbirds as a rookie in 2015-16 on a club that had stars like Mathew Barzal and Ethan Bear. Schuldhaus skated in 49 WHL post-season games between his time with the Thunderbirds, Rebels, Warriors and Blades.

The Blades faithful cheers one of their team’s goals on Sunday.

    Had the Blades forced a Game 7 in their series with the Raiders, which would have been played tonight in Prince Albert, Schuldhaus would have skated in his milestone 50^th playoff game.

    “It is obviously disappointing,” said Schuldhaus. “It is not the outcome we were looking for.

    “Just having some time to reflect on the season and the group that we have, there is a lot to be proud of. I think coming together as fast as we did. When we started this season, we didn’t have the same team we have now.

    “We have a lot of new additions and that kind of thing. I think it is a lot to be proud of the way we came together so quick and jelled as a group. I’m really proud of that for sure.”

Dawson Davidson had a career season with the Blades.

    Schuldhaus was one of seven additions that joined the Blades via the trade route this season and one of three veterans that were added to the back end along with Nolan Kneen and Reece Harsch, who are both in their 19-year-old campaigns.

    Schuldhaus’s sentiments were shared by fellow Blades overagers in Dawson Davidson and Max Gerlach.

    Davidson, who is an offensive-defenceman, was acquired by the Blades on Jan. 8, 2018 in a trade with the Regina Pats. The Blades sent import defenceman Libor Hajek to the Pats in exchange for Davidson, centre Tristen Robins and a first round selection in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft.

    Davidson entered the WHL at the start of the 2014-15 campaign with the Kamloops Blazers and was dealt to the Pats partway through the 2016-17 season.

    Appearing in all of the Blades 68 regular season games in this past campaign, Davidson topped the team in scoring with 13 goals and 62 assists for 75 points to go along with a plus-27 rating. His goals, assists, points and plus-minus totals were all career highs.

One of Dawson Davidson’s supporters displays a sign at the SaskTel Centre.

    Davidson, who turned 21-years-old earlier this month, was pleased to help the Blades reach a new high, while ended his time in the league on a personal high.

    “It has been a lot of ups and downs,” said Davidson. “Obviously, I’ve been with three different teams.

    “I’ve kind of seen the ways of junior hockey, but I couldn’t be more excited to end it off with a great organization here in Saskatoon. I feel like I got a lot better as a player, and that is kudos to my teammates and to our amazing coaches here, who kind of let me blossom into the player that you know I always felt I could become.

Raiders D Brayden Pachal and Blades D Dawson Davidson shake hands.

    “We made strides this year. I think at the start of the year not many people thought we were going to do too much. I think they thought next year was kind of our year.”

    Davidson enjoyed seeing bigger crowds pack into the SaskTel Centre as the regular season drew to a close and the march into the playoffs went on. The Blades averaged 3,911 spectators over 34 regular season home dates and that average burst to an average of 7,428 spectators per game for the team’s five home playoff dates.

    During Game 6 on Sunday, Davidson made sure to take a moment to take in the sight of seeing 10,521 spectators packing into his team’s home rink.

    “It was unbelievable,” said Davidson. “The fans here, I can’t thank them enough.

    “It has been absolutely amazing. Throughout the season and especially in the playoffs here, we could feel the whole city come behind us there. To see that crowd tonight, it meant a lot to us.”

Max Gerlach jets into the offensive zone for the Blades.

    Gerlach entered the WHL at the start of the 2015-16 campaign with the Medicine Hat Tigers. The product of Flower Mound, Texas, was dealt to the Blades on Jan. 10, 2018 in exchange for right-winger Bryan Lockner, a first round selection in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft and a second round selection in the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft.

    From that first season, Gerlach has scored 30-or-more goals in each of his four seasons in the WHL picking up the nickname “Texan Sniper” along the way.

    This past season, the sharpshooting right-winger, who turned 21-years-old earlier this month, appeared in all of the Blades 68 regular season games piling up career highs in goals (42), points (74) and plus-minus (plus-seven).

    He plans on spending some down time in Saskatoon before heading home and figuring out what his next step in hockey is.

    “I am just going to enjoy some time here with my friends,” said Gerlach, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 160 pounds. “I’ll probably stay about a week or so.

Max Gerlach had a career high 42 goals this season.

    “It is a long drive back to Dallas, so I have some time to think about it. I will kind of see what is going to go on there. Like I said, I made a tonne of new brothers in there.

    “I feel really lucky. I couldn’t be happier to end my career as a Blade.”

    Gerlach said you could feel there was a different culture on the team when Mitch Love was brought in as head coach and Ryan Marsh arrived as an associate coach before the current campaign began. The Texan was pleased the Blades brought back Ryan Keller as an assistant coach.

    The now graduating player believes the team is in a good place under the leadership of owner Mike Priestner and general manager Colin Priestner.

    “With the organization, I think the Blades kind of used to be a team that you knew you could come in and kind of push around,” said Gerlach. “We definitely changed that here.

    “We know we are a team that doesn’t mind getting physical. We are going to beat you off the puck. We’re going to make life tough on you.

Max Gerlach scored in bunches his entire WHL career.

    “I think the organization is in super good hands from all the way to the top from Mike and Colin and then all the way down to the players and coaching staff and everything. I think the Blades are in a really good spot for the future.”

    Love said losing out to the Raiders stings. 
    Still, he was proud of how far the overagers and the rest of the players have brought the Blades as an organization.

    “I said that to the guys also after the game,” said Love. “You’ve rejuvenated Blades hockey in the community.

    “I think it worked from a hockey, slash, fan, slash, business perspective to play the Raiders in the second round of playoffs. It was the perfect storm for everybody.

The Blades give a final salute to their faithful at the SaskTel Centre.

    “I think just hockey in this area for both organizations, and especially in this city, that was pretty impressive to see.”

    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 on fire for Blades heading into critical Game 5 with Raiders

Netminder Nolan Maier has allowed the Blades to pull even with the Raiders.

    Nolan Maier has been on fire, and he wants to do his best to stay on fire.

    The sophomore netminder from Yorkton, Sask., stopped 69-of-70 shots to allow his Saskatoon Blades to win their last two games – which were both on home ice - to even their best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Prince Albert Raiders 2-2.

    Maier will be looking to continue his hot play on Friday, when the Blades and Raiders meet for Game 5 of their series at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

    On Wednesday, Maier had a sensational outing stopped 43 shots to allow the Blades to pull out a 4-1 victory in Game 4 at the SaskTel Centre.

    Maier had to be particularly sharp in the first period of that contest, when he was under siege by the Raiders. Due to Blades penalty troubles resulting in four Prince Albert power plays, Maier made 21 saves to allow his Blades to escape the opening 20 minute only being down 1-0.

Nolan Maier has stopped 69-of-70 shots fired his way the last two games.

    The Raiders held a 22-12 edge in shots on goal to that point in the contest.

    “I think that is playoff hockey,” said Maier. “They get pucks everywhere right away.
    “They’ve been doing that since the regular season, so that is nothing new. That is kind of how they have been playing forever. It has been good to get used to.”

    In Game 3 on Tuesday at the SaskTel Centre, Maier made 26 saves in a 1-0 shutout victory over the Raiders.

    While he has found his groove, Maier always ensures to pass along credit to the Blades blue-liners. He is thankful for the work the regulars do in Dawson Davidson, Brandon Schuldhaus, Nolan Kneen, Reece Harsch, Emil Malysjev and Aidan De La Gorgendiere along with Majid Kaddoura when he is substituted in.

Nolan Maier tracks the puck from his goal.

    “We have a lot of guys that have been playing a lot of minutes back there, and I can’t thank them enough,” said Maier, who stands 6-feet and weighs 172 pounds. “They’ve been awesome, and they’ve been blocking shots for me and kind of getting it out.

    “When they are tired and we have those lulls in our zone, I have to be there.”
    Maier’s play hasn’t gone unnoticed by his teammates. Blades overage right-winger Max Gerlach said Maier has been instrumental to the success the Blades have had.

    “I think Nolan (Maier) has been playing his best hockey right now which is what we are going to need to win a championship,” said Gerlach. “Obviously, you can’t say enough about him.

    “He is an unbelievable goalie. He hasn’t been getting the credit that he should. He is probably one of the best goalies in the nation.

    “He’s our backbone, and we are definitely lucky to have him.”

Nolan Maier turns aside a shot in the Blades win on Wednesday.

    In his 53 regular season appearances, Maier posted a 36-10-6 record, a 2.64 goals against average, a .910 save percentage and four shutouts.

    Thanks to Maier’s play, the Blades were able to finish fourth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 45-15-8 record and earned honourable mention status in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    In the post-season, Maier has posted a 6-2 record, a 2.15 goals against average, a .927 save percentage and one shutout.
    He has kept the Raiders at bay, and the Raiders haven’t exactly been playing bad. They have put forward an effort that allowed them to finish first overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record and be rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    They have received solid goaltending from their star netminder in Ian Scott as well.

Nolan Maier focuses on action down the ice.

    “That is the way it is,” said Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid. “It is playoff hockey.

    “Their goalie played good. He probably stole two. We’re getting shots, we’re getting the chances, we’re playing the right way (and) we’re not giving up much.

    “We just have to find a way to score more goals.”

    Habscheid said his coaching staff has to ensure the confidence of their players stays up. He thought his squad did a number of things right in Game 4.
    The veteran bench noted some breaks went against his team too like early in the second period when a loose puck sat in front of the goal-line of the Saskatoon net.
    The puck was cleared away by Blades import right-winger Kristian Roykas-Marthinsen.

    “We went to the net a lot more,” said Habscheid. “We were more resilient.

    “I thought we were more determined. I’ve been around the game enough sometimes the puck will go to the goal-line and sit there. Instead of going in it goes out.

Nolan Maier, left, is hugged by backup goalie Dorrin Luding.

    “You get those. You can’t explain it. Hockey god even things out, so we will wait for Friday.”

    Blades head coach Mitch Love said Maier stole Wednesday’s game and has been a primetime performer.

    “I would say he did a real good job of that,” said Love. “He gave us a chance to win.

    “That is what goalies jobs are to do this time of year. Hopefully, he can continue to do that.”

    Maier and the Blades now face the daunting task of trying to win a game in Prince Albert. Between the regular season and playoffs, the Blades have won four out of the six encounters at the SaskTel Centre, but they have failed to post a victory in six games at the Art Hauser Centre.
    Maier said his team has taken note they held a 2-0 lead in Game 2 of the series in Prince Albert on Sunday before the Raiders scored once in the final 20 seconds of the second period and twice in the opening 2:11 of the third frame.
    “No matter what, we have to win in their barn,” said Maier. “I think that is just our goal is focusing on Friday and see what the outcome is.

Nolan Maier sends a stick to the fans after being named a game star.

    “I think we learned from Game 2. We can play in that rink. We know we can.

    “I think it is just kind of holding that lead for the full game and not kind of letting them have momentum, so their crowd can get into it and kind of just let them roll. I think if we just hold them back and kind of play good situational hockey like our coaches have been stressing all year then we will be fine.”

    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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