Hitmen sweep away Blades, roll to 6-2 victory in Game 4

Blades captain Ben Saunderson (#2) takes part in the handshake line.

Ben Saunderson plans to be watching his Saskatoon Blades proudly as an alumnus.

On Wednesday,  the Blades 20-year-old captain’s WHL career came to an end as his squad fell 6-2 to the visiting Calgary Hitmen in Game 4 of a best-of-seven first round series of the WHL Playoffs. With the win, the Hitmen sweep the set 4-0 and advance to a best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semifinal Series.

Following the game, Saunderson took a skate where he was saluted by the 5,228 spectators in attendance at the SaskTel Centre. Saunderson gave applause back to the Blades faithful.

The Hitmen celebrate their series win on Wednesday.

The Carberry, Man., product joined the Blades on a full-time basis back in the 2020-21 campaign, when Saskatoon club played a shortened 24 game season in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that gripped the world. From that beginning, Saunderson helped the Blades advance to WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series for two straight years in 2023 and 2024.

A year ago, the Blades entered the playoffs having topped the WHL standings with a 50-13-2-3 mark and were loaded with a lot of star veterans. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Championship series where they fell 3-2 in overtime in Game 7 at the SaskTel Centre to the eventual WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

Ben Saunderson (#2) and Grayden Siepmann hug post-game.

The 2024-25 campaign ended up being a reload season for the Blades, who traded a number of veteran stars before the WHL’s trade deadline back on January 9 acquiring needed draft capital and younger players. Even with those moves, the Blades still comfortably landed in a position to qualify for the WHL Playoffs.

With that knowledge, Saunderson said his squad still wanted to have some success in the post-season. He believes this younger Blades squad took big strides in the 2024-25 campaign.

“It is a really good hockey team over there,” said Saunderson, who had four goals, 32 assists and a plus-15 rating in the plus-minus department in 67 regular season contests in the 2024-25 campaign. “I thought every game we elevated ours.

“Obviously, we didn’t get the result we wanted. Our motto every day this year was just to get better every single day. I’m so proud of our group.

Ben Kindel had a hat trick for the Hitmen.

“Our young guys have stepped up tremendously. There is a very bright future for this team, and it is definitely something I’ll be following.”

The Hitmen entered the series as favourites having finished third overall in the WHL with a 45-17-3-3 record. They were also rated ninth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings that were released on March 25.

The Blades finished sixth overall in the Eastern Conference standings with a 37-23-4-4 mark. They entered the WHL Playoffs with the second youngest roster out of the 16 teams that are playing in the circuit’s post-season with an average age of 17.9 years.

Still, an upset seemed possible. The Blades actually won the season series in the regular season between the two sides recording two regulation wins and one overtime setback in four head-to-head encounters.

Grayden Siepmann (#21) and Ben Kindel (#11) battle for a puck.

The two sides met twice after the trade deadline. The Hitmen posted a 4-1 victory at home on January 10, and the Blades claimed a 6-3 victory at home on February 14.

For the entire series, Calgary was without the services of star overage netminder Daniel Hauser, who holds the WHL record for career regular season goaltending victories at 123. Hauser is out day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Anders Miller, who is an 18-year-old rookie, was solid as Calgary’s starting netminder in the series, and he made 27 saves to pick up the win in goal on Wednesday. In the four games against the Blades, Miller had a 1.50 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. Eric Tu, who is a 16-year-old rookie, is serving as Calgary’s backup netminder.

Tanner Howe had three assists for the Hitmen on Wednesday.

The Blades had a big absence too as they were without 20-year-old left-winger Tanner Scott for a fourth straight post-season game with an upper body injury. Scott last suited up in the Blades final regular season contest when they fell 4-3 to the Raiders in Prince Albert on March 22.

Blades first year head coach Dan DaSilva said his squad faced a big challenge playing the Hitmen because they are a really good hockey team.

“We’re on two different ends of the spectrum, if we’re being honest,” said DaSilva. “They loaded up to go for it, and we sold off to rebuild and then go for it in a couple of years.

“That is the truth, but our guys never shied away for a second. They showed up, (and) they gave everything they had. What else can you ask for as a coach is for guys to just absolutely leave it all on the ice.

Zach Olsen had the Blades first goal on Wednesday.

“Anyone who tries to tell me otherwise is wrong, and I will argue that until the day I die. I’m extremely proud of this group.”

The two sides played through an even opening frame with the Hitmen holding a 14-11 edge in shots on goal. Blades star netminder Evan Gardner and Miller came up big for their respective sides.

The second period was totally the opposite of the opening frame breaking into a 1980s style firewagon type contest. Just 75 seconds into the stanza, the Hitmen jumped ahead 2-0. Gritty veteran centre David Adaszynski scored 38 seconds into the period and star centre Ben Kindel followed with his own tally 37 seconds later.

At the 6:19 mark of the second, Hitmen star defenceman Carter Yakemchuk got the puck at the right point, zipped up the right boards, cut across the front of the Saskatoon net and tucked home a backhander to give the visitors a 3-0 edge.

Hayden Harsanyi had the Blades second goal on Wednesday.

“I give Calgary credit,” said DaSilva. “That is a great example for our guys in a year or two years of what a championship team looks like and how they compete and how they play together and how fast they play and how strong defensively they are.

“It is a great example and a great learning lesson for our guys. I hope we can take something from that.”

The Blades responded with some quick strikes of their own. At the 9:25 mark of the second, rookie right-winger Zach Olsen, who turned 17-years-old in March, fired home a shot from the right faceoff circle in the Calgary zone to cut the Hitmen lead to 3-1. Just 44 seconds after Olsen’s tally, Blades centre Hayden Harsanyi slipped home a shot from in close by the right side of the Calgary net to cut the Hitmen’s advantage to 3-2.

Carter Yakemchuk scored a highlight goal for the Hitmen.

Following Harsanyi’s tally, the crowd at the SaskTel Centre was rocking, but that wouldn’t last long. Just 11 seconds after that marker, Hitmen star right-winger Tanner Howe zipped into the Saskatoon zone on a two-on-one break with Kindel.

Howe passed the puck across the front of the Saskatoon net to Kindel at the right side of the goal. Kindel buried his second of the contest to put the Hitmen up 4-2.

In the third, Hitmen star left-winger Oliver Tulk tallied once during four-versus-four action after offsetting penalties and Kindel completed his hat trick with a short-handed empty-net goal to round out the scoring in the contest.

“Ben (Kindel) is a special talent,” said Hitmen head coach Paul McFarland. “He is one of the best players in this league.

David Adaszynski scored the first goal for the Hitmen.

“I’d love to tell you I was surprised by the hat trick, but that is kind of what we expected out of that player. That top line along with the Adaszynski line I thought for us were the difference in the series.”

Howe finished the contest with three assists. He recorded two goals and seven assists and a plus-six rating in the series.

Evan Gardner turned away 30-of-35 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades.

While the Blades ever held a lead in any of the post-season contest against the Hitmen, Saunderson said he believed his squad put up a good battle on the ice and never gave up when things got tough.

Ben Saunderson played in his final WHL game on Wednesday.

“There was no rollover in the room, on the ice or on the bench,” said Saunderson. “No one was every giving up.

“We fought until the very end every single night. We knew they were a really good team over there, and you’ve got to give credit where credit is due. They are a hell of a hockey team, but we never quit.”

The Hitmen are the first team to win a first round series in this year’s WHL post-season. They now wait to find out who their opponent will be for an Eastern Conference Semifinal Series. McFarland said it will be big for his team to get a lengthy rest period.

“You don’t want to play extra games, obviously, at this time of year,” said McFarland. “It is not easy to sweep anybody.

“We have a tonne of respect for that team and that program. We said it at the start of the series. They have got a winning pedigree over there.

The Blades give their fans a final salute for the 2024-25 campaign.

“We were, obviously, because of that taking this series very serious and not lightly whatsoever. I give our players a lot of credit to get the job done.”

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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Gardner’s 40 stops can’t save Blades in Game 1

Hitmen look the part of favourites in 4-2 win

Evan Gardner made 40 saves in net for the Blades on Friday.

Evan Gardner gave his Saskatoon Blades a chance, but the Calgary Hitmen weren’t going to be denied.

On Friday night, the Hitmen looked the part of favoured team in Game 1 of a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs against the Blades. Gardner, who is the Blades star netminder, did his best to steal the contest making 40 saves and showing why he backstopped the Saskatoon side to being one win shy of advancing to the WHL Championship Series one year ago.

In the series opener, the Hitmen proved to be too much for the Blades to handle. The Calgary side skated away with a 4-2 victory they had to work for while holding a 44-17 edge in shots on goal playing before a home crowd of 3,770 spectators at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

The Hitmen entered the series having finished third overall in the WHL with a 45-17-3-3 record. They were also rated ninth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings that were released on Tuesday.

The Blades finished sixth overall in the Eastern Conference standings with a 37-23-4-4 mark. They enter the WHL Playoffs with the second youngest roster out of the 16 teams that are playing in the circuit’s post-season with an average age of 17.9 years on their roster.

A year ago, the Blades entered the playoffs having topped the WHL standings with a 50-13-2-3 mark and were loaded with a lot of star veterans. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Championship series where they fell 3-2 in overtime in Game 7 at the SaskTel Centre to the eventual WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

The 2024-25 campaign ended up being a reload season for the Blades, who traded a number of veteran stars before the WHL’s trade deadline back on January 9 acquiring needed draft capital and younger players. Even with those moves, the Blades still comfortably landed in a position to qualify for the WHL Playoffs.

While Calgary finished higher in the standings, Saskatoon could still enter the series with some confidence. The Blades actually won the season series in the regular season between the two sides recording two regulation wins and one overtime setback in four head-to-head encounters.

The two sides met twice after the trade deadline. The Hitmen posted a 4-1 victory at home on January 10, and the Blades claimed a 6-3 victory at home on February 14.

Calgary went into Game 1 without the services of star overage netminder Daniel Hauser, who holds the WHL record for career regular season goaltending victories at 123. Hauser is out day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Anders Miller, who is an 18-year-old rookie, started in goal for the Hitmen, and he was backed up by 16-year-old rookie Eric Tu.

The Hitmen broke on to the scoreboard at the 4:26 mark of the opening frame with a short-handed goal. On a clearance into the back boards to the right of the Saskatoon net, Hitmen star 19-year-old left-winger Tanner Howe hit Blades 17-year-old rookie defenceman Brayden Klimpke into the boards and got the puck.

Howe centred the puck to veteran Hitmen right-winger Ethan Moore, who buried the short-handed marker to give the host side a 1-0 lead. Calgary outshot Saskatoon 18-5 in the opening frame.

At the 5:16 mark of the second, Blades 20-year-old offensive-defenceman Grayden Siepmann fired home a point shot through a screen to even the score at 1-1.

Calgary proceeded to pull away at that point. With 3:18 remaining in the second, Hitmen star right-winger Oliver Tulk stole a breakout pass just inside the blue-line of the Saskatoon zone. Tulk jetted in on goal and snapped a shot past Gardner to give the Hitmen a 2-1 edge.

Appearing in 65 regular season games with the Hitmen in 2024-25, Tulk finished sixth in the WHL scoring race with 100 points coming off 38 goals and 62 assists to go with a plus-40 rating in the plus-minus department.

Calgary had a 12-8 edge in shots on goal in the second.

At the 7:58 mark of the third while working on the power play, Moore deflected home a shot pass from star defenceman Sawyer Mynio at the left side of the Saskatoon net to push Calgary’s lead out to 3-1.

Just 2:25 later, Mynio put a point shot on the Saskatoon net that rebounded to Hitmen star centre Ben Kindel in front of the goal. Kindel popped home the loose puck to increase Calgary’s advantage to 4-1.

The Blades didn’t go away. Just 25 seconds later, Blades breakout rookie centre Cooper Williams, who turned 17 in February, stole the puck from a Hitmen defenceman in the Calgary zone. Williams had the puck on the left wing and passed it to breakout 18-year-old right-winger Hunter Laing in the right faceoff circle.

Laing went in alone on Anders and snapped home a shot to cut the Calgary lead to 4-2. The Blades couldn’t close any further as the Hitmen held a 14-4 edge in shots on goal in the third period.

Anders made 15 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Hitmen. Howe had a pair of helpers in the Calgary victory.

After a day off, the series resumes with Game 2 set for Sunday at 2 p.m. local time at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

While the Hitmen get full credit for their win on Friday, the opportunity is there for the Blades to make a push back to turn some heads. They are in a “house money” position where they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

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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Hitmen emerging as surprise team in WHL

Oliver Tulk leads the Hitmen in scoring with 49 points.

“Shhhhhh. We want to sneak up on people. We are actually good.”

The Calgary Hitmen have flown in under the radar. At the start of the 2024-25 campaign, they were expected to contend for a position in the WHL Playoffs, but they weren’t penciled in to win any division, conference or league titles.

Last season, the Hitmen placed ninth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 28-31-8-1 mark finishing two standings points back of the Prince Albert Raiders (31-32-2-3) for eighth place and the conference’s final post-season berth. Calgary has failed to make the post-season in two of the last three WHL campaigns.

On November 11 of this season, the Hitmen dropped 6-5 overtime decision to the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Washington. That result moved the Hitmen’s record to 7-7-3-1 after 18 games.

Since that time, the Hitmen have gone on a tear posting a 10-2 mark to improve to 17-9-3-1. They sit one standings point behind the Medicine Hat Tigers (19-14-1) for top spot in the Central Division and the Eastern Conference.

Calgary is tied with the Saskatoon Blades (17-10-2-2) for second and third overall in the Eastern Conference with 38 standings points. The Blades hold the standings tiebreakers due to topping the WHL’s East Division and posting a win and an extra time setback in two head-to-head meetings with the Hitmen.

The Hitmen have been riding the heroics of returnees Oliver Tulk, Ben Kindel and Carter Yakemchuk. Tulk is in his fourth full season with the Hitmen. The 19-year-old right-winger leads Calgary in scoring with 49 points coming off 15 goals and 34 assists to go with a plus-six rating in the plus-minus department.

Kindel is a 17-year-old sophomore centre who sits second in Hitmen team scoring with 46 points coming off 19 goals and 27 assists to go with a plus-eight rating. He was listed as a B-ranked skater by NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary rankings for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.

Carter Yakemchuk tops all Hitmen blue-liners with 29 points.

Carter Yakemchuk is a star 19-year-old offensive defenceman who is in his fourth season with the Hitmen. Yakemchuk, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators, tops the Hitmen in blue-line scoring with 29 points coming off 12 goals and 17 assists in 25 appearances this season.

The Hitmen haven’t been afraid to strengthen their roster via the trade route under the direction of general manager Garry Davidson, who served a strong run as general manager of the Everett Silvertips from 2012 to 2021. At age 73, Davidson is still as sharp as ever.

Just before the regular season started back on September 19, Davidson sent 19-year-old left-winger Connor Dale, a second round selection and a fourth round pick in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft and a second round selection in the 2026 Prospects Draft to the Swift Current Broncos for 20-year-old centre Connor Hvidston. Hvidston sits third in Hitmen team scoring with 30 points coming off 11 goals and 19 assists.

Davidson proceeded to make two blockbuster moves in November. On November 17, the Hitmen sent the WHL rights to 15-year-old centre Nathan Gardiner, a second round selection in the 2025 Prospects Draft and third and seventh round selections in the 2026 Prospects Draft to the Moose Jaw Warriors for 20-year-old offensive-defenceman Kalem Parker.

Just four days later on November 21, the Hitmen acquired now 19-year-old left-winger Tanner Howe from the Regina Pats in exchange for 17-year-old defenceman Reese Hamilton, 18-year-old left-winger Keets Fawcett, a third round pick in the 2025 Prospects Draft and a second round selection in the 2027 Prospects Draft.

On November 19, the Hitmen signed 18-year-old netminder Anders Miller to a WHL scholarship and development agreement. The Anchorage, Alaska, product was playing junior A for the Lloydminster Bobcats of the Alberta Hockey League and immediately joined the Hitmen after signing with the Calgary side.

Calgary elected to go with highly touted 16-year-old rookie Eric Tu as their second netminder. Tu made the Hitmen out of training camp and was selected by Calgary in the second round and 31^st overall in the 2023 Prospects Draft.

Miller and Tu have come up with timely saves for the Hitmen. As they continue to get more comfortable playing in the WHL, you can expect both to continue to improve.

The Hitmen acquired Kalem Parker in a trade on November 17.

Veteran 39-year-old coach Paul McFarland has been able to bring the Hitmen together in his first year as the club’s head coach. He came to Calgary after spending the previous three seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Seattle Kraken.

The exploits of the Hitmen sometimes don’t get brought to the surface as they play in a saturated sports market in Calgary, which has seen major cuts to the sports media. Even with numerous high profile sports teams calling Calgary home, the Hitmen enjoyed great coverage through the 2000s and most of the 2010s from Scott Fisher until he was let go by the Calgary Sun. Fisher covered the Hitmen like an NHL club and was well respected for his work.

It would have been sweet to have Fisher covering the Hitmen in the current day, because they appear to be on a rocket rise. When the dust settles, they could very well top the Eastern Conference standings and be looking at the prospects of going on a long post-season run.

Saskatoon, PA feel at world juniors

Caden Price will play for Canada at world juniors.

A number of folks in Saskatoon and Prince Albert will be paying extra attention to world juniors.

A total of six players have ties to one community or the other or both centres, when the annual hockey tournament hits the ice in Ottawa, Ont., on Thursday, December 26. Canada’s roster includes Saskatoon produces in defenceman Caden Price and centre Berkly Catton.

Price, who is 19-years-old, leads the Kelowna Rockets in defencemen scoring with 32 points coming off six goals and 26 assists to go with a plus-14 rating in the plus-minus department in 26 games. Catton, who is 18-years-old, sits second in Spokane Chiefs scoring with 47 points coming off 14 goals and 33 assists to go with a plus-20 rating in 28 games.

Brayden Yager, who is a 19-year-old centre, started the campaign with the Moose Jaw Warriors before being traded to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He will also be skating for Canada, and he will be the squad’s captain. In 23 games played between the Warriors and Hurricanes, Yager has 34 points coming off 12 goals and 22 assists.

Brayden Yager is Canada’s captain at world juniors.

Yager resides in the Saskatoon area in the off-season, but he got his start playing hockey skating in Prince Albert’s minor hockey system. Due to having links to both cities, folks in Saskatoon and Prince Albert have followed Yager’s career.

Tanner Howe, who is a 19-year-old left-winger, is a Prince Albert product who will suit up for Canada. Howe started the WHL campaign with the Regina Pats before being dealt to the Calgary Hitmen. In 16 games with both the Pats and Hitmen, has 16 points coming off nine goals and seven assists to go with a plus-eight rating.

Saskatoon Blades offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk will skate for Canada at world juniors. The 19-year-old Kamloops, B.C., product leads the Blades in defence scoring with 21 points coming off four goals and 17 assists to go with a plus-four rating in 21 games. Molendyk, who is one of Canada’s assistant captains, is a career member of the Blades skating in 210 career regular season with the Saskatoon side recording 26 goals, 108 assists and a plus-66 rating.

Blades 17-year-old import rookie centre David Lewandowski will play for Germany at world juniors. In 20 games with the Blades, Lewandowski has recorded seven goals, eight assists and a plus-13 rating.

Canada opens the tournament on December 26 taking on Finland at the Canadian Tire Centre (7:30 p.m. eastern time, TSN). Germany also opens play on December 26 facing the United States (2:30 p.m. eastern time, TSN).

Pats struggle with attendance, other notes

The Brandt Centre has a lot of empty seats for Pats games this season.

There was a day when it was believed the Regina Pats would still average over 4,000 spectators per game even in their down seasons.

After 16 home dates this season, the Pats are averaging 2,422 spectators per game at the Brandt Centre, which can hold 6,499 patrons for hockey. That total is the second lowest average attendance in the WHL.

Last season, the Pats averaged 3,219 spectators for their 34 home dates. In 2022-23 the final campaign with phenom centre Connor Bedard, the Pats averaged 4,501 spectators per game for 34 regular season home games and sold out all three home post-season outings.

When the Pats finished first overall in the WHL and advanced and fell in the WHL final to the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2016-17, the Pats averaged 5,456 spectators for 36 regular season home contests. They sold out all 12 home games in the WHL Playoffs with the Brandt Centre configured to hold 6,484 spectators.

Back in the 2017-18 campaign when the Pats hosted the Memorial Cup tournament that crowns a CHL champion, the Pats averaged 6,076 spectators for 36 regular season home contests. They sold out all three of their home games in the WHL Playoffs with the Brandt Centre configured to hold 6,484 spectators. In the five games the Pats played at the Memorial Cup tournament, they skated in front of sellout crowds in their last three contests.

Since hosting the Memorial Cup in 2018, the Pats have only played in the post-season once. While the lack of playoffs appearances has hurt, numerous Pats fans have complained online about ticket prices and how they were increased before the start of the 2021-22 campaign, when the Pats still had Bedard.

Currently, single game tickets for Pats games ranges from $31.31 to $43.27. In most WHL markets, tickets hover around $25 to $27.

• On Friday, the Everett Silvertips home rink in the Angel of the Winds Arena topped a league survey of WHL players as the most difficult building to play in on the road. The WHL surveyed 328 players from all 22 of the league’s clubs and 25.4 per cent of the players said the Angel of the Winds Arena was the most difficult building to play in. The Prince Albert Raiders home rink in the Art Hauser Centre came in second with 15.6 per cent of the votes, the Seattle Thunderbirds home building in the Accesso ShoWare Center came in third at 9.2 per cent, the Red Deer Rebels rink in the Peavey Mart Centrium was fourth at 7.6 per cent and the Swift Current Broncos home barn in the InnovationPlex was fifth at 7 per cent.
• On Friday, Calgary Hitmen star 19-year-old right-winger Oliver Tulk announced he was committing to the NCAA’s storied University of Wisconsin Badgers Men’s Hockey Team for the 2025-26 campaign. In 227 career regular season games with the Hitmen played over four seasons, Tulk has collected 88 goals and 120 assists for 208 points. Tulk’s commitment with the Badgers means he wouldn’t be with the Hitmen for a potential 20-year-old season.
• On Saturday, Everett Silvertips defenceman Landon DuPont topped a league survey of WHL players on who they think will win the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s rookie of the year. The WHL surveyed 328 players from all 22 of the league’s clubs and 38 per cent of the votes said DuPont would take rookie of the year honours for the circuit. DuPont was granted exceptional status to play in the WHL on a full-time basis as a 15-year-old for the current campaign, and he has been as good as advertised. He sits second in rookie scoring with 32 points coming off six goals and 26 assists to go with a plus-20 rating in 29 games. Gavin Garland, who is an 18-year-old centre with the Tri-City Americans, was second on the survey taking 15.2 per cent of the votes. He leads the WHL in rookie scoring with 35 points coming off 18 goals and 17 assists to go with a plus-20 rating in 29 games.

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 grit and perseverance delivers 4-3 victory

Fortin’s 39 saves holds off Hitmen

Niall Crocker, left, enjoys his winning goal with Aiden Oiring.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Head coach Jeff Truitt appreciated the battle of his Prince Albert Raiders.

On Friday night playing before 2,432 spectators at the Art Hauser Centre, the Raiders built a 3-0 lead on the visiting Calgary Hitmen and carried a 3-1 advantage into the third period. The Hitmen evened the score at 3-3 in the third, but the Raiders ensured the Calgary comeback was not to be.

With 4:08 remaining in the third period, Raiders 20-year-old standout right-winger Niall Crocker came up with one is his specialties. He banged home a gritty power-play goal from the front of the Calgary net on a four-on-three advantage to ultimately deliver the Raiders to a 4-3 victory.

“I really liked our compete,” said Truitt. “I thought that we skated real well.

Justice Christensen had the Raiders first goal on Friday.

“I thought that we were on pucks. I thought that we carried the speed quite a bit. I like a lot about our game and our physicality from time to time.

“We’re not going to get pushed around, and we showed that here tonight. It was kind of a team effort that way. We had to grind her out under some weird conditions in the third period and got her done.”

Raiders captain Justice Christensen opened the game’s scoring firing home a shot from the left point at the 9:56 mark of the opening frame. With Friday’s contest being the Raiders Toque and Teddy Bear Toss night, stuffed animals and mitts rained down on to the Art Hauser Centre’s ice surface after Christensen’s tally.

The players and off-ice staffers along with the game’s linesmen made sure the clean up was completed in rapid order.

The Raiders celebrate a Teddy Bear goal from Justice Christensen.

The Hitmen got into penalty trouble inside the final 92 seconds of the opening frame. First, they got unsettled after 19-year-old star offensive-defenceman Carter Yakemchuk was hit by Raiders 19-year-old centre Harrison Lodewyk in the right corner of the Calgary zone.

The Hitmen coaching staff argued loudly from the bench with the officials for a penalty for hitting from behind, and no infraction was called. Just 18 seconds later, Hitmen 20-year-old import left-winger Max Muranov forearm hit Raiders 16-year-old rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph in the Calgary zone starting a big scrum. The Raiders came away with a power play with Muranov being given an interference minor making the difference in how the penalties were sorted out.

The Raiders show off some of the stuffed animals that were collected.

With 23.2 seconds remaining in the first, Hitmen star 20-year-old defenceman Kalem Parker was given a roughing minor to give the Raiders a two-man advantage for 69 seconds.

Just 33 seconds into second working that two-man advantage, Raiders star offensive-defenceman Lukas Dragicevic wired home a power-play goal from the left point to push the host side’s edge out to 2-0. For Dragicevic, that was his first goal since he tallied once in a 6-4 loss to the Royals in Victoria back on October 18.

His tally on Friday came on a Raiders power play that entered the day’s action leading the WHL with a 28.3 per cent success rate.

The Raiders and Hitmen engage in a first period scrum.

“It feels good,” said Dragicevic, who has two goals and 26 assists in 22 games with the Raiders this season. “Obviously, the power play has been really good this year.

“It just fits that I got it on the power play. I play with good players on that line. They set me up pretty good, and I just had to do the rest.”

At the 4:07 mark of the second, the Hitmen gave the puck away to Raiders 20-year-old right-winger Niall Crocker. Crocker got the puck to import left-winger Krzysztof Macias, who wired home a mid-range shot to give Prince Albert a 3-0 advantage.

Lukas Dragicevic scored the Raiders second goal on Friday.

The Hitmen stopped the bleeding at the 7:20 mark of the second when 19-year-old centre David Adaszynski sent home a mid-range off-speed shot through a screen for a goal to cut the Raiders lead to 3-1.

With 10:02 remaining in the second working on a power play, Hitmen star 19-year-old left-winger Tanner Howe thought he scored a goal during a mad scramble. The officials first called the play a goal, proceeded to have a conference over the call and waved the tally off on the ice.

The Hitmen thought they had another goal with 3:53 remaining in the second with a shot coming off the stick of captain Carson Wetsch. That goal was waved off as Hitmen 17-year-old centre Ben Kindel was given a minor penalty for goaltender interference.

Krzysztof Macias, left, enjoys scoring the Raiders third goal.

Just 62 seconds into the third, Hitmen 20-year-old star centre Connor Hvidston snuck a turnaround shot past Raiders 18-year-old netminder Dimitri Fortin to further trim the host side’s edge to 3-2.

The Hitmen evened the score a 3-3 with 5:21 remaining in third on a power-play goal from star 19-year-old right-winger Oliver Tulk. 

Tulk tipped home a puck from the front of the Prince Albert net that came from a pass by Wetsch.

That set the scene for Crocker to come through with the winning tally.

Dimitri Fortin made 39 saves in goal for the Raiders.

“We don’t give up,” said Dragicevic. “Maybe at the start of the year that is something that would have done, but we’ve grown as a team.

“We’ve grown as individuals. We knew we were going to get one on that power play. Our power play is too good to get stopped there.

“Crocks (Crocker) obviously banged that one home. It was a couple of passes before that one that led to that, and it was a nice goal.”

Fortin stopped 39 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders (12-9-3). Anders Miller turned away 27 shots to take the setback in net for the Hitmen (13-9-3-1).

Tomas Mrsic had a pair of assists for the Raiders.

Star 18-year-old left-winger Tomas Mrsic had a pair of assists for the Raiders.

Truitt has been pleased with how solid Fortin has been for the Raiders after joining the club in a trade with the Moose Jaw Warriors on November 27.

“Since he has come in, he has been calm and cool,” said Truitt. “He has just done his job.

“He has made some key saves, but he hasn’t had to make many circus saves here. He has been pretty good. The guys in front of him have been good as well, but he has been solid.”

The Hitmen return to action on Saturday when they travel to Saskatoon to take on the 17-6-1-2 Blades (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Raiders salute their faithful after Friday’s win.

The Raiders get back at it on Saturday when they travel to Brandon to battle the 13-8-3-1 Wheat Kings (7 p.m. local time, Westoba Place).

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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The WHL’s golden season of the 17-year-old

Circuit’s NHL Entry Draft prospects deep in high end talent

Connor Bedard leads the WHL in goals (44), assists (46) and points (90).

The mid to late 1980s era of the WHL is often romantically remembered as a golden era for ultra-passionate followers of the circuit.

That time was viewed as a moment in league history when you seemingly couldn’t miss a game, because every team had a star you had to see. In particular, the quartet of Theo Fleury, Trevor Linden, Mike Modano and Joe Sakic were worth the price of admission alone in any contest they were skating in.

Fleury was piling up points and agitating opponents with the Moose Jaw Warriors. Linden at a young age was a clutch power forward and team leader with the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Modano was making magic skating circles around everyone lighting up scoreboards for the Prince Albert Raiders. Sakic was proving he was “no ordinary Joe” filling nets for the Swift Current Broncos.

Of course, all of those players went on to spectacular careers in the NHL becoming overall legends in the game along the way.

With that noted, the current day of WHL might have the most high end depth alone in just one age group that hasn’t been seen since the 1980s. That group would be the 17-year-old players who were born in 2005. Some of those players have already turned 18-years-old due to having a birthday in January or today, February 1.

The unquestioned top player in the current group is Regina Pats captain Connor Bedard. He is a generational talented that is the consensus pick to go first overall in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. 

Oliver Tulk in action for the Hitmen last season.

The upcoming NHL Entry Draft will be held June 28 to 29 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

Bedard leads the WHL in goals (44), assists (46) and points (90), while posting a plus-30 rating in the plus-minus department in 36 regular season games. 

On Wednesday night, Bedard and the Pats helped the Calgary Hitmen attract 17,223 spectators to their home rink in the Scotiabank Saddledome to mark the highest attendance for a WHL contest this season. The game was shown before a national television audience on TSN.

Bedard didn’t disappoint. The North Vancouver product had a goal and picked up an assist on gritty centre Braxton Whitehead’s second tally of the contest, which forced a 5-5 tie with 33.8 seconds remaining in the third period.

The contest went scoreless through a three-versus-three overtime period to a tiebreaking shootout. Bedard scored the only goal in the shootout on a sick deke to a forehand shot to give the Pats the win in the tiebreaking session and a 6-5 victory in the game.

On the other side, the Hitmen have a fun draft eligible centre to watch in Oliver Tulk, who turned 18-years-old on January 19. Tulk, who plays feisty standing at 5-foot-8 and weighing 172 pounds, had an assist in Wednesday’s setback. He sits second in Hitmen team scoring with 42 points coming off 19 goals and 23 assists in 47 regular season games.

While it is pretty much a certainty Bedard is skating through his final days as a major junior player before joining the NHL next season, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was joined there by some others in the WHL’s current 17-year-old class.

Just a 45-minute drive west on the Trans-Canada Highway, the Pats archrivals in the Moose Jaw Warriors have Saskatoon area product Brayden Yager on their roster. 

Brayden Yager has 56 points this season for the Warriors.

Yager, who turned 18-years-old on January 3, has turned heads as skilled centre that can play both ways. In 49 games with the Warriors, Yager has 20 goals, 36 assists and a plus-six rating.

Before moving to the WHL ranks, Yager played a number of seasons together with another Saskatoon area product in centre Riley Heidt, who is staring in his 17-year-old season with the Prince George Cougars. 

Heidt sits 10^th in the WHL scoring race with 60 points coming off 19 goals and 41 assists in 44 regular season games with the Cougars.

Yager and Heidt applied to get exceptional player status to play in the WHL on a full-time basis as 15-year-olds along with Bedard going into the 2020-21 campaign. 

Bedard was the only one of the three granted exceptional player status, but all three skated as 15-year-olds in the WHL playing a shortened regular season in a bubble style format due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

The Winnipeg Ice, who top the WHL’s overall standings with a 36-6-1 record, have a deep team that is paced by 17-year-old left-winger Zach Benson. Benson sits second in the WHL scoring race with 69 points coming off 27 goals and 42 assists, while posting a plus-43 rating in 42 games.

Out in Kelowna, 17-year-old left-winger Andrew Cristall has been piling up the points for the Rockets. In 36 regular season games, he has 62 points coming off 26 goals and 36 assists to go with a plus-14 rating. 

Zach Benson sits second in WHL scoring this season with 69 points.

Cristall has been out with a lower body injury since suiting up for the Rockets in a 5-1 setback to the Blazers in Kamloops on January 7, but his return status is listed as day-to-day.

On the back end, the Rockets have another good youngster that is a must-see player to watch in 17-year-old defenceman and Saskatoon product Caden Price. 

Price has five goals and 19 assists playing in 44 regular season games with the Rockets. He is rated 30^th among North American Skaters in the NHL Central Scouting Mid-Term Rankings.

Along with Price, the Saskatoon Blades have a good young rearguard to watch in 17-year-old Tanner Molendyk. Molendyk has six goals, 20 assists and a plus-26 rating appearing in 45 regular season games for the Blades.

He is rated 36^th among North American Skaters in the NHL Central Scouting Mid-Term Rankings. Molendyk is a sound shutdown defender, and he can wheel up ice and go coast to coast to lead an offensive rush.

The potential is there for any of these draft eligible prospects to end up in the NHL next season depending on which team drafts them and how much improvement they make by the time NHL training camps open. 

Time will tell if this group of young star has the impact in the NHL like Fleury, Linden, Modano and Sakic did.

Tanner Molendyk has 26 points for the Blades this season.

At the moment like in the mid to late 1980s, the WHL is enjoying another golden era where seemingly each team has a must see star.

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.