Blades grad Shynkaruk would be great add to hockey Huskies

Jesse Shynkaruk (#14) celebrates scoring a goal for the Blades last season.

    Jesse Shynkaruk and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team would be a great match for each other, if that ultimately comes to pass.

    The 21-year-old centre exhausted his WHL eligibility last season playing for his hometown Saskatoon Blades. He had a breakout year netting career highs in goals (31), assists (25) and points (56) in 58 regular season games. Shynkaruk came through in the clutch as 10 of his tallies ended up being game winners.

    In his first three major junior seasons split between the Kamloops Blazers and Moose Jaw Warriors, Shynkaruk appeared in 196 regular season games recording 23 goals and 25 assists.

    Recently, Tyler Wawryk, who is the Blades manager of communications and community relations, caught up with Shynkaruk and inquired if the speedy forward was going to join the Huskies. Shynkaruk said he was one of three players battling for two spots on the Huskies.

    It would be great if both Shynkaruk and the Huskies could make things work out. Shynkaruk did so well last season with the Blades you almost wish he had one more season to play in the major junior ranks.

    With that said, a number of factors come into play when it comes to a major junior player joining a U Sports team. Thanks to two strong recruiting classes from the past two seasons, the Huskies have a fairly deep team. They came up just short of winning a Canada West title and dropped a 5-3 decision to the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds in the U Sports championship game.

    Shynkaruk, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 171 pounds, would bring a number of good intangibles to the Huskies. One is the fact he would likely really appreciate being on the team. Heading into training camp last season, Shynkaruk was without a major junior home after being released by the Warriors.

    Had he not made the Blades as a walk on player, the likelihood was high Shynkaruk’s time in major junior hockey would have been over.

Jesse Shynkaruk (#14) sets up for a scoring chance for the Blades.

    With the Blades, Shynkaruk rediscovered some of offensive touch from his final midget AAA season, when he netted 22 goals and 29 assists in 43 regular season games with the Saskatoon Contacts in the 2012-13 campaign. Shynkaruk helped the Blades make a serious push for a playoff berth.

    The Blades ultimately finished ninth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and five points back of a playoff berth with a 28-35-7-2 record. Shynkaruk became a fan favourite, and he was also a good representative for the team at community events.

    When the Blades were on the road, he consistently left a good impression with the media that worked in other WHL cities. That has to be viewed as impressive, because Shynkaruk doesn’t get to interact with media members in other WHL centres on a regular basis like he does with the media members in Saskatoon. He always left a good impression with the hometown media members as well.

    After his final home game on March 17 when the Blades downed the archrival Prince Albert Raiders 5-3, Shynkaruk gave a heartfelt final post-game press scrum to the media in attendance. From that press scrum, it was easy to tell Shynkaruk generally cared about what was going on.

    Under the WHL scholarship plan, Shynkaruk doesn’t have to play with a U Sports team to use the four years of paid post-secondary schooling he has earned. If he wanted to, he could just attend a post-secondary institution and focus just on classes.

    For every season a player plays in the WHL, that player receives a scholarship package that sees all his tuition, compulsory fees and textbooks paid for a school year. Shynkaruk has four school years of paid tuition, compulsory fees and textbooks to use.

    As it stands, Shynkaruk would be a great addition to the Huskies or any other U Sports team. The hometown fans have to hope he will wear the “green and white” in the fall.

Blades pump out Monday updates

    For a little over a month the Saskatoon Blades have been pumping out Monday updates on their website, and they have been pretty well done.

    Tyler Wawryk, who is the team’s manager of communications and community relations, has been crafting the updates. The writing part reflects a style you once saw in WHL notebooks, which were commonly produced in mainstream media outlet newspapers. With these outlets often being cut to one or two staffers, the WHL notebook is rarely seen these days.

    The Blades update gives a roundup of various happening with the team and the club’s alums. The notebook points are usually accompanied by graphics.

    With most mainstream outlets in Canada having undergone severe cuts, the pressure falls on teams like the WHL’s Blades to do more coverage on themselves through their own website and social media platforms. The same holds true for every high level competitive sports program in Canada that is not an NHL franchise.

    Ultimately, Canadian sports leagues need to follow the lead of NFL teams, which have been covering themselves on a league and individual franchise basis for at least two decades. The NFL was pretty much the first league that did a lot of media coverage on itself on the Internet in the late 1990s.

    While most to almost all Canadian elite sports teams or groups do not have anywhere near the money the NFL brings in, the cold reality is they have to cover themselves, if they want to have a bigger presence in the public. Fans will read and view what is posted.

    The Blades have done a good job in trying out different tweaks on their website and social media platforms. The Monday update is a nice addition. I imagine creating all this content makes Wawryk extremely busy, so here is hoping he can keep it up.

    The last Monday update can be round here.

Love the vintage look

The date for our home opener is set! Friday, September 22nd vs the @SCBroncos #RiseWithUs pic.twitter.com/MxFBQSDc2x

— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) June 26, 2017

    When the Saskatoon Blades put out their Twitter post announcing their home opener against the Swift Current Broncos, you had to love the graphic that contained the classic logos.

Braylon Shmyr looks to make a pass for the Blades.

    Actually during the off-season, the Blades have gone full out using their vintage blue and goal “Pac-Man” logo that was the team’s primary look through the 1980s and early 1990s. The team’s website was changed to use the retro blue and gold colour scheme as a primary look as well.

    The Blades have used the retro jerseys with the old “Pac-Man” logo as an alternate for some time. Among the team’s fans, that has always been the most popular look, and there has been a longing to make the retro jerseys the club’s full-time look once again.

    While official word hasn’t come yet, it seems with all the hints this will come to pass.

    Actually over the last decade, a number of pro teams in all sports and major junior teams have reverted to a past look, which has been received with a lot of praise. The Blades face one of those teams opening the regular season against the Broncos on Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    Before the start of the 2014-15 campaign, the Broncos ditched their black and blue modern looking jerseys for their classic blue, green and white look with the horseshoe, bucking bronco logo. The Broncos had this look when the franchise returned to Swift Current in 1986 after spending 12 seasons in Lethbridge. The switch to the retro look has been popular with Broncos fans.

Tyler Steenbergen zips into the offensive zone for the Broncos.

    This past season, the look was part of many pieces coming together for a Broncos revival. Other things that have powered the revival is the fact Sheldon Kennedy, who was the captain of the Broncos 1989 Memorial Cup winner, has been back to Swift Current a number of times in recent years and labelled as a real Canadian hero for his public work on the child advocacy front over the years.

    The small city also built a beautiful monument to remember players Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka and Brent Ruff who died in a team bus crash on Dec. 30, 1986.  The monument is located near the crash site on the outskirts of town.

    All of these things have come together to give the Broncos a new level of support the team likely hasn’t seen in some time. The Credit Union i-Plex, which is the Broncos home rink, was likely the loudest building in the WHL playoffs last season. Swift Current advanced to the second round and lost a heartbreaking seven-game series to the Regina Pats.

    It is always cool when a team brings a popular past look back into the future.

Brooks showing small guys can still play

Adam Brooks signed with the NHL’s Maple Leafs

    Recently graduated Regina Pats captain Adam Brooks had a moment which seemed at one point in time it might not come to pass.

    On Thursday, Brooks signed a three year NHL entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 21-year-old Winnipeg product was selected in the fourth round and 92^nd overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Leafs.

    Brooks graduated from the Pats as one of the club’s most beloved heart and soul players. Over five seasons, he played in 317 regular season games collecting 119 goals and 216 assists. His 335 career regular season points make him the 10^th all-time leading scorer in Pats history.

    The skilled centre stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 175 pounds, and for a while, it seemed like the NHL started drifting away from players that didn’t stand at least 6-feet in height and be at least 200 pounds in weight.

    Brooks topped the WHL in scoring as a 19-year-old in 2015-16 netting 38 goals and 82 assists playing in all 72 regular season games. Despite his stellar season and being arguably one of the top three forwards in the league, it was conceivable Brooks might not be drafted. The fact the Leafs picked him was a big milestone.

    He returned to Regina to captain the Pats as an overager collecting 43 goals and 87 assists to finish a point behind teammate Sam Steel for the WHL scoring lead. Brooks helped the Pats top the WHL’s overall standings at 52-12-7-1 and advance to the WHL Championship series, where they fell 4-2 in a best-of-seven set to the Seattle Thunderbirds.

    The fact Brooks signed NHL contract is another big milestone. With the Leafs having Mike Babcock as head coach, Brooks a real look to one day make the NHL.

    His story has to give confidence to other players that are short in stature. In this year’s NHL Entry Draft, the Edmonton Oilers selected Spokane Chiefs winger Kailer Yamamoto in the first round and 22^nd overall. Yamamoto, who turns 19 in September, stands 5-foot-7 and weighs 146 pounds. Despite being small, he piled up 42 goals and 57 assists in 65 regular season games this past season with the Chiefs, who are his hometown WHL team.

    The winger established himself as one of the WHL’s most exciting players. He might get to duplicate his accomplishments in the professional ranks one day.

Getting Semenko a piece of video history

Dave Semenko, back row centre, in an old Oilers team picture.

    The world let along the sport of hockey lost one of its best characters on Thursday when famed Edmonton Oilers enforcer Dave Semenko passed away from pancreatic cancer at age 59.

    I never met Semenko, but I was still sad to hear of his passing. I also got a chuckle remembering the various colourful interviews he did over the years.

    In a round-about way, I helped contribute indirectly of getting him a piece of hockey history. During my first year living in Medicine Hat cover the WHL’s Tigers in the 2004-05 campaign, I met former Tigers and Winnipeg Jets standout Morris Lukowich at an old timers’ charity game.

    I had a VCR copy of the last contest ever played in the history of the World Hockey Association, when the host Winnipeg Jets defeated the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the WHA title series to win the Avco Cup. Lukowich was a member of that winning Jets team.

    When I handed him the tape in order to get the cover autographed, he asked if that tape really had a copy of the game on it. I said it did, and he asked if I could mail him a copy of that tape to his place. I made a copy of that game and sent it to Lukowich.

    Later on that season, I ended up calling Lukowich for a throwback story for the Medicine Hat News. When the interview was done, we ended up talking about that tape. Lukowich thanked me for sending it to him.

    Having a few video machines at his place to use for coaching, Lukowich told me he made copies to send to all his former Jets teammates and coaches. He then told me he made a copy and sent it to Semenko, who was on that Oilers team that lost to the Jets.

    I laughed and couldn’t believe it. The Jets won that contest in a 7-3 romp at the old Winnipeg Arena, and I thought Lukowich might have been trying poke some fun at the legendary pugilist.

Lukowich laughed and said they were good friends. He added Semenko scored the final goal in that contest, which was the final goal ever in the history of the WHA. Lukowich thought it would be a nice keepsake.

    With that knowledge, I contributed to delivering a memory to Semenko about one of his historic hockey moments.

Huskies duo completes Banff Marathon

Congrats to @willowtree92 and @lilmisskittylik on completing the Banff Marathon 42.2 KM Full Marathon in a time of 4:25:30. pic.twitter.com/DAhapYUOXV

— UofS Women's Hockey (@HuskiesWHKY) June 21, 2017

    Lauren Zary and Kaitlin Willoughby showed their athletic prowess isn’t limited hockey, and they went to Banff to display that fact.

    Back on June 18, the pair completed the Banff Marathon. Zary, who just exhausted her eligibility with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team, crossed the finish line in four hours, 25 minutes and 30 seconds, and Willoughby, who is a star centre entering her final season with the Huskies, finished officially one second back of Zary.

    For anyone to complete a race that is 42.2 kilometres in length is impressive, so a big congratulations is passed on to the pair. Both Zary and Willoughby accomplished something most people in the world won’t do. As an added bonus, they did it in the scenic mountain terrain of Banff.

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

Can hockey Huskies roll again?

Captain Kendall McFaull celebrates netting a Huskies goal.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team won’t be sneaking up on anyone this time.

    Entering the 2015-16 campaign, the Huskies had expectations to do well, but those expectations were tempered after posting a 10-15-3 mark in 2014-15, which ended a run of 18 straight seasons where the Dogs posted a winning record. Doubts were put to rest quickly.

    The Huskies seemed to be on a magical ride in 2015-16 cruising to the top of the Canada West standings with a 22-6 mark. Their 22 wins matched a club record, which occurred in the 1999-2000 campaign with a 22-3-3 mark and in 1987-88 with a 22-5-1 record.

    They played an exciting and wide open style offensively, while remaining sound in the defensive zone. Goaltending was rock solid thanks to Jordon Cooke, who won the award as the top netminder in Canadian Interuniversity Sport after posting a 19-5 record, a .921 save percentage, a 2.52 goals against average and two shutouts.

    The Huskies were also pushed by an emotional spark playing to honour the memory of alumni Cody Smuk, who passed away of cancer in late June of 2015. Smuk’s number was retired before a home game on Oct. 24, 2015, and the Huskies warmed up at home all season all wearing Smuk’s #24 jersey.

    In the playoffs, the Huskies swept away the U of Calgary Dinos in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series and pulled out the broom again to take down their forever rivals the U of Alberta Golden Bears in the Canada West championship series. Both rounds were playing in front of raucous crowds at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

    After taking the Canada West title, the Huskies brought out Smuk’s parents, father Marty and mother Darla, and his fiancée Stephanie Vause to be part of the on ice team picture.

    It seemed like everything was lining up to create a feeling that the Huskies would win their first CIS title since 1983 no matter what the odds were.

    At the University Cup in Halifax, N.S., the Huskies dropped a 2-1 triple overtime heartbreaker to the St. Francis Xavier University X-Men in a semifinal match. U of S closed the tournament falling 5-2 in the bronze medal contest to the St. Mary’s University Huskies 5-2.

    Entering the 2016-17 campaign, the Huskies top the pre-season Canada West coaches’ poll. They open the regular season on Friday hosting the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds at 7 p.m. at Rutherford.

    Emotion will not likely play as big of a role this time around. Captain Kendall McFaull, Connor Cox, John Lawrence and Josh Roach are the only remaining Huskies players who were teammates with Smuk in his final season in 2013-14.

    They also have to make up for the loss of last season’s fifth year graduates in Zak Stebner and Matthew Spafford. Stebner was a sound defensive defenceman and a calming presence in the dressing room. Spafford brought heart and character to the squad, which made him arguably the team’s most popular play amongst the student body at the U of S campus.

    The Huskies return a strong core including last year’s team scoring leader in Kohl Bauml and goals leader Levi Cable. That group will have to jell with an outstanding group of nine first-year players that made the final cuts topped by standout forwards Alex Forsberg, Connor Gay and Carson Stadnyk. If the returnees and newcomers establish chemistry early, the Huskies have the potential to be more formidable than last season.

    The 2016-17 campaign will eventually write its own unique tale. The Huskies might just add another impressive chapter to their already storied history.

Familiar new face behind bench for Huskies women’s team

Kaitlin Willoughby was at Hockey Canada's Women's Development camp.

    The U of S Huskies women’s team enter the 2016-17 campaign with new but familiar face taking over as head coach on a one-year interim basis.

    Former captain Robin Ulrich will be the Huskies new top bench boss as Steve Kook takes a professional leave of absence. Ulrich played defence for the Huskies from 2004-09 and was named a Canada West first team all-star and won the conference’s student-athlete community award.

    Ulrich was an assistant coach with the team the past five seasons. The last two were a little less involved than the first three due to becoming a high school physical education teacher at Lampman School.

    She is extremely popular with the alumnae of the Huskies women’s team, who will no doubt be pulling for her, and she is surrounded by a strong support staff of assistant coaches.

    Ulrich also comes in knowing most of the players. The Huskies still have eight holdovers from their 2013-14 Canada West championship winning team, when Ulrich was a full-time assistant coach. The vets will no doubt ease the transition for the new bench boss.

    Fourth-year forward Kaitlin Willoughby tops the list of key returnees. The Prince Albert, Sask., product had an exciting summer attending Hockey Canada’s Women’s Development camp in August.

Cassidy Hendricks returns for her fifth and final season looking to add to her Huskies record for most career regular season wins, which currently sits at 46.

    Veteran forwards Lauren Zary and Rachel Johnson will likely give a strong punch to the offence, while Alyssa Dobler and Kira Bannatyne will be key in anchoring the back end in the defensive zone.

    Second-year defender Leah Bohlken will see an increased role as a quarterback on the power play, and former Weyburn Gold Wings captain Bailee Bourassa has the potential to chip in a few goals in her rookie campaign.

    Intensity won’t likely be a problem for the Huskies on their opening weekend. They travel to Vancouver to take on the defending Canada West champion University of British Columbia Thunderbirds on Friday and Saturday. Over the past couple of seasons, the battles between the Huskies and Thunderbirds have usually gotten a bit chippy.

    During the past two campaigns, offensive has come at a premium in Canada West women’s play. If the Huskies can find a groove early offensively, it might give them a bigger boost in the long run.

Back in the Express with Lukowich looking up to Howe

Former NHLer Morris Lukowich is a great story teller.

    I was back in the Saskatoon Express this week with a story that was pretty fun to write.

    I caught up with Morris Lukowich, who scored his fair share of goals playing in the NHL from 1979 to 1987. Lukowich, who grew up playing minor hockey in Saskatoon in the 1960s and early 1970s, looked up to the late Gordie Howe.

    Always the great story teller, Lukowich talked about his first meeting with the hockey icon and later becoming his teammate with the Houston Aeros of the now defunct World Hockey Association.
    Drafted by both the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL and the Aeros after starring for the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers, Lukowich had the chance to hang out with Howe on a recruiting trip to Houston.
    That story can be found right here.

Leafs/Sens game was great for those who got there

    The biggest challenge of watch Tuesday night’s NHL pre-season game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators might have been just getting there.

    When I went to the game, I arrived at the junction of 51^st Street and Idylwyld Drive at about 6:30 p.m., and it took me 50 minutes to get from there to the SaskTel Centre. I didn’t even get to the arena’s parking lot. I parked at a used car dealership on Marquis Drive and booted it to the rink to make it inside by puck drop due to fact I was covering the game for The Canadian Press.

    Upon arriving at the SaskTel Centre’s main entrance, it looked like there was only one open route into the parking lot and no cars were coming in off Bill Hunter Avenue.

    The SaskTel Centre staff played damage control posting on Twitter, “Folks in traffic… our ingress plan is the same as Rush games and Garth Brooks. No specific reason for the congestion.”

    After seeing that Tweet, I started to question if I saw what I really saw. I attended the last two National Lacrosse League playoff games for the Saskatchewan Rush, which were sold out, and I remember cars streaming in off Bill Hunter Avenue.

    The locals that called into talk radio in Saskatoon on Wednesday morning seemed to see the same thing I did when it came to getting to the SaskTel Centre on Tuesday night.

    The frustration of getting in turned out to be a minor headache due to the fact the game itself was great and way better than the NHL pre-season games that were held at the SaskTel Centre the past two years.

    The Leafs and Senators iced lineups that will be close to the ones they use in the regular season. Ottawa pulled out a 3-2 victory after Bobby Ryan scored 21 seconds into overtime. Ryan scored on a nice backdoor play, while his side was working the power play. As for other thoughts on the night:

•         The first period fight between Senators right-winger Chris Neal and Leafs agitator Brandon Prust was a dandy. Both guys were throwing bombs, which really engaged the crowd.
•          Most of the 13,094 in attendance were cheering for the Leafs. At times, you almost through you were in the Air Canada Centre due to the number of “Go Leafs Go” chants that filled the air. The fans also booed Senators defenceman and former Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf almost every time he touched the puck.
•          Young forwards Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner both showed really good jump for the Leafs. Here is hoping the two 19-year-olds can keep up their respective efforts in the regular season.
•          The player who had the toughest luck was Leafs 22-year-old prospect goaltender Antoine Bibeau. He entered the contest at the start of the third period, and besides coming in cold, he barely faced any shots. Bibeau gave up two goals on the four shots and ended up being the netminder that took the loss on the night. He came into the game with the Leafs trailing 1-0, saw his side take a 2-1 advantage before he let two tallies in to take the loss.
•          The story I wrote for The Canadian Press on this contest can be found right here.

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

Blades nail it with “Thank You, Mr. Hockey Day”

Gordie Howe's four children take part in a ceremonial faceoff.

    The Saskatoon Blades got it right when it came to remembering Gordie Howe.

    On Sunday morning, the hockey icon’s ashes and those of his wife, Colleen, were interred at the base of the Gordie Howe statue that sits in front of the SaskTel Centre. Gordie passed away earlier this year on June 10 at age 88. Colleen passed away on March 6, 2009 at age 76.

    A private interment ceremony open to 61 members of the Howe family started off a day a festivities to honour Gordie in his hometown area in what the Blades dubbed as “Thank You, Mr. Hockey Day.”

    The makings of what happened on Sunday started when Blades president Steve Hogle contacted members of the Howe family over the summer looking for permission to hold a special day to honour Gordie in Saskatoon. Gordie was born in a farmhouse in Floral, Sask., which is just south of Saskatoon, and moved to “the Bridge City” at age 9.

A fan gets her picture taken with the Gordie Howe statue.

    While talking to Gordie and Colleen’s children, Hogle discovered that one of Gordie’s wishes was to have his and Colleen’s ashes interred at the base of the Gordie Howe statue at the SaskTel Centre. Hogle made the offer to make that happen setting the wheels in motion for a tribute day, which also led into the Blades WHL regular season home opening game against the Swift Current Broncos.

    Following the ceremony, the Howes were taken to Lookout Point in Diefenbaker Park to see the name of the Circle Drive South Bridge was renamed the Gordie Howe Bridge. They then proceeded to visit King George School, which Gordie attended, and one of Gordie’s childhood homes.

    Everything shifted back to the SaskTel Centre from there. A tailgate party started in the parking lot at 12 p.m., and the doors to the rink opened at 1 p.m.

Logan Flodell and the Blades warm up in Gordie Howe jerseys.

    Spectators flocked around the Gordie Howe statue in the two hours leading up to the game, and many had their pictures taken with the statue. Inside the rink, fans checked out a Hockey Hall of Fame exhibit that featured a number of Howe items including one of his Detroit Red Wings jerseys from his NHL days and a Houston Aeros jersey from his WHA days.

    Some Howe family photos were also on display at various locations on the main concourse area.

    The Blades players also took the ice for warm up all wearing #9 Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings jerseys.

    At 2 p.m., the Blades started into a stirring 25-minute pre-game tribute ceremony for Gordie. Fans got to see an impressive tribute video featuring a whole bunch of archival footage of Gordie’s playing days and also interviews that were done on local television. In some instances, it was surprising to realize that some of that footage still existed.

    Legendary Hockey Night In Canada play-by-play voice Bob Cole was the emcee for the tribute. Former NHL players in Hockey Hall of Fame member Bryan Trottier, Morris Lukowich and Gerry Pinder all took attention grabbing Gordie stories.

Bryan Trottier speaks to the SaskTel Centre crowd.

    All three had deep Saskatchewan roots as Trottier is from Val Marie, Lukowich was born in Speers and played his minor hockey growing up in Saskatoon and Pinder is a Saskatoon product.

    Howe's children in sons Mark, Marty and Murray and daughter Cathy all took part in dropping the puck for a ceremonial faceoff.

    “I think a reflection on Saskatoon and the province of Saskatchewan is absolutely magnified because of Gordie Howe,” said Trottier in a media scrum after the ceremony. “All of us who know the name Gordie recognize what he meant to the game of hockey.

    “For the kids that have ever played hockey, for all the hockey that is going on in Canada in and around these little small communities, there is a belief. There is a belief that you can make it. Gordie provided that for all of us. “

    Due to playing a combined 32 seasons in the NHL and WHA, Howe was idolized by a few generations of hockey players, and Trottier, Lukowich and Pinder all looked up to “Mr. Hockey.”

    No matter where Gordie went or how famous he became, he returned to Saskatoon on a regular basis, and the citizens of Saskatoon always saw Gordie as one of their own.

    “This is his hometown,” said Trottier. “This is our guy that grew up here in Saskatchewan.

    “He reflects well on all the values that are from Saskatchewan whether it is family (or) whether it is hockey.”

Centre Jesse Shynkaruk zips up ice for the Blades.

    The only thing that didn’t go right was the fact the Blades, who wore special Gordie Howe themed jerseys, dropped a 6-0 decision to the Broncos before 6,359 onlookers. Calvin Spencer scored twice for the Broncos, while Noah King, Brandan Arnold, Tyler Steenbergen and Tyler Adams had singles. Travis Child made 28 stops to earn the shutout in goal for Swift Current, while Brock Hamm turned away 25 shots suffering the loss in goal for the Blades.

    The result of the clash between the Blades and Broncos seemed secondary, because everyone was caught up in Gordie Howe fever.

    As you walked out the door, the Blades had one more surprise. Everyone that left received a Gordie Howe poster, and three of the pictures on the bottom came from the festivities of the day. Somehow, the Blades were able to put the mechanics in motion to the point you were able to go home with an unexpected cool keepsake.

    The Blades hit all the positive checkmark points, which included ones you didn’t even think of.

    Somewhere, you had to think Gordie was grinning. For those that came to the SaskTel Centre, they got to enjoy a day they will always remember, as Saskatoon’s biggest hero came home to rest forever.

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