Number retirement fitting honour for Blades’ Wouters

Chase Wouters signs autographs for young fans in March of 2019.

In a final Zoom post-game press conference, general manager and president Colin Priestner ensured his outgoing captain Chase Wouters had a top tier moment with the Saskatoon Blades.

On Wednesday, Wouters had just helped the Blades down the Brandon Wheat Kings 5-2 in a contest that closed a shortened developmental WHL regular season for both sides. The Blades and Wheat Kings were two of seven clubs that participated in the WHL East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina, Sask.

The shortened season and the bubble in Regina were all brought on due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

Chase Wouters played in 280 career WHL regular season games.

Wouters, who is well known as one of the WHL’s best men in the faceoff circle, had the winning goal, an assist, was a plus-three in the plus-minus department and won 19-of-32 faceoffs that night. That win over Brandon was the 21-year-old centre’s final game in the WHL.

After media members fired questions Wouters way during a post-game Zoom press conference, Priestner jumped in at the end to deliver a career highlight to the product of Lloydminster, which is a centre that sits on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

“I’m so proud of you,” said Priestner. “You embody everything we want in a Blade.

“I want you to be the first to know that nobody is going to ever wear number forty-four for this club again. We can do ceremonies and stuff in later years. As far as I’m concerned, forty-four belongs to you for not only what you did on the ice but off the ice for our community, for the fans and for everybody.

Chase Wouters (#44) battles for the puck as a rookie in 2016-17.

“I couldn’t be more proud of you. I wish I was there to give you a big hug.”

Priestner thanked Wouters for everything he did for the team.

Wouters fought back tears in giving a response.

“Thanks Colin, I appreciate all the words,” said Wouters. “It was just an honour being drafted here when I was 14 there.

“It is just crazy how fast time flies by. I know we all wish we could be together right now.”

Chase Wouters on a rush as a rookie in 2016-17.

Wouters’s #44 will be the sixth number the Blades have retired in their history. The numbers the Saskatoon side has retired include the #7 of Brent Ashton and Gerry Pinder, #10 of Brian Skrudland, #12 of Bob Bourne, #15 of Bernie Federko and #22 of Wendel Clark.

It is a fitting tribute by the Blades to Wouters to retire his #44. Since being selected by the Blades in the first round and 19^th overall way back in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft, Wouters has been the perfect player you want representing the Blades on and off the ice.

Besides being talented on the ice, it doesn’t take you long to see he was raised well by his parents in father, Scott, and his mother, Janice. It would be safe to add in that older sister, Ally, played a role too in helping Chase become a humble, polite and classy young man.

Scott, Janice and Ally provided an outstanding support system for Chase.

Chase Wouters has been the Blades longest serving captain holding that role since the beginning of the 2018-19 campaign. On the ice, he has been perfect in that role as he never gets too high with the highs or too low with the lows.

Chase Wouters in action in 2017-18.

He always has a steady emotional tone, and that helps his teammates to not get too rattled when adversity hits during a game. During times that need a little extra emotional kick, Wouters is able to bring that kick when it is needed.

Off the ice, Wouters has seeming done every community appearance the Blades have asked of him. The Blades could have let Wouters permanently keep the team’s community service award and likely no one would put up an argument.

Wouters tenure will always be remembered for the time the Blades rose back to being one of the WHL’s better teams and for being the captain when the club entered these crazy COVID-19 pandemic times.

When Wouters was drafted by the Blades, they were still in the midst of a major rebuild from making a major trade to acquire Brayden Schenn in the 2010-11 season and making a number of deals to strengthen the team’s roster to host the Memorial Cup tournament in May of 2013.

The team also went through an ownership change following the 2012-13 campaign, when Jack Brodsky sold the club to Mike Priestner. Colin, who is Mike’s son, joined the team immediately as a minority owner and managing partner and became general manager before Wouters rookie campaign in 2016-17.

Chase Wouters jets up ice as a sophomore in 2017-18.

Wouters first two campaigns marked the first times in the rebuild that the Blades had a legitimate shot to make the playoffs. A late season slump in each of those campaigns saw the Blades just miss qualifying for the post-season having fallen out of a playoff position in March.

A day after the Blades season ended in March of 2018, Colin Priestner made a coaching change removing Dean Brockman as head coach and hired Mitch Love to fill the head coach role in May of 2018.

Even with the disappointments of missing the playoffs in 2017 and 2018 and the Blades going through a change at the head coach position, Wouters kept focused on controlling what he could control and continued to work to get better.

It would be human for Wouters to have some frustrations, but if he did have them, he didn’t show them. He handled himself professionally over that time period.

Chase Wouters became the Blades captain in September of 2018.

That likely caught the eye of Priestner and Love as Wouters was named captain before the start of the 2018-19 campaign, which turned into a dream season for the Blades.

In 2018-19, the Blades finished fourth overall in the WHL with a 45-15-8 record and made the post-season for the first since 2013. From wire to wire in 2018-19, the Blades were one of the WHL’s elite teams.

As the Blades continued to experience various successes they hadn’t seen in some time, Wouters didn’t get too high with the highs. With that said, he seemed to enjoy watching his teammates take in all the positives along with the Blades coaches, management and staff.

Chase Wouters (#44) and Max Gerlach (#9) enjoy an OT win.

Shortly after becoming captain, Wouters often displayed a best buddy type relationship with his teammates, and he seemed to soak in talking way more about his teammates than himself. Overall, the Blades had a great vibe.

In the Blades first post-season game of 2019, Wouters had a big highlight moment on the ice scoring the overtime winner on a backhand shot to give his Blades a 3-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. 

The crowd of 5,193 spectators at the SaskTel Centre was super engaged in that contest, and the noise they made on that overtime winner made you think the building was full that night.

You could tell in the eyes of the Blades players that this playoff thing was pretty cool. 

Chase Wouters celebrates a goal in January of 2019.

They would sweep the Warriors 4-0 in that best-of-seven opening round series.

The only problem for the Blades that season was the fact their arch-rivals in the Prince Albert Raiders were enjoying one of their best campaigns ever. 

The Raiders topped the WHL standings with a 54-10-2-2 record, and they faced the Blades in the second round of the playoffs due to the fact both clubs play out of the same division.

The rivalry between the sides fired up to new heights during that campaign. 

Janice, left, and Scott Wouters cheer a playoff goal from son, Chase.

The best-of-seven series was tied 2-2 after four intense contests.

The Raiders were just a little bit deeper and better and hit the gas to win the next two contests to take the series 4-2. Prince Albert moved on to capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions.

After going through a little bit more off-season player turnover than expected including losing star centre Kirby Dach to the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, Wouters led the Blades through what became a reloading year.

The Blades improved steadily as the 2019-20 campaign went on and had a second consecutive playoff berth clinched with a 34-24-2-3 record before the season was halted and the rest of the campaign was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chase Wouters recorded 75 goals and 106 assists with the Blades.

With all the players in the WHL sent home, Wouters often took part in doing videos for the Blades social media channels offering positive vibes to fans and showing how he was training back in Lloydminster.

As the players seemed to wait and wait to see if there would be a campaign in 2020-21, Wouters stayed even emotionally as best he could and on course with his training.

When the Blades were confirmed to play a 24-game regular season in a bubble environment in Regina in March and April, Wouters returned for a last tour. 

He appeared in 21 games collecting 10 goals, 12 assists, a plus-12 rating and won 310-of-559 faceoffs.

The Blades finished third in the East Division with a 16-5-2-1 record to sit two points behind the second place Winnipeg Ice (18-5-1) and three points behind the division winning Brandon Wheat Kings (18-4-2).

Chase Wouters (#44) was well known for his faceoff skills.

Including two games he played as an associate player call up in February of 2016, Wouters appeared in 280 career regular season games with the Blades collecting 75 goals, 106 assists and a plus-22 rating.

It seem right that his final goal would be a game winner that came from tipping home a point shot from defenceman Rhett Rhinehart after winning an offensive zone faceoff clean back to Rhinehart. Wouters goal gave the Blades a 3-2 lead over the Wheat Kings with 1:22 remaining in the second period.

The Blades scored twice in the third to cement a 5-2 victory.

After Wouters sent appreciation Priestner’s in that final post-game Zoom press conference for the number retirement announcement, Priestner wrapped up the night perfectly with some great vibes sent back in Wouter’s direction.

Chase Wouters enjoys his playoff OT winner on March 22, 2019.

“I know everybody is thinking of you,” said Priestner. “You represented us so proudly and with class.

“You’re going to have a great career and a great and a great life ahead of you. Just keep doing what you are doing, because we are all so proud of you.”

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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WHLers storm on to Canada’s world junior team roster

Guhle, Schneider and WHL alum Dach to chase gold medal

Kaiden Guhle in action for the Raiders last season.

In world juniors that will be like no other, fans of the WHL will have lots of reasons to watch Canada chase a second straight gold medal.

On Friday, Hockey Canada announced its 25-player roster for the world junior tournament, which will run in a hub city bubble format from Dec.25 to Jan. 5, 2021 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alta. Teams are slated to arrive in Edmonton on Sunday and quarantine for five days before beginning practices on Dec. 18.

The hub city bubble format is being used due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

Team Canada is wrapping up selection camp activities in Red Deer, Alta. The Canadian team roster that will play in Edmonton contains nine current WHL players and one WHL alum, who was loaned to the Canadian side by an NHL team.

Kirby Dach, who is a centre with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, was the WHL alum that was loaned to Team Canada. Dach was a star with the Saskatoon Blades from 2016 to 2019 before being selected in the first round and third overall by the Blackhawks in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

The 19-year-old Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., product appeared in 64 regular season games with the Blackhawks last season posting eight goals, 15 assists and a minus-one rating in the plus-minus department.  

Kirby Dach in action for the Blades in 2018-19.

Dach, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 200 pounds, suited up for nine post-season games with the Blackhawks recording one goal, five assists and a plus-three rating.

Due to the NHL playoffs being conducted in a hub city format, Dach is the only player on the Canadian roster who has experience with what his team is going to deal with. The Blackhawks played all of their games in the last NHL post-season in Edmonton.

Defenceman Bowen Byram of the Vancouver Giants and centre Dylan Cozens from the Lethbridge Hurricanes are part of the group of six returnees from Canada’s gold medal winning entry at the last world juniors, which were held in Ostrava in the Czech Republic. Both are in their 19-year-old junior seasons.

Byram, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 197 pounds, appeared in 50 regular season games with the Giants last season posting 14 goals, 38 assists and a plus-19 rating. Cozens, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 198 pounds, suited up for 51 regular season games with the Hurricanes last season recording 38 goals, 47 assists and a plus-23 rating.

Braden Schneider in action for the Wheat Kings last season.

Kaiden Guhle, who is an 18-year-old defenceman for the Prince Albert Raiders, is one of the many newcomers to the Canadian side. He appeared in 64 regular season games last season posting 11 goals, 29 assists and a plus-23 rating.

Guhle, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 209 pounds, has past international experience playing in Hockey Canada’s program. 

He was a captain for Canada Red at the 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, where he picked up three assists in six games. That event was held in Quispamsis and Saint John, New Brunswick.

He was an alternate captain for Canada’s silver medal winning team at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he posted one assist in five games. That event was played in Breclav in the Czech Republic and Piestany in Slovakia.

Joining Guhle on the back end is Prince Albert product Braden Schneider, who is 19-year-old defenceman with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Schneider, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 207 pounds, appeared in 60 regular season games with the Wheat Kings last season recording seven goals, 35 assists and a plus-nine rating.

Kaedan Korczak in action for the Rockets last season.

Also suiting up on the blue-line is Yorkton, Sask., product Kaedan Korczak, who is a 19-year-old defenceman with the Kelowna Rockets. 

Korczak, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 192 pounds, suited up for 60 regular season games for the Rockets last season posting 11 goals, 38 assists and a plus-seven rating.

Saskatoon product Connor Zary, who stands 6-feet and weighs 177 pounds, is the final player with Saskatchewan ties to earn a spot on Canada’s roster. 

Zary, who is a 19-year-old centre with the Kamloops Blazers, appeared in 57 regular season games last season recording 38 goals, 48 assists and a plus-30 rating.

Rounding out the WHL player representation on the Team Canada roster is 19-year-old centre Peyton Krebs of the Winnipeg Ice, 18-year-old goaltender Dylan Garand of the Blazers and 19-year-old netminder Taylor Gauthier of the Prince George Cougars.

Blades head coach Mitch Love, Blades assistant coach Tyler Dietrich and Giants head coach Michael Dyck will all serve as assistant coaches for Canada. Moose Jaw Warriors general manager Alan Millar is part of Team Canada’s management group.

Connor Zary in action for the Blazers last season.

Calgary Hitmen assistant and goaltending coach Jason LaBarbera is the goaltending coach for Canada. Edmonton Oil Kings head athletic therapist Brian Cheeseman is a therapist for the Canadian side.

In these crazy times, Friday’s roster announcement for Team Canada was an upbeat day for Canadian fans who follow world juniors. No matter what wrenches get thrown into the event from the COVID-19 front, Canadians will tune into world juniors in droves, especially when Canada is playing.

With numerous parts of Canada observing stricter lockdown measures through the Christmas season, world juniors should have quite the captive audience.

If Canada repeats as a gold medal winner, you can expect an outpouring from joy from Canadian fans on Jan. 5, 2021. For fans of the WHL, a Canadian gold medal win at this would junior tournament will feel that much more sweet.

NHL all about speculation, other notes

A Brayden Point card.

If you follow all the speculation that is swirling around the NHL right now, you would probably not get anything else done your day-to-day life.

As the days of December 2020 drift away, it becomes more obvious that the NHL isn’t going to begin its upcoming season on its original targeted start date of Jan. 1, 2021. The continuing surge of new COVID-19 cases in Canada and the United States will likely see certain to that.

With the initial rollouts of COVID-19 vaccines to come in a limited form, the world in North America is still several months away from returning to normal.

It was announced on Friday the closer of the border between Canada and the United States for all non-essential travel currently goes to Jan. 21, 2021.

Most areas of Canada are observing stricter restrictions and lockdowns to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. Some areas of the United States have brought in stricter COVID-19 restrictions too.

If Canadian NHL teams were supposed to hold training camps to prepare for a Jan. 1, 2021 start, players from outside the country would already have to be arriving in Canadian cities to quarantine for 14 days.

So far, the NHL hasn’t officially announced any new plans. That has lead to lots of speculation.

So what might the upcoming NHL season look like?

On Tuesday, Frank Seravalli of TSN said that outlet’s sources have said the NHL’s targeted start date is now Jan. 13, 2021 with a 56-game regular season. The start date and regular season length haven’t been confirmed, but they seem to be reasonable expectations.

On Tuesday during an online interview with The Maccabi USA Sports Show, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said realignment would likely be necessary because of travel restrictions between Canada and the United States.

“There are a lot of things we have to do to return to play,” said Bettman. “For us to return to play, we’re not going to play 82 games, obviously, and we have travel issues because of the restrictions at the border between Canada and the U.S.

“You can’t go back and forth, so we’re actually going to have to realign. If everything stays the way it is, we’re probably going to have to have a Canadian division and realign in the U.S., and we’re trying to focus on dealing with all of those challenges.”

The nugget of a Canadian division has many NHL fans in Canada in an excited frenzy.

It wasn’t that long ago when the Tampa Bay Lightning captured their second Stanley Cup title with a 2-0 Game 6 championship series win over the Dallas Stars in the hub city of Edmonton on Sept. 28. That contest officially concluded the 2019-20 NHL campaign that had a wrench thrown into it due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sports media outlets in Canada can have a field day with all the speculation. The crew at The Rod Pedersen Show in Regina, Sask., must loved the fact they have this as one of many subjects to endlessly talk about.

 NHL fans might be best to take a “they will play when they play” approach. They should avoid spending too much time dwelling on all the possibilities.

• On Wednesday, I went live with a new piece on the Howe Happening blog, which supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I wrote an introductory piece to the sport of Nordic skiing thanks to the help of the Saskatoon Nordic Ski Club. That piece can be found by clicking right here.
• On Wednesday, I put together a post of the coolest and sweetest photos of construction projects taking played at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex taken by operations manager Johnny Marciniuk. Marciniuk can take the bulk of the credit for the work there. That post can be found by clicking right here.
• On Thursday, Planet S Magazine announced its results in its annual “Best of Saskatoon” contest. People can vote for the city’s best in various categories. Pat McKay of CTV Saskatoon was voted Best Sports Reporter. It was a cool nod as McKay has been a general assignment news reporter who does some sports stories since returning to CTV Saskatoon early in the year from CTV Winnipeg as a sports reporter. Due to the restructuring of CTV across Canada, that media outlet has very few just dedicated sports reporters. Before leaving for a short stint in Winnipeg, McKay had a great run as a sports reporter at CTV Saskatoon, when there was a dedicated sports reporter spot there. Knowing the public has fond memories of McKay’s work as a sports reporter, could CTV Saskatoon bring back that type of dedicated position for him? As the old cliché goes, this might be a case of giving viewers what they want. They have spoken with their votes.

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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Dach gets sweet gift with Team Canada WJC selection camp

Kirby Dach in action with the Blades in January of 2019.

It appears the opportunity to play for Canada at the world junior hockey championships will likely unfold for Kirby Dach, and that is a good thing.

At first, it appeared the 19-year-old Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., product wouldn’t ever get the chance to play at a world juniors, because the skilled centre progressed too quickly when it came to playing the game of hockey.

During the 2018-19 campaign, Dach had a spectacular 17-year-old sophomore campaign with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades posting 25 goals, 48 assists and a plus-15 rating in the plus-minus department in 62 regular season games.

He added five goals and three assists appearing in all 10 of the Blades games in the 2019 WHL playoffs.

Thanks to those efforts, Dach, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 197 pounds, was selected in the first round and third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Blackhawks going into last season.

He progressed well enough through summer that he was able to crack the Blackhawks roster as an 18-year-old rookie. Dach played regular minutes with the Blackhawks appearing in 64 regular season games recording eight goals, 15 assists and a minus-one rating.

The Blackhawks deemed Dach to be so valuable that they didn’t make him available to Canada for the world junior championship tournament played in Ostrava in the Czech Republic in the 2019-20 season. Canada captured the gold medal downing Russia 4-3 in the tournament final played on Jan. 5.

Kirby Dach made the NHL last season as an 18-year-old rookie.

With the NHL targeting January 1, 2021 as the opening day for the start of the upcoming season, the Blackhawks announced on Thursday that Dach was being loaned to Hockey Canada for the upcoming world juniors, which are slated to run Dec. 25, 2020 to January 5, 2021 in a bubble format at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alta.

Dach is one of 47 players who will take part in the selection camp for Canada’s world junior team that will start on Nov. 16 in Red Deer and run for 28 days to Dec. 13. Players will begin living in a bubble environment when they arrive in camp on Nov. 16 and won’t leave that environment until the world juniors wrap up on Jan. 5, 2021.

The bubble environment is being utilized due to the fact the world is firmly in the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Canadian selection camp itself is closed to the public and the media due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Had the world unfolded like normal, Dach likely wouldn’t have been made available for world juniors.

Going into that event, Dach will have experience on his side. He suited up with the Blackhawks as part of the NHL’s modified post-season played in the hub cities of Toronto and Edmonton in August and September.

The Blackhawks played exclusively in Edmonton winning a best-of-five qualification series against the host Oilers 3-1 before falling in five games in a best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final series to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Dach appeared in all of the Blackhawks nine post-season games posting one goal, five assists and a plus-three rating.

It will not be a new experience for Dach when it comes to living in a bubble environment. In the current day, players are more connected to each other than ever thanks to social media, and other attendees at the camp will be able to talk to Dach about his bubble environment experiences.

Kirby Dach is in Hockey Canada’s plans for world juniors.

While suiting up in the NHL is the ultimate dream for hockey players growing up in Canada, another ultimate dream of playing for Canada at world juniors.

At the moment, Dach will get to revisit the ultimate dream of playing for Canada. Back in August of 2018, Dach helped Canada win gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup held jointly at Rogers Place in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta.

Dach had two goals and five assists playing in all of Canada’s five games at that event. He played at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup along with Blades teammate in netminder Nolan Maier and with Blades head coach Mitch Love on the Canadian team staff as an assistant coach.

The Hlinka Gretzky Cup is a best-versus-best tournament featuring the top national teams in the world in the under-18 age group.

Back in November of 2017, both Dach and Maier played for Canada Black at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge held jointly in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, B.C. Dach had a goal and six assists in five games at that event.

At this year’s world junior selection camp for Hockey Canada, Dach will be reunited with Love, who will serve as an assistant coach for Canada for the second straight year.

For a short time, Dach will be back with his age group and will likely get an opportunity to be a leader amongst that group. That group includes 15 invitees from the WHL.

The invitees include offensive-defenceman Kaiden Guhle of the Prince Albert Raiders along with Prince Albert product and Brandon Wheat Kings offensive defenceman Braden Schneider.

Kirby Dach helped Canada win gold at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

A pair of Saskatoon products from the WHL received invites in centre Connor Zary from the Kamloops Blazers and left-winger Adam Beckman from the Spokane Chiefs. Beckman topped the WHL in scoring last season piling up 48 goals and 59 assists for 107 points to go with a plus-44 rating in 63 regular season games.

Left-winger Alexis Lafreniere, who is slated to be with the NHL’s New York Rangers on a full-time basis this coming season, might still be added the selection camp roster too.

Of course, the spectre of the COVID-19 pandemic hangs over this event, and there is still a chance world juniors might not happen.

Still at this moment in time, Dach is on a path to skate for Canada at world juniors and realize a dream he had watching the event annually over the Christmas season growing up. It is a dream he should every chance to make a reality, if world events allow it.

SMF high school academy league shines, other notes

Daniel Wiebe (#5) runs the ball for Team Green 1.

The fall Northern Sask Academy League was good, like really good.

Back in August when the Saskatoon Secondary Schools Athletic Directorate cancelled high school football for the city due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Saskatoon Minor Football stepped in to fill the void. SMF signed up high school aged players from Grades 10 to 12 for the fall North Saskatchewan Academy.

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team ran some high school programming too, but SMF was hoping to get in some games likely under a six-man format.

For about the past month and a half, SMF held games in league play through the fall Northern Sask Academy League. The players that signed up for the high school academy were split into six teams for league games, which were play in 12-versus-12 format.

The league ended up being a best-versus-best circuit from the Saskatoon high school ranks. The level of play at the games that took place at Saskatoon Minor Football Field was outstanding.

The circuit wrapped up with a trio of games on Wednesday night. Team Green 1 got past Team Black 35-28, Team White downed Team Blue 22-8 and Team Yellow slipped by Team Green 2 by score of 25-13.

Toryn Swystun-Bernes (#77) locks in a block for Team Blue.

The league saw numerous players make big plays including running backs Kayden Miller and Daniel Wiebe, linebacker Zach Zary and Toryn Swystun-Bernes, who played both offensive and defensive line.

It seemed like the big plays that were made felt that much bigger, because the level of play felt like it was a step up from regular high school football.

If you were able to watch the streamed broadcasts over SMF’s Facebook site, you could tell the SMF crew did a fantastic job with the game presentation. At the park, the public address announcing and the music that played between breaks and after scores was spot on.

The crew with SMF deserve a tonne of credit for making this league happen during these COVID-19 pandemic times, and the level of play from the circuit was beyond what anyone could imagine.

The fall Northern Sask Academy League games were definitely the gem of the Saskatoon sports scene during the fall months this year.

• On Monday, the sports scene in Edmonton and nationally had a somber day with the passing of 57-year-old Joey Moss, who was a dressing room attendant for the NHL’s Oilers and the CFL’s Edmonton Football Club. Moss, who had Down syndrome since birth, had been with both teams since the mid 1980s and became an institution in Edmonton’s sports scene.
• On Monday, David Braley, who was the owner of the CFL’s British Columbia Lions, passed away at age 79 after battling an undisclosed long term illness. Braley had previously owned the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts. He first got involved with the CFL in 1987 as the Tiger-Cats owner. He was credited with playing a big part in keeping the CFL alive in tough times. On Thursday, 3DownNation reported Braley put aside a substantial amount of money in his will to fund the Lions for several seasons in the future if need be.
• On Tuesday, three members of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders were named to NHL Central Scouting’s “Players to Watch” list. Defenceman Nolan Allan was given a ‘B’ rating, while defenceman Landon Kosior and netminder Carter Serhyenko were given ‘C’ ratings.
• On Tuesday, centre Colton Dach from the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades was named to NHL Central Scouting’s “Players to Watch” list. He was given a “C” rating.
• On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series downing the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 in Game 6 of the best-of-seven series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The Dodgers took the set 4-2. The media eyes focused on the fact Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner was pulled from the game after the seventh inning, when he was notified he tested positive for COVID-19. Turner returned to the field to celebrate victory with his teammates and posed for a team photo without a facemask. On Wednesday, the commissioner’s office of the MLB said it was investigating Turner for his actions in returning to the field for victory celebrations. The MLB dodged a bullet with the Dodgers winning Tuesday’s game to end the 2020 MLB campaign. Had the Rays won, a series deciding Game 7 may not have been held on Wednesday. It will be interesting to see of initial uproar of Turner returning to the field after his positive COVID-19 test will have any staying power as the MLB off-season motors on.
• On Wednesday, the Kansas City Mavericks of the ECHL announced they had signed University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team goalie Taran Kozun. The 26-year old Kozun appeared in 22 regular season games with the Huskies last season posting a 17-3-2 record, a 1.87 goals against average, a .931 save percentage and five shutouts. He also scored a goal. Kozun backstopped the Huskies to a Canada West Conference championship and was named the U Sports play of the year and goaltender of the year. He also took home honours as the Canada West player of the year and goaltender of the year.
• On Wednesday, the National Lacrosse League announced it was targeting to start its upcoming regular season and 35^th campaign on the weekend of April 9 to 11, 2021.
• On Wednesday, golf legend Jack Nicklaus put out a tweet endorsing to re-elect Donald Trump as president of the United States. On Friday, Nicklaus told Tom D’Angelo of The Palm Beach Post he believed the number of deaths due to COVID-19 being reported in the United States are inflated. On Friday, hockey icon Bobby Orr took out a full page ad in the New Hampshire Union Leader endorsing Trump’s re-election bid. Both Nicklaus and Orr are taking major heat for their stands, while being defended by Trump supporters. While both Nicklaus and Orr are free to vote and endorse who they like, they aren’t immune from the fact that the easiest way for a sports figure to take a hit in their prestige is to say something about the world of politics.  
• On Thursday, the Clemson University Tigers football team in the top level of the NCAA ranks announced star quarterback Trevor Lawrence has tested positive for COVID-19. He will not be available for today’s game when the Tigers (6-0) host the Boston College Eagles (4-2). Lawrence is predicted to be the top pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, if he chooses to leave university early. He is viewed as a favourite to win the Heisman Trophy as the top player in NCAA football.
• On Thursday, the OHL announced it plans to start its upcoming regular season on Feb. 4, 2021. Originally, the OHL had targeted to start its regular season on Dec. 1. The shortened regular season will consist of 40 games. The playoff field for the OHL will be shrunk from 16 teams to eight teams. The first round will be a best-of-five format and the second and third rounds will be best-of-seven series. The Memorial Cup tournament to determine a CHL champion is slated to start June 17, 2021 in either Oshawa or Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. The WHL is planning to start its regular season on January 8, 2021. The QMJHL began its regular season on Oct. 1, but eight teams in the province of Quebec still won’t be playing this weekend being located in what the provincial government there terms are “red zones” due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
• On Friday, the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades added 36-year-old Tyler Dietrich as a new assistant coach. Dietrich played centre in the WHL from 2000 to 2005 with the Moose Jaw Warriors, Medicine Hat Tigers and Everett Silvertips appearing in 133 regular season games collecting 31 goals and 47 assists. He has been coaching for the last 20 years and led Hockey Canada’s video coaching program for the last four seasons. Dietrich comes aboard as 36-year-old assistant coach Ryan Keller has made the decision to scale back his responsibilities with the team to spend more time with his family. He will remain with the Blades as a skills and development coach.
• On Friday, the Government of Manitoba announced a one day record of 480 new COVID-19 cases for the province. Manitoba’s capital city of Winnipeg was moved to the red or critical level, which is the highest stage of pandemic response. Movie theatres, concert halls, sports facilities and restaurant dining rooms will be ordered to close starting Monday. The rest of Manitoba will move to the orange or restricted level starting Monday. The measures will be in place for at least two weeks. There have already been increased restrictions in recent weeks in Ontario and Quebec as COVID-19 case numbers rise. As COVID-19 case numbers continue to rise in the rest of Western Canada, it would be wise to expect more restrictions could be coming down the line. That isn’t being typed to create fear. It is just an education expectation after watching other jurisdictions in Canada. Also, everyone is operating on their own agendas, so it is easy to expect COVID-19 numbers will continue to go upwards.
• On Friday, Gregg Drinnan wrote in his Taking Note blog on Friday night all the havoc that is being caused in the sports scene in Winnipeg and Manitoba due to the incoming COVID-19 restrictions. 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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“Crank” up the party – Blades lock up playoff berth

Kyle Crnkovic celebrates his OT winner for the Blades on Friday.

    Kyle Crnkovic officially got the playoff party started for the Saskatoon Blades.

    On Friday night playing before 4,478 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades entered overtime locked in a 1-1 tie with the visiting Regina Pats. The host side went on the power play 29 seconds into the extra session, when Pats right-winger Riley Krane was given a minor penalty for tripping.

    Working on the power play, Crnkovic received a backdoor pass from linemate Tristen Robins by the right side boards in the offensive zone. Crnkovic quickly wired a shot on goal putting the puck in short side on Pats netminder Spencer Welke.

    The left-winger’s tally just 74 seconds into the extra session gave the Blades a 2-1 victory in the WHL regular season clash. 

Kyle Crnkovic came up clutch for the Blades on Friday.

    Saskatoon improved to 32-24-2-3 and officially locked up a berth in the WHL playoffs for the second straight year.
    “It felt like we were at like one (standings) point is all it took, and it felt like we were there forever,” said Crnkovic. “To have that now and secure a spot, now it is just trying to work our way up (the standings).

    “It is just trying to work our way up now and just keep playing hard.”

    The Blades had to battle through a tough break that went against them late in the third period. The hosts were nursing a 1-0 lead, and it looked that score would ultimately be the final result.

    With 43.5 seconds remaining in the third, a point shot from Pats defenceman Ryker Evans deflected up high into the air as a maze of bodies engulfed the crease area of the Saskatoon goal causing a net scramble.

Logan Nijhoff scores the late third period equalizer for the Pats.

    During the scramble, Krane ended up on top of Blades netminder Nolan Maier, and Maier’s catching glove got caught in Krane’s skate. When the puck came down, Pats left-winger Logan Nijhoff backhanded home the equalizer that forced a 1-1 tie.

    The officials went to a video review to determine if there was goaltender interference or incidental contact on the goalie to possibly disallow the goal but ruled Nijhoff’s tally was good.

    “There is not really much to say,” said Maier. “I don’t want to get too much into it.

Logan Nijhoff celebrates scoring the late third period equalizer for the Pats.

    “My glove was caught in his (Krane’s) skate and someone was on me and I couldn’t really move. The puck was able to find the back of the net. I like how the guys responded.

    “The guys were really positive on the bench. They were all awesome with me just trying to keep me under control and not kind of over think or get off my game. It is good.”

    Blades head coach Mitch Love was pleased with how his team bounced back after the Pats tied the game.

    “I thought our guys did a good job of resetting themselves, because it was a little emotional there at the end,” said Love. “I’ll be honest I wasn’t real thrilled with the call.

Tristen Robins picked up an assist on the Blades OT winning goal.

    “I had seen it and seen the overhead. It wasn’t just the incident. It was the few incidents leading up to it during the game that I felt like our goalie was being interfered with.

    “That is an argument for another day, but our guys stayed with it. We were composed. We earned that opportunity in overtime on the power play and got one past the young kid (Welke).”

    The Blades came out with good jump in the opening 20 minutes outshooting the Pats 16-11. With that noted, the Pats had the best scoring chance in the opening frame when left-winger Cole Dubinsky wired a shot off the post of the Saskatoon net.

    With 3:59 remaining in the second, the Blades took advantage of a positive bounce break. 

Spencer Welke makes one of his 37 saves in goal for the Pats.

    After the Pats coughed the puck up at their own blue-line, Blades rookie centre Colton Dach quickly fired home a shot from the right point that handcuffed Welke to give the host side a 1-0 edge.

    In the third, Robins had a huge chance to net an insurance goal for the Blades, but he fired a shot off the crossbar of the Regina goal.

    That set the stage for the dramatics at the end of the third period and overtime.

    Maier stopped 32 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Welke turned away 37 shots taking the overtime setback in his second career WHL start for the Pats as an associate player call-up.

    The Pats record moved to 21-33-5-2.

    Welke was playing for the Prince Albert Mintos, who have been eliminated from the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League playoffs. 

Nolan Maier (#73) held the fort in goal for the Blades.

    The Pats, who have been eliminated from contention for the WHL playoffs, have announced Welke will remain on their roster for the rest of their regular season schedule.

    The Pats were without their two regular goalies as Donovan Buskey is listed day-to-day with a hamstring injury, while Danton Belluk is out day-to-day with an upper body injury. The Pats had a backup goalie dressed and sitting on the bench who was not listed on the gamesheet.

    “Give the kid (Welke) credit over there,” said Love. “He is an AP goalie that played real well for them.

Ryker Evans controls the puck in the offensive zone for the Pats.

    “It was tight checking game on both sides, which has kind of been the season series so far.”

    Regina also scratched left-wingers Carter Massier with and upper body injury and Cole Carrier with an undisclosed ailment.

    Pats overage left-winger Robbie Holmes was sitting out the first of a four-game league imposed suspension, and right-winger Carter Chorney was sitting out the first of a three-game league imposed suspension. Holmes and Chorney were suspended for their actions in a melee that occurred at the end of a Pats 7-4 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors in Regina on Tuesday.

Colton Dach had the Blades first goal on Friday.

    Injuries were also piling up for the Blades. Overage defenceman Scott Walford is listed as day-to-day with an upper body injury and right-winger Randen Schmidt is also out with an upper body injury with his return timetable still to be determined.

    The Blades lost defenceman Rhett Rhinehart and right-winger Evan Patrician in Wednesday’s 4-3 setback at home to the Calgary Hitmen with undisclosed injuries.

    As a result, defenceman Marek Schneider, who is in his 16-year-old season, dressed for his sixth regular season game as an associate player call-up. Schneider was playing for the Mintos, and he is eligible to remain with the Blades for the rest of the 2019-20 campaign.

    Brandon Lisowsky, who is a 15-year-old left-winger, made his WHL regular season debut for the Blades. 

Nolan Kneen controls the puck for the Blades.

    The Blades selected Lisowsky in the first round and ninth overall in last year’s WHL Bantam Draft.

    Maier said the Pats always play his club hard and gave credit to Pats head coach Dave Struch for having his side ready.
    In their four head-to-head meetings this season, the Blades and Pats have gone to extra time three times and have each posted two wins.

    “That is just their culture in Regina,” said Maier. “Dave Struch is really committed to their hard work.

    “They give us a battle every night. It never changes with them. We know what we are going to get when we play the Regina Pats.

    “They just never quit, and they work hard all the time. That is all the credit to Dave Struch.”

    The two teams go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. from the Brandt Centre in Regina.

The Blades celebrate their overtime win on Friday.

    Love is expecting his club to be better in the second half of this weekend’s home-and-home series as opposed to last weekend’s home and home series against the Prince Albert Raiders.
    Last Friday, the Blades downed the Raiders 4-2 at the SaskTel Centre before getting dumped 3-0 one night later by the Raiders at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

    “We learned our lesson that way last weekend,” said Love. “That was mentioned to our group.

    “We have to make sure we remember what that was like. I think our start will be important in their building and just an opportunity to learn from last weekend. I’m intrigued to see where our team is at heading into tomorrow night.”

Ayres special guest at Blades Suits Up game

David Ayres, right, is pictured with a minor hockey team from Rosthern.

    The Saskatoon Blades brought in now famous NHL emergency backup goaltender David Ayres for their WHL Suits Up to Promote Organ Donation on Friday.

    Ayres became famous on February 22 for having to enter an NHL regular season game to play goal for the Carolina Hurricanes against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. After the Hurricanes starting and backup goalies were injured, the 42-year-old Ayres fulfilled his role as the emergency backup entering the contest in the second period with the visitors holding a 3-1 edge.

    He allowed goals on the first two shots he faced and turned away the next eight shots in a 6-3 victory for the Hurricanes. With that result, Ayres became the first emergency backup goaltender to earn an NHL win.
    At age 42 years and 194 days, he became the oldest goaltender to win his NHL regular season debut.

David Ayres, second from right, appears at the a ceremonial faceoff.

    He is the operations manager for the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, Ont., and is best known for being a Zamboni driver.

    Ayres had a kidney transplant in 2004, which has allowed him to live his life to the fullest.

    At the Blades Suits Up game, Ayres took part in the ceremonial faceoff before the contest, and he signed autographs during the first intermission. The line up to get his autograph was a lengthy one.

    For the Suits Up game, the Blades wore special Hockey Night in Canada themed jerseys and the coaches wore old school baby blue Hockey Night in Canada blazers. Blades play-by-play voice Les Lazaruk also wore one of the old school baby blue Hockey Night in Canada blazers.

    The jerseys and blazers were auctioned off in a blind auction.

    All the proceeds raised from Friday’s game will be donated to Saskatoon’s Kidney Foundation Branch.

Burtney gets WHL Distinguished Service Award

Bernie Burtney, right, receives a WHL Distinguished Service Award.

    Long time Saskatoon Blades off-ice official Bernie Burtney was named a recipient of the WHL Distinguished Service Award on Friday night.

    Burtney was presented with his award by WHL commissioner Ron Robison in a pre-game ceremony before Friday’s WHL regular season contest that saw the host Blades down the Regina Pats 2-1 in overtime.

    Burtney is currently the off-ice officials supervisor for the Blades, and he has said this will be his final season working Blades home games.

    For about the past 30 seasons, Burtney has become a key figure in the Blades off-ice game operations. He is responsible for scheduling, interviewing, hiring and management of all off-ice officials at Blades home games.

    Burtney has conducted himself in a professional manner going above and beyond the normal requirements for the voluntary role. He rarely misses a game and shows up to the rink well in advance to prepare.

    During his time workings Blades home games, Burtney has consistently provided a welcoming atmosphere for off-ice officials and makes sure all are briefed and ready to perform their duties on arrival.

    The WHL Distinguished Service Award was introduced back in 2004 and is presented annually to individuals who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes on behalf of WHL franchises. In doing so, those individuals have made an extraordinary contribution at the club and league level over an extended period.

    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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Robins rescues Blades

Breakout centre nets OT winner to thwart Warriors comeback

Tristen Robins (#11) celebrates his overtime winner.

    Tristen Robins stopped the Moose Jaw Warriors from getting out of Saskatoon with a big steal.
    On Sunday afternoon at the SaskTel Centre, the host Saskatoon Blades took a 3-1 lead in a WHL regular season contest into the third period over the visiting Warriors. Despite the fact the host side controlled most of the contest, the Warriors potted two early third period goals to force a 3-3 tie and ultimately overtime.

    With 49.1 seconds remaining in overtime, Robins deflected home a shot from linemate Kyle Crnkovic to deliver the Blades to a 4-3 victory before 3,687 spectators. The goal capped a three-point night for Robins, who had a pair of assists in regulation.

Tristen Robins had a goal and two assists for the Blades on Sunday.

    He was pumped to come through with the winner in overtime.

    “It is a little more dramatic getting it in the last minute,” said Robins. “It was for sure quite a rush.”

    Robins is having a breakout sophomore season leading the Blades in scoring posting 26 goals and 30 assists for 56 points to go with a plus-10 rating in the plus-minus department.

    The 18-year-old centre had two goals, two assists and a plus-four rating on Saturday when the Blades hammered the Warriors 8-2 in Moose Jaw.

    Blades head coach Mitch Love was pleased with how Robins played in Sunday’s win.

Tristen Robins leads the Blades in scoring this season.

    “He was good,” said Love. “When you watch him play hockey, when he is really moving his feet and he is skating, you know he is dialed in.

    “The puck touches offensively when his legs are moving seem to have a little more pop off his stick. He plays a lot of minutes for us. He seems to never run out of gas.

    “I thought him and Crnkovic were good tonight. They had a lot of jam. They were both the two guys that were out on the ice there along with (overage defenceman Scott) Walford in overtime that got us the win.”

    The Blades came out with a lot of jump at the start of Sunday’s contest. Just 2:05 into the first period, Saskatoon centre Evan Patrician got in close on the Moose Jaw goal on a rush down the right wing and snapped a shot past Warriors netminder Brock Gould to put the host side up 1-0.

Nolan Kneen played in his 300th WHL regular season game on Sunday.

    Shortly after that tally, Blades overage defenceman Nolan Kneen nailed Warriors right-winger Kade Runke with a big hit. Kneen, who started his WHL career with the Kamloops Blazers, was playing in his 300^th career WHL regular season game on Sunday, and he admits there are times he feels like the elder statesman.

    “My body is feeling it for sure,” said Kneen, who finished with a plus-one rating on Sunday. “It is not every day someone hits 300.

    “It is pretty special, and I am honoured to have that.”

    The hit parade continued a couple of minutes later when Czech import defenceman Radek Kucerik nailed Warriors centre Kyle Crosbie.

    Just when it seemed the Blades had all the momentum, the Warriors evened the score at 1-1 at the 7:47 mark of the opening frame. 

Ryder Korczak scored the equalizer for the Warriors in the third period.

    Warriors centre Garrett Wright fired home the equalizer from the front of the Saskatoon goal after receiving a pass from linemate Martin Lang from behind the Blades net.

    The Blades went back out in front 2-1 at the 11:39 mark of the opening frame, when Slovakian import right-winger Martin Fasko-Rudas blew home a setup pass from Robins for a power-play goal.

Gould closed the opening frame making a couple of big glove saves off Blades wingers Colton Dach and Riley McKay.

    The Warriors puck stopper did his best to keep his squad in the game as the Blades dominated played in the second period outshooting the visitors 14-5 in the frame.

Brock Gould makes one of his 44 saves in goal for the Warriors.

    With 1:21 remaining in the second and the two teams playing four-on-four hockey, the Blades picked up an insurance marker to go up 3-1 when Walford blew home his 11^th of the season from the top of the left faceoff circle in the Moose Jaw zone.

    Early in the third, the Warriors changed the game’s momentum in a big way. At the 5:04 mark of the frame, 18-year-old right-winger Logan Doust scored for the Warriors to cut the Blades lead to 3-2.

    Just 80 seconds after that tally, Doust sprung linemate Ryder Korczak on a breakaway, and the 17-year-old centre beat Blades netminder Koen MacInnes on a backhander to even the score at 3-3.

Scott Walford had a goal for the Blades on Sunday.

    “We find a way to do it to ourselves a lot of nights,” said Love. “If you look at the goals, we got really puck focused any time when pucks were behind our net and exposed the middle part of the rink in our own end.

    “If you look at the Korczak situation, we win a clean draw in the offensive end, and we need to get a puck to the net. We don’t elevate, and he (Doust) picks it off and goes. He (Korczak) is a good player, and he puts it in the back of your net.

    “We make life a lot harder on ourselves than we need to sometimes, but that being said they had 22 shots on net. I didn’t think we gave up a tonne of chances to them.”

    Shortly after the Warriors evened the score, Korczak broke down the left wing into the Blades zone on another dangerous rush, but MacInnes came up with a glove stop.

Evan Patrician had the Blades first goal on Sunday.

    That set the stage for the contest to go to overtime, where Robins netted his winner.

    “We gave up a couple of tough goals there in the defensive zone,” said Robins. “We’re just fortunate to get the bounce in overtime.”

    MacInnes stopped 19 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades (27-20-2-3). Gould turned away 44 shots to take the extra time setback in goal for the Warriors (12-34-3).

    The Blades return to action on Wednesday when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings (27-19-3-2) at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    The Warriors are back at it on Wednesday when they travel to Spokane to face the Chiefs.

    Love expects his squad will be in for a big battle against the Wheat Kings on Wednesday.

The Blades celebrate their overtime win on Sunday.

    “If you don’t have a good start against Brandon on home ice on Wednesday, we’re going to be in big trouble against that team,” said Love. “They play hard, they forecheck hard, they are physical, they have some skill and they are playing with some confidence and some swag right now themselves over the last month and a half.

    “We’re finding ourselves in a little bit of a fight here in the East Division. We are excited for that opportunity, and we’ll see what happens Wednesday.”

    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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    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.