Sidorov loves hockey, nets hat trick to push Blades past T-birds

Egor Sidorov celebrates his hat trick goal on Saturday.

The more fun Egor Sidorov has the better he plays.

Taking ice on Saturday against the Seattle Thunderbirds, who entered the night leading the WHL’s overall standings, at the SaskTel Centre, the 18-year-old Belarusian import right-winger, who is residing in Canada full time, set out to be the best version of himself suiting up for the Saskatoon Blades. That meant a smile was on his face that was a mile wide and he approached the game with the joy of a classic Saskatchewan farm kid skating outside on a frozen over slough just outside of a classic “wheat province” town like Borden.

Sidorov proceeded to post his third hat trick of the season to power the Blades to a 4-2 victory. With the two sides locked in a 1-1 tie, Sidorov proceeded to score once late in the second and twice in the third to give the Blades a 4-1 edge. The host side cruised to victory from there.

Egor Sidorov (#19) enjoys his hat trick goal with his teammates.

After each time he scored, Sidorov, who stands 6-feet and weighs 180 pounds, celebrated each of his goals with childlike enthusiasm. When he was named the game’s first star, Sidorov, who is a fan favourite, decided to have some fun with the fans.

For years, the Blades players give souvenir sticks out to the fans to acknowledge three star selections during home games. When Sidorov came out to hand out his souvenir stick, he started to skate across centre ice, but made a quick u-turn to toss his stick to a child aged supporter who was sitting just down the row from the Thunderbirds bench.

Since arriving in Saskatoon before the start of the 2021-22 campaign, Sidorov has gotten better at speaking English, but he kind of sticks to simple sentences. Still, he draws the biggest fan reaction to the live audience post-game interviews Blades play-by-play voice Les Lazaruk does either in the concourse area on the west side of the building that has restaurant style seating or from the building’s main fan lounge.

Egor Sidorov controls the puck in the offensive zone.

Following Saturday’s win over the Thunderbirds, Sidorov was pulled over for an on ice interview next to the Blades bench by game host Clayton Kroeker. The first thing Sidorov did was thank the 4,605 spectators for coming out for that night’s game.

Most of the fans were still in the building to see Sidorov take his first star hours, and they gave the Blades star a nice round of applause. Sidorov was indeed the best version of himself, and the Blades seemed to have their “moxie” going for the whole contest.

Over the past eight games, the Blades, who improved to 27-8-2-1 with the win on Saturday to sit fifth overall in the WHL standings, faced their hardest stretch of quality opponents. On top of taking on the Thunderbirds, they faced the Eastern Conference leading Winnipeg Ice twice, the Red Deer Rebels, who equaled Seattle for most standings points at night’s end, once and the Portland Winterhawks, who sit fourth overall in the WHL standings, once.

Egor Sidorov (#19) goes by Seattle LW Kyle Crnkovic on a rush.

On top of that, the Blades took on the 22-12-3-1 Calgary Hitmen, encountered the 20-17-0-1 Swift Current Broncos on a hot streak and mixed it up with the 21-19-1-1 Regina Pats as they start to get hot with phenom centre Connor Bedard back in the lineup.

Saturday’s victory over the Thunderbirds marked the second time the Blades have posted a win over their challenging last eight game stretch. During that stretch, the Blades had outings where they played well and lost.

That included falling twice to the Ice in Winnipeg 2-0 on Dec. 30, 2022 and 2-1 in overtime on Dec. 31, 2022 along with taking a 3-1 setback against the Winterhawks at home on Wednesday. In those games, the Blades made one or two mistakes that were costly.

Austin Elliott made 30 saves in goal for the Blades on Saturday.

The Blades had other outings where their game went away from them over stretches of like 10 minutes. Along with those losses, the Blades downed the Rebels at home 6-2 on Jan. 7.

The Saskatoon side needed a traction win against a top tier club to get a groove going again. Saturday’s win over the Thunderbirds seemed to provide just that.

The Blades systematically took control of play in the first period and broke through on the scoreboard with 6:07 remaining in the frame. Blades star centre Trevor Wong received a pass in front of the Seattle net from linemate Jake Chiasson and wired home a midrange shot for his 15^th tally of the season to put the hosts up 1-0.

Trevor Wong had a goal and two assists for the Blades.

When the first period came to an end, the Blades were holding a 10-5 edge in shots on goal.

The Thunderbirds pushed back in the second. The visitors evened the score at 1-1 at the 11:12 mark of the frame, when 18-year-old right-winger Nico Myatovic swooped from behind the Saskatoon net into the right faceoff circle and wired home his 16^th goal of the season.

At that point, Sidorov, who is rated 86^th among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Term Rankings, went to work. With the Blades working on the power play, Sidorov received a pass from Blades captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere, set up to the left of the right faceoff dot in the Seattle zone and zipped home a shot short side on Thunderbirds netminder Scott Ratzlaff to put the hosts up 2-1 with 1:24 remaining in the second.

Nico Myatovic scored the Thunderbirds first goal on Saturday.

Sidorov netted his second tally of the contest at the 5:46 mark of the third off a two-on-one rush. 

On the play, Wong entered the Seattle zone with the puck on a rush down the left wing. He fed a pass across the front of the Seattle net to Sidorov who quickly snapped home a shot to give the Blades a 3-1 advantage.

At the 11:28 mark of the third, Sidorov completed the hat trick. He got the puck alone at the left side of the Seattle net, put a deke on Ratzlaff and lifted a shot over top the netminder’s blocker to give the Blades a 4-1 advantage.

In 27 games with the Blades this season, Sidorov now has 22 goals, 19 assists and a plus-17 rating in the plus-minus department.

Kevin Korchinski had a goal for the Thunderbirds on Saturday.

The Thunderbirds didn’t go away. With 3:01 remaining in the third, Thunderbirds offensive-defenceman Kevin Korchinski swooped down from the point to the left side of the Saskatoon net and covered a backdoor feed from Thunderbirds right-winger Brad Lambert to cut the Saskatoon lead to 4-2.

Saskatoon proceeded to close out the game defensively to make the 4-2 score hold up as the final outcome of the contest.

Austin Elliott stopped 30 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Ratzlaff turned away 18 shots to take the setback in net for the Thunderbirds, who fell to 30-7-1-1.

Wong finished the contest with three points picking up two assists to go with his goal.

The Blades celebrate their win on Saturday.

The Thunderbirds return home and are off until Friday, when they host the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

The Blades return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Moose Jaw to take on the 26-14-0-2 Warriors (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre).

The Warriors should provide another stiff test for the Blades. With that said, Saturday’s win over the Thunderbirds should prove as a timely reminder for the Blades that they beat the WHL best teams, and Sidorov showed once again you can have fun doing it too.

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

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“Crank” overlooked in NHL Entry Draft due to size

Blades star left-winger has skill to play at next level

Kyle Crnkovic (#16) does his best to make the fans happy.

If Kyle Crnkovic stood 6-foot-3 and weighed 200 pounds, he would be an NHL Entry Draft selection.

The star left-winger of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades has great skill, but you can bet he went unselected in this past NHL Entry Draft because he stands 5-foot-7 and weighs 161 pounds.

The only member of the Blades who was selected in the NHL Entry Draft that was held this past Tuesday and Wednesday via video conference call from the NHL Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, was centre Tristen Robins. Robins went in the second round and 56^th overall to the San Jose Sharks.

Due to the fact Robins stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 179 pounds, NHL teams were a little less concerned on the size front. Still, players that have heights and weights similar to Robins are some of the smaller sized players in the league.

Kyle Crnkovic drives a shot on goal for the Blades.

Very few players skate in the NHL who have been similar in size to Crnkovic. The notable exception is Theoren Fleury, who stands 5-foot-6 and weighs 182 pounds.

Back in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft, size didn’t matter to the Blades and skill did when they selected Crnkovic in the first round and 10^th overall. Since joining the Blades, the Chestermere, Alta., product has lived up to the expectations of being a first round WHL Bantam Draft pick.

In his first full season with the Blades in 2018-19, Crnkovic had a solid campaign as a 16-year-old rookie posting 11 goals, 20 assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus category in 52 regular season games.

As that campaign went on, Crnkovic saw increased ice time as the Blades finished fourth overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 45-15-8 record.

Kyle Crnkovic celebrates an OT winner on March 6.

It was also becoming apparent that Crnkovic was becoming a fan favourite too. He interacted easily with the young fans he met at Blades community appearances.

Crnkovic has a bit of a baby face to him too, and he could likely pass for a fan, if he wasn’t dressed in his Blades jersey.

He was popular enough that he was one of the players the team included in the novelty cartoon character type T-shirts they rolled out.

The shifty forward played some of his best hockey that season with the Blades in the 2019 playoffs. Helping the Blades advance to the second round of the playoffs, Crnkovic netted two goals, two assists and an even rating in the Blades 10 post-season games.

Kyle Crnkovic had 64 points last season for the Blades.

Crnkovic played fearlessly and battled in the tough areas of the ice. He played smart and was able to avoid the huge hit with his skill.

This past season, Crnkovic appeared in all of the Blades 63 regular season games finishing second in team scoring piling up 21 goals, 43 assists and a plus-nine rating. He helped the Blades post a 34-24-2-3 record to lock up a playoff berth for a second straight year before the campaign was prematurely ended due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

Crnkovic never cracked the midterm rankings put out by NHL Central Scouting. He made the final NHL Central Scouting ranking being listed 208^th among North American skaters.

Kyle Crnkovic was a first round WHL Bantam Draft selection.

The appearance on the rankings didn’t translate into an NHL Entry Draft selection.

The story of Crnkovic not getting drafted due to his lack of size isn’t a new one in the sport of hockey.

In the history of the Blades, he might go down as the Ryan Fujita in the team’s current generation.

Fujita, who is also known as Kiyoshi Fujita, was a dynamic centre who played for the Blades and led them in scoring for two seasons from 1991 to 1993. The Lethbridge, Alta., product was one of the smaller players on the ice standing 5-foot-7 and weighing in at 163 pounds.

In 1991-92, Fujita topped the Blades in scoring with 38 goals and 44 assists for 82 points appearing in all of the team’s 72 regular season games.

Kyle Crnkovic quickly became a fan favourite player.

In the playoffs, helped the Blades advance to the WHL Championship series, where they fell in a series decide Game 7 to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Kamloops Blazers. Fujita appeared in all of the Blades 22 games in that post-season posting a league leading 13 goals and nine assists.

He followed up that campaign by again leading the Blades in scoring as an overager in the 1992-93 season appearing in all 72 regular season games piling up 56 goals and 54 assists for 110 points. Fujita suited up in seven of the Blades nine games in the 1993 playoffs recording two goals and three assists.

Having never been selected in the NHL Entry Draft and never suiting up in a meaningful NHL game, Fujita had a lengthy career playing professionally in Japan and was a member of host Japan’s national team that played in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.

Kyle Crnkovic, centre, celebrates a goal this past season.

Crnkovic might one day be able to experience what Fujita did with the Blades. If Crnkovic does do that, he would go down as one of the best players to ever suit up with the Blades.

Even if Crnkovic achieves that level of success, he still might not get a chance in the NHL due to his lack of size.

Whenever the WHL is able to resume action in these pandemic times, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Crnkovic was constantly listed among the league’s best over the next three campaigns.

He deserves to get some attention from the NHL even now. If the NHL brass ultimately says Crnkovic can’t play based on his lack of side, it will ultimately be their loss too.

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

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From Blades to Sharks, Robins follows father’s footsteps

Tristen Robins was a second round NHL Entry Draft pick.

At times, it seems like the hockey Gods have predetermined Tristen Robins’ path through the game.

That path sees Tristen following in the footsteps of his father, Trevor Robins. The one big difference between the two is Tristen is a high-scoring centre, while Trevor was a solid puck stopping goalie.

For three seasons from 1989 to 1992, Trevor, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 179 pounds, played in the WHL for the Saskatoon Blades. He was named to the WHL’s Eastern Conference first all-star team in 1991-92, which was a campaign where the Blades advanced to the WHL Championship series and fell in a series deciding seventh game to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Kamloops Blazers.

Tristen Robins is a star with the Blades.

As for Tristen, it appeared at first his WHL career was going to be with the Regina Pats, who selected him in the fourth round and 76^th overall in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft.

On January 8, 2018, Tristen’s WHL rights were acquired by the Blades in a blockbuster trade. In that trade, Tristen, defenceman Dawson Davidson and a first round selection in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft went to the Blades in exchanged for import Czech defenceman Libor Hajek.

The Pats acquired Hajek in order to load up their roster as the host of the Memorial Cup tournament in May of 2018.

Tristen, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 173 pounds, has played two full seasons with the Blades. He shot up to star status this past campaign piling up 33 goals, 40 assists and a plus-16 rating in the plus-minus department in 62 regular season games.

On Wednesday, the hand of fate saw Tristen once again follow in his father’s hockey footsteps. 

Tristan Robins led the Blades with 73 points last season.

At the NHL Entry Draft that was via video conference call from the NHL Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, the San Jose Sharks picked Tristen in the second round and 56^th overall.

The Sharks happened to be the first professional team Trevor signed with.

Following the 1991-92 season, Trevor was traded by the Blades to the Brandon Wheat Kings, who had finished last in the entire league with a record of 11 wins, 55 loses and six ties. Brandon is the hometown of the Robins family.

With Trevor starting in goal as an overager, the Wheat Kings shot up to fourth overall in the WHL with a record of 43 wins, 25 losses and four ties. He was again named to the WHL’s Eastern Conference first all-star team.

Tristen Robins followed his dad’s footsteps to the Blades.

Trevor ended up signing a free agent contract with the Sharks.

In his second season as a professional in 1994-95, Trevor was called up from the International Hockey League’s Kansas City Blades to the Sharks, who dealing with injury problems in goal. Trevor spent about three months going up and down between the two teams but ultimately never saw action in and NHL game.

One day, Tristen, who is 18-years-old, might be able to one-up his father and hit the ice for an NHL game.

This was first time Tristan was eligible for the NHL Entry Draft due to his birthday being in November. Players need to be born on or before September 15 the year they turn 18-years-old to be eligible for the NHL Entry Draft.

Tristen Robins is following his dad’s footsteps to the Sharks.

Tristan will be playing in his 19-year-old season in the 2020-21 WHL campaign, which is targeted to start late on Dec. 4 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

The NHL is targeting to start its regular season on January 1, 2021.

As an 18-year-old sophomore, Tristen kept turning more and more heads of NHL scouts. He was rated 134th among North American Skaters in the midterm ranking put out by NHL Central Scouting.

Tristen Robins (#11) celebrates one of his 33 goals last season.

Tristen leaped up to the 86th spot among North American skaters on the final NHL Central Scouting rankings. His stock continued to rise resulting in a second round draft selection.

The 2019-20 WHL campaign was ultimately ended on March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but had Tristen been able to participate in the playoffs for a second straight year, he might have further increased his draft stock.

Tristen helped the Blades post a 34-24-2-3 record to officially lock up a playoff berth before the season was halted.

He has the skating, puck handling, shooting and hockey sense abilities few have. Tristen has also been a perfect representative for the Blades in the community.

It would not be a surprise to see Tristen put all of those characteristics on display in the NHL some day. He has the potential to make the Sharks brass look very wise for selecting him.

Tigers G Garin Bjorklund was picked by the Capitals.

The NHL Entry Draft concluded on Wednesday with teams selecting players in rounds two through seven. Over the draft’s two days, 28 players from the WHL were picked up NHL clubs.

Left-winger Cross Hanas of the Portland Winterhawks was the first WHL player taken in Wednesday’s NHL Entry Draft proceedings going in the second round and 55^th overall to the Detroit Red Wings. The Highland Village, Texas, product posted 22 goals, 27 assists and a plus-20 rating in 60 games with the Winterhawks.

Of some of the other various notables, Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman Daemon Hunt was taken in the third round and 65^th overall by the Minnesota Wild. The Brandon, Man., product was limited to 28 games this past season due to a skate cut injury to his arm.

Hunt had 15 assists in those games and was playing for the Warriors when the campaign was stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brandon’s Ben McCartney (#22) was picked by the Coyotes.

Kamloops Blazers goalie Dylan Garand was selected in the fourth round and 103^rd overall by the New York Rangers. The Victoria, B.C., product posted a 28-10-3 record, a 2.21 goals against average, a .921 save percentage and four shutouts in 42 games last season with the Blazers.

Medicine Hat Tigers right-winger Lukas Svejkovsky was taken in the fourth round and 108^th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

The Point Roberts, Wash., product recorded 18 goals, 20 assists and a plus-38 rating in 52 games split between the Vancouver Giants and Tigers. The Tigers acquired Svejkovsky via a trade.

Portland Winterhawks left-winger Jaydon Dureau was selected in the fifth round and 147^th overall. The White City, Sask., product recorded 19 goals, 51 assists and a plus-41 rating in 61 regular season games.

Tristen Robins (#11) celebrates a Blades win with Riley McKay.

Tigers netminder Garin Bjorklund was picked in the sixth round and 179^th overall by the Washington Capitals. The Grande Prairie, Alta., product posted a 20-5-1 record, a 2.91 goals against average, a .897 save percentage and one shutout last season as a 17-year-old rookie.

Wheat Kings left-winger Ben McCartney was selected in the seventh round and 204^th overall by the Arizona Coyotes. The Macdonald, Man., product collected 25 goals, 36 assists and a plus-eight rating in 61 games last season for the Wheat Kings.

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

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Robins on the rise, tops Blades prospects for NHL Entry Draft

Tristen Robins is expected to be an NHL Entry Draft pick.

Tristen Robins might make some NHL scout or general manager look like a genus somewhere down the line.

Since joining the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades on a full-time basis as a 17-year-old rookie at the start of the 2018-19 season, the skilled centre as steadily improved. During that first season, Robins appeared in all of the Blades 68 regular season games posting nine goals, 16 assists and a plus-seven rating in the plus-minus department.

In the Blades march to the second round of the 2019 WHL playoffs, Robins appeared in all 10 of the team’s post-season games collecting three goals and one assist.

Tristen Robins led the Blades with 73 points last season.

The Blades were very deep at forward that season finishing fourth overall in the WHL regular season standings at 45-15-8, so Robins wasn’t relied upon for offence. Still, the Brandon, Man., product showed flashes in the offensive zone to make one suspect there was more potential to unlock at that end of the ice.

He piled up the points in Brandon’s minor hockey system growing up to further show that potential was there.

Last year as an 18-year-old sophomore, Robins, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 173 pounds, appeared in 62 regular season games with the Blades leading the team in scoring with 33 goals and 40 assists for 73 points to go along with a plus-16 rating.

Tristen Robins scored 33 goals for the Blades last season.

He played a key role in helping the Blades post a 34-24-2-3 record to lock up a WHL playoff berth for the second straight year. The Blades were unable to enjoy any post-season action as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic ultimately put an end to the overall WHL campaign on March 12.

Thanks to his performance in the 2019-20 regular season, Robins was rated 86^th among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings, which was a huge jump from being rated 134^th among North American skaters in the midterm rankings.

It is conceivable Robins could have increased his NHL Entry Draft potential had there been a post-season in major junior hockey.

Tristen Robins made big strides in two seasons with the Blades.

At the moment, it looks like the odds are high Robins will be picked in one of the middle rounds of the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

The NHL Entry Draft will start with round one on Tuesday via video conference call from the NHL Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. Rounds two through seven will be held on Wednesday by that same video conference call format.

This marks the first time Robins will be eligible for the NHL Entry Draft due to his late in the year birthday. Players need to be born on or before September 15 the year they turn 18-years-old to be eligible for the NHL Entry Draft.

Robins has been a great fit for the Blades after they acquired his WHL rights from the Regina Pats in a trade on January 8, 2018. In that trade, Robins, defenceman Dawson Davidson and a first round selection in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft went to the Blades in exchanged for import Czech defenceman Libor Hajek.

Tristen Robins is one of the Blades top players.

The Pats acquired Hajek in order to load up their roster as the host of the Memorial Cup tournament in May of 2018.

With that move, Robins followed in the footsteps of his father, Trevor, in being a member of the Blades. Trevor played three seasons for the Blades from 1989 to 1992, and was part of the Blades team that fell in Game 7 of the WHL Championship Series in 1992.

During the 1992 post-season, Trevor played a big role in helping the Blades turn around a league semifinal series against their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders. In Game 4 of that series, Trevor made 29 saves in a 2-1 victory over the Raiders to even that best-of-seven series at 2-2.

The Blades would take that series in six games to advance to the WHL final.

Rhett Rhinehart could be an NHL Entry Draft pick.

Now Tristen has made his own name for himself with the Blades. Any NHL team would be wise to select him in the NHL Entry Draft, because it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Robins one day crack into that level.

He has the skating, puck handling, shooting and hockey sense abilities few have. During the extended off-season, Robins travels to Winnipeg, Man., in order to continue to sharpen his skills at the Rink Hockey Academy.

Besides Robins, the Blades had four other players break on to the final NHL Central Scouting rankings.

Defenceman Rhett Rhinehart came in at the 151^st spot among North American skaters. Like Robins, Rhinehart is eligible for the NHL Entry Draft for the first time due to his late in the year birthday.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere is on the NHL’s radar.

Playing last season as a third-year 18-year-old veteran, Rhinehart, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 205 pounds, appeared in 57 regular season games split between the Prince George Cougars and Blades collecting three goals, 15 assists and a minus-12 rating.

The Blades acquired Rhinehart in a deal on January 10 just before the WHL trade deadline. The Lloydminster, Alta., product was a plus-one in 21 appearances with the Blades.

Rearguard Aidan De La Gorgendiere, who is a product of Langley, B.C., cracked the final NHL Central Scouting rankings at the 197^th spot among North American skaters after not being listed on the midterm rankings. 

De La Gorgendiere, who stands 6-feet and weighs 184 pounds, improved steadily during his 17-year-old sophomore campaign appearing in all of the Blades 63 regular season games posting four goals, 24 assists and a plus-two rating.

Kyle Crnkovic's skill overcomes his lack of size.

Left-winger Kyle Crnkovic checked in at the 208^th spot among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting ranking also after not being listed on the midterm rankings.

In his two seasons with the Blades, Crnkovic has established as one of Saskatoon’s top players that comes through in the clutch. The Chestermere, Alta., product appeared in all of the Blades 63 regular season games finishing second in team scoring with 21 goals and 43 assists for 64 points to go along with a plus-nine rating.

While Crnkovic has skill, his lack of size is the biggest characteristic that likely holds him back in the eyes of NHL scouts, as he stands 5-foot-7 and weighs 161 pounds. Still, Crnkovic can play the game at a very high level.

Koen MacInnes had a solid rookie season for the Blades.

Koen MacInnes is the fifth member of the Blades to make the final NHL Central Scouting rankings coming in at 22^nd among North American goalies. MacInnes was rated 31^st in the midterm ranking among North American goalies.

The Burnaby, B.C., product had a solid 17-year-old rookie campaign last season with the Blades posting a 14-5-1 record, a 2.84 goals against average, a .901 save percentage and three shutouts. MacInnes also stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 184 pounds, and NHL scouts will likely appreciate the netminder’s size.

Overall at this moment, Robins heads the class of Blades players eligible to be picked in the NHL Entry Draft.

You have a feeling his hockey career has the potential to contain a few heroic moments in the future.

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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Raiders’ Guhle, Wiesblatt sure bets in NHL Entry Draft

Kaiden Guhle is a top rated NHL prospect.

When it comes to Kaiden Guhle and Ozzy Wiesblatt, they will likely be emblematic that sure bet is the best bet in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

Guhle and Wiesblatt have been key members of the Prince Albert Raiders since suiting up in “Hockey Town North” on a full-time basis as 16-year-old rookies helping the Raiders win a WHL championship in the 2018-19 campaign.

They followed up that special season with great sophomore campaigns resulting in Guhle being rated eighth and Wiesblatt 19^th among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings.

Both could be selected in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft, which will be held Tuesday via video conference call from the NHL Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. Rounds two through seven will be held on Wednesday by that same video conference call format.

Ozzy Wiesblatt is a highly touted NHL prospect.

If NHL clubs pass over Guhle and Wiesblatt in the first round, they might not be able to cash in on the gamble to pick either in the second round. In just two full seasons, they have had a career worth of experiences helping the Raiders finish first in the WHL’s East Division for the past two straight campaigns.

Of course, the 2019-20 season was cut short due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

Guhle came to the Raiders with high hopes after being selected by the team in the first round and first overall in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft. His family and the club were familiar with each other as older brother, Brendan, played defence for the Raiders from 2013 to 2016.

Brendan spent the 2019-20 season split between playing for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks and the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.

Kaiden Guhle came up through minor hockey in his hometown of Sherwood Park, Alta., and the Edmonton area as that special skilled offensive-defenceman. 

Kaiden Guhle has played big minutes for the Raiders.

During his two full seasons with the Raiders, Guhle, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 184 pounds, has turned into one of those special talents who is a sound physical presence in the defensive zone and is able to quarterback play from the blue-line in the offensive zone.

As a rookie in 2018-19, Guhle was on the Raiders starting six on defence as a 16-year-old. The other five members of the starting six were all in their 19-year-old seasons.

While Guhle was the youngest of that group, the Raiders did not rotate their five 19-year-olds, which some teams tried to do to cover for the inexperience of the youngest player.

Guhle played regular minutes with a set partner in Jeremy Masella. In total, Guhle played in 65 regular season games collecting three goals, 14 assists and a plus-17 rating in the plus-minus department.

He focused on playing more of a defensive role, while chipping in some points. Over the course of the campaign, Guhle was able to learn by watching the veteran defenceman who were on the Raiders roster.

Ozzy Wiesblatt had 70 points for the Raiders last season.

Last season as a 17-year-old sophomore, Guhle was one of three regulars that returned on the back end along with Masella and Zack Hayes. Guhle was thrust into a bigger role and was looked upon to provide more offence.

He became the quarterback on the Raiders power play and really showed his ability as an offensive defenceman during five-on-five action. Guhle has that instinct in knowing when he should get deep in the offensive zone with the puck or pinch down from the point to become a threat on a play close around the net.

He appeared in all of the Raiders 64 regular season games piling up 11 goals, 29 assists and a plus-23 rating.

Every time Guhle gets deep, he never seems to get caught or trapped out of position on the defensive end. When an offensive-defenceman can do that, they become extremely valuable to a team.

Like Guhle, Wiesblatt took on a fairly sizable role that you wouldn’t expect from a 16-year-old rookie in the Raiders WHL title season in 2018-19. The Raiders had veteran stars all over the place up front that season.

Kaiden Guhle can put up points from the blue-line.

Still, Wiesblatt played a regular roll as a right-winger and was often playing against older and more experienced players. By the end of the season, the Calgary, Alta., product often found himself on a line with star overage centre Noah Gregor and star left-winger Cole Fonstad.

Wiesblatt, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 182 pounds, appeared in 64 regular season games posting 15 goals, 24 assists and a plus-30 rating. In the run to the WHL title, Wiesblatt played in all of the Raiders 23 games in the WHL playoffs posting five goals, five assists and a plus-six rating.

This past season as a 17-year-old sophomore, Wiesblatt skating in all of the Raiders 64 regular season games finishing second in team scoring with 25 goals, 45 assists and a plus-20 rating.

Away from the rink, Wiesblatt comes from a high-character family to say the least. His mom, Kim White, has been deaf since birth and speaks using American Sign Language.

She had to raise Ozzy, his three brothers and one sister as a single mom since 2014. 

Ozzy Wiesblatt comes from a high character family.

Ozzy’s brothers are all high level hockey players.

The oldest brother, Ocean, played in the junior A ranks with the Portage La Prairie Terriers last season. The second oldest brother, Orca, is a member of the Calgary Hitmen, and the youngest brother, Oasiz, is highly touted prospect with the Medicine Hat Tigers.

It is hard to come up with words about how amazing the Wiesblatt family story is.

Also cracking the final NHL Central Scouting rankings from the Raiders is defenceman Landon Kosior at the 98^th spot among North American skaters. The Regina, Sask., product made a sizable jump of the ratings after being ranked 126^th among North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting mid-term rankings.

Kosior, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 190 pounds, appeared in all of the Raiders 64 regular season games as a 17-year-old rookie recording five goals, 18 assists and a plus-19 rating.

Landon Kosior turned heads in his Raiders rookie season.

Raiders centre Ilya Usau, who is from Minsk, Belarus, was rated 108^th among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings. 

As an 18-year-old rookie, Usau appeared in 58 regular season games with the Raiders posting 22 goals, 30 assists and a plus-14 rating.

Usau, who stands 6-feet and weighs 182 pounds, is currently playing for Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League until the WHL gets back into action after a delayed start due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHL is hoping to start its regular season on December 4.

Joining the four Raiders in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings is Prince Albert product Braden Schneider, who plays for the Brandon Wheat Kings and is rated ninth among North American skaters. Due to his late birthday, this is the first year Schneider is eligible for the NHL Entry Draft.

Players need to be born on or before September 15 the year they turn 18-years-old to be eligible for the NHL Entry Draft.

Ilya Usau had 52 points as a Raiders rookie last season.

Last season as a third-year veteran at age 18, Schneider, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 202 pounds, had a breakout campaign posting seven goals, 35 assists and a plus-nine rating in 60 regular season games with the Wheat Kings.

While 2020 has been a crazy year beyond comprehension, the City of Prince Albert and the Raiders are set to have a memorable two days at the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

Leading the charge will be Guhle and Wiesblatt, who both have the skill and character make up to continue to do great things in the game.

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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Blazers’ Zary earns all-star and NHL Central Scouting accolades

Connor Zary is one of the WHL’s top players.

    Connor Zary had a great week when it came to collecting accolades.

    The skilled 18-year-old centre had a stellar 2019-20 WHL campaign with the Kamloops Blazers piling up 38 goals, 48 assists and a plus-30 rating in the plus-minus department in 57 regular season games.

    On Tuesday, Zary was named a WHL Western Conference first team all-star. On Wednesday, Zary was rated 15^th among North American skaters in the final ranking released by NHL Central Scouting, which means the Saskatoon product could potentially be a late first round selection in the NHL Entry Draft.

    Zary, who stands 6-feet and weighs 180 pounds, is eligible for this year’s NHL Entry due to his late September birthday. The NHL Entry Draft was originally slated to be held June 26-27 in Montreal, Quebec, but it has been postponed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to a date that has yet to be announced.

    Back in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft, the Blazers selected Zary in the second round and 37^th overall. He played his 15-year-old season in 2016-17 with the Saskatoon Contacts in the midget AAA ranks piling up 27 goals and 18 assists in 36 regular season games.

Connor Zary had 86 points in 57 games with the Blazers.

    Zary proceeded to crack the WHL ranks with the Blazers as a 16-year-old rookie in 2017-18. Skating through a campaign where he dealt with living away from home for the first time and juggling his high school studies in a new school, Zary had sound numbers posting 11 goals and 18 assists in 68 regular season games.

    He proceeded to have a breakout campaign as a 17-year-old sophomore in 2018-19 recording 24 goals, 43 assists and a plus-18 rating in 63 regular season games.

    After falling 4-2 in a best-of-seven first round playoff series to the Victoria Royals, Zary played for Canada at the world under-18 hockey championships held in April of 2019 in Ornskoldsvik and Umea, Sweden.

    He had four goals and three assists in seven games at that event.

    In his third campaign with the Blazers in 2019-20, Zary took another step upwards in his game.

    He was invited to take part in the main training camp for Canada’s world junior team last December as an injury replacement player. While he was cut from Canada’s final roster, Zary is still eligible to play at world juniors for the upcoming season, so he gained valuable experience from last year’s invite.

    On top of having great personal numbers, Zary helped the Blazers mathematically lock up first place in the WHL’s B.C. Division with a 41-18-3-1 record before the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of the last 11 days of the WHL regular season and the entire post-season for all major junior clubs under the Canadian Hockey League umbrella.

Connor Zary could be a late first round NHL Entry Draft pick.

    That marked the first time the Blazers had won the B.C. Division title since the 2011-12 campaign.

While the Blazers and Zary won’t have a chance to put together a special post-season run, he left no doubt he is one of the WHL’s top players.

    Zary wasn’t the only Saskatoon product to be named a Western Conference first team all-star. Adam Beckman, who is a Saskatoon product that is an 18-year-old left-winger with the Spokane Chiefs, cracked the Western Conference first all-star team after a stellar campaign.

    Beckman, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 174 pounds, topped the WHL in goals (48) and points (107) appearing in 63 regular season games. He had a plus-44 rating to go along with his point totals.

    Last year, Beckman was selected in the third round and 75^th overall by the Minnesota Wild in the NHL Entry Draft, and he has signed an NHL entry-level contract with the Wild.

    Rounding out the Western Conference first all-star team was Seth Jarvis of the Portland Winterhawks at forward, Ty Smith of the Spokane Chiefs and Johnny Ludvig of the Winterhawks on defence and Everett Silvertips netminder Dustin Wolf in goal.

    Prince Albert Raiders Belarusian import centre Aliaksei Protas was named a WHL Eastern Conference first team all-star. Protas posted 31 goals, 49 assists and a plus-37 rating in 58 regular season games.

Braden Schneider was a first team WHL Eastern Conference all-star.

    He was selected in the third round and 91^st overall in last year’s NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals and has signed an NHL entry-level contract with that club.

    Prince Albert product Braden Schneider made the Eastern Conference first all-star team playing defence for the Brandon Wheat Kings. Schneider had seven goals, 35 assists and a plus-nine rating skating in 60 regular season games with the Wheat Kings.

    Schneider is rated ninth among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings.

    Also named to the Eastern Conference first all-star team are James Hamblin of the Medicine Hat Tigers and Dylan Cozens of the Lethbridge Hurricanes at forward, Calen Addison of the Hurricanes on defence and Jiri Patera of the Wheat Kings in goal.

    On Monday, the WHL announced is its second team all-stars for the Eastern and Western Conference.

    Prince Albert Raiders netminder Max Paddock cracked the second all-star team for the Eastern Conference. 

Max Paddock was a second team WHL Eastern Conference all-star.

    In 48 regular season games split between the Regina Pats and Raiders, Paddock posted a 23-16-8 record, a 2.65 goals against average, a .915 save percentage and five shutouts.
    The Pats traded Paddock to the Raiders on Jan. 9.

    Prince Albert product and overage Edmonton Oil Kings centre Riley Sawchuk was named a second team Eastern Conference all-star as well. Sawchuk topped the Oil Kings in scoring with 25 goals and 51 assists in 64 regular season games.

    Rounding out the second all-star team for the Eastern Conference were Mark Kastelic of the Calgary Hitmen and Peyton Krebs of the Winnipeg Ice at forward, and Alex Cotton of the Hurricanes and Matthew Robertson of the Oil Kings on defence.

    The WHL Western Conference second team all-stars were Eli Zummack of the Chiefs, Bryce Kindopp of the Silvertips and Zane Franklin of the Blazers at forward, Jake Christiansen of Silvertips and Bowen Byram of the Vancouver Giants on defence and Joel Hofer of the Winterhawks in goal.

    The NHL Central Scouting final rankings included healthy representation from the Raiders and Saskatoon Blades.

Kaiden Guhle could be a first round NHL Entry Draft selection.

    Raiders defenceman Kaiden Guhle was rated eighth among North American skaters and was the highest rated WHL player on that list. Raiders right-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt was ranked 19^th, defenceman Landon Kosior was listed 98^th and centre Ilya Usau came in at 108^th among North American skaters.

    Right-winger Tristen Robins was the highest rated Blades player among North America skaters coming in at the 86^th spot. The Blades were also represented on the North American skaters list by defenceman Rhett Rhinehart at the 151^st spot, rearguard Aiden De La Gorgendiere at the 197^th spot and left-winger Kyle Crnkovic at the 208^th spot.

    Blades netminder Koen MacInnes rated 22^nd among North American goalies.

NLL cancels remainder of regular season, playoffs up in air

Rush captain Chris Corbeil raises the Champion’s Cup in 2016.

    It will be a longer wait before fans of the Saskatchewan Rush can enjoy the energy of one of their games again.

    On Wednesday, the National Lacrosse League cancelled the remainder of its regular season games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NLL first suspended regular season play back on March 12.

    A released put out by the NLL on Wednesday said the league is looking at a number of scenarios to return to play when all stakeholders and health officials deem to possible.

    The NLL is still hoping to get a post-season in. The Calgary Roughnecks won the National Lacrosse League Cup as NLL champions last season.

    When the NLL suspended play, the Rush sat first in the West Division with a 7-3 record. They last played on March 7, when they thumped the Vancouver Warriors 17-7 at the SaskTel Centre.

Mark Matthews raises the National Lacrosse League Cup in 2018.

    The Rush began playing in Saskatoon at the start of the 2016 campaign after moving from Edmonton, Alta.

    Since they began calling Saskatchewan home, the Rush had won the NLL title on two occasions including their first campaign based out of Saskatoon in 2016 and 2018. The Rush locked up the NLL championship on both occasions at home.
    They won the Champion’s Cup in 2016, which was the NLL’s old championship trophy. The Rush captured the National Lacrosse League Cup in 2018, when it was awarded as the league’s title trophy for the first time.

    The Rush have provided loads of excitement and sports highlights during their time in Saskatchewan. It would be uplifting if they can find away to provide more thrills later this year in some sort of post-season.

Trudeau’s “normality” quote anxiety inducing, other notes

    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave a statement during his morning address that will likely be anxiety inducing for many people regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Trudeau said early on the shutdowns that are in place around the country will be the new normal until a vaccine is found for COVID-19. There have been various mainstream media reports that have said a vaccine for COVID-19 could be a 12 to 18 months away.

    A reporter questioned Trudeau if he envisioned multiple waves of shutdowns and how can the country handle the multiple waves of shutdowns. The response did not help with regards to anxiety over how the world is right now over COVID-19.

    “Normality as it was known before will not come back full on until we get a vaccine for this,” said Trudeau. “That could be a very long way off.”

    Trudeau did try to close his answer to that question with a thought that might be a little more upbeat.

    “Once we get through this first wave, we will have developed both tools and habits that will allow us to be much more resilient and resistant to further outbreaks and spreads,” said Trudeau.

    The way Trudeau gave his answers it does put the thought into the mind that the current lockdowns could be in place for some time. It greatly increases the fear that life before all the shutdowns started happening in North American on March 11 might not come back at all.

    If there are shutdowns for 12 to 18 months, life will be vastly different on the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic than it was before it and the sports world is included in that. That normal that was known on March 10 will likely be gone forever in that scenario.

    When something like that Trudeau quote comes up in these times, one has to take a step back and take a deep breath. You do have to have something like Trudeau said in the back of your head, because there is some truth to that statement.

    Still, you can’t dwell on it, because there is so much uncertainty with regards to COVID-19.

    You have to remember to take things one day at a time. Even dwelling on how things could be two months from now is not healthy.

    It was also a reminder to set limits on how much time one spends checking out news programs and social media lines. Spending too much time follow those platforms is not good for mental health either.

    With that noted, that quote provided a huge bump in the road to my morning on top of some computer problems. I believe I was able to get over it quickly as I ventured into projects for the day.

• The Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association executive council met on Sunday to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the programs and activities run by the sport body. The SHSAA produced a frequently asked questions and COVID-19 response document that said all SHSAA schedule sports that were to take place until the end of June 30 have been cancelled. That brings an official end to the SHSAA’s 2019-20 season. The SHSAA had been slated to run championships in badminton and track and field. The spring portions of golf and cross country running were also brought to an end along with all spring football camps. The SHSAA document said further update on fall activity programs would be available at the end of June.
• On Wednesday, the WHL announced Portland Winterhawks centre Jake Gricius was named the Western Conference humanitarian of the year and Calgary Hitmen centre Riley Fiddler-Schultz was the Eastern Conference humanitarian of the year. The WHL is rolling out its player awards online and on its web platform.
• On Thursday, the WHL announced Kamloops Blazers netminder Dylan Garand was named the Western Conference scholastic player of the year and Regina Pats left-winger Jacob Brook was named the Eastern Conference scholastic player of the year.
• Saskatoon Blades overage feisty left-winger Riley McKay signed a one-year AHL contract with the Rockford IceHogs on Thursday. The IceHogs are the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. McKay posted 19 goals, 19 assists, 93 penalty minutes and an even rating in the plus-minus department in 62 regular season games with the Blades. McKay’s goals and assists totals were career highs for his time in the WHL.

    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.