Saskatoon Blades
East Division

Blades preseason before and after

Written by Raymond Bourner on

Before it all starts

The long wait, to return to regular season hockey, is closing in quickly. After making several cuts at the conclusion of training camp, the Pac-Men focused on preseason play.

To start the preseason, a pair of back-to-back games against the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings proved to be a tough adversary. Edmonton, who has won the Central Division three consecutive years, brought a big, physical team to Sasktel Centre.

Early on it was easy to see why the Oil Kings have been dominant. Winning puck battles, taking the body, and being aggressive on both sides of the puck. After managing a comeback Friday and stealing a 4-3 win, Saturday was a very different storyline. The Blades were flat Saturday with the Oil Kings cruising to a 7-3 win, leaving Head Coach Brennan Sonne frustrated.

“We weren’t ready to start and one’s a fluke and two is a streak,” said Sonne who was not mincing words after Saturday’s loss. Asking how he felt after the week of practices following the games against Edmonton, Sonne simply replied “We skated pretty hard Monday”. He also added “Working as a team is the foundation.”

Sonne, who has come back to North America from coaching in the French men’s league the last four years, noted that the ice size and officiating are two very large changes when adapting back to the North American style of play. “Because of the size of the ice, you get so much more time and space,” Sonne said when speaking about the ice surface size in Europe. In addition, the coach spoke to the officiating “there’s a lot more penalties called over there” due to the officials’ lack of experience within the hockey world.

One Week In

The Blades were left with a large task the following weekend, heading into a home and home with their arch-rival, The Prince Albert Raiders. When asked about how he was preparing for the set against the Raiders, Sonne kept his answer simple “I’m not really concerned in what they’re going to do,” adding “I’m worried about our work, our compete, our passion.”

A hard week of practices and some structured play led the Blades to back-to-back wins. After coming out of the gates slowly on Friday, with the Raiders scored twice in the first period, the Blades never looked back, scoring six unanswered goals in the five remaining periods of hockey over the two nights. Equally impressive was Saskatoon’s ability to keep the puck out of their net as well, shutting the Raiders down during the same span.

After wrapping up the preseason games Saskatoon was still left with a few dilemmas. They continued to carry the five overage players until Blake Stevenson was dealt from Saskatoon to Red Deer for a fourth-round pick in the 2021 prospects draft and a seventh-round pick in the 2022 prospects draft. This moves the Blades to four overage players, Nolan Maier, Rhett Rhinehart (returned from Colorado), Tristen Robins (as San Jose’s camp), and Evan Patrician.

The Aftermath

Preseason play saw Kyle Crnkovic lead the Blades with six points in four games. Also chipping in were Brendan Lee with five points and Jayden Wiens with four points. Austin Elliot and Ethan Chadwick continue to challenge each other for the backup goaltender position. Imports Moritz Elias and Yegor Sidorov, who both arrived late to camp, got into some game action over the weekend in Prince Albert. Sidorov was held off the scoresheet, however, Elias had a point in each of the two games he saw action.

As the weekend and game one against the Raiders was in the near distance, a bombshell was dropped on Friday. J.D. Burke tweeted Friday afternoon that second-round NHL pick and current Blades center Colton Dach had requested a trade. The 18-year-old Dach, who was a point per game player in the bubble last year, wanted to be moved. Dach who is currently at the Chicago Blackhawks camp alongside his brother and former Blade, Kirby, is a solid two-way centerman and a key piece to this year’s club.

Dealing from a point of weakness is never an easy task, especially in the sports world. The Blades who stayed mum during the weekend obviously were discussing options with other teams around the league. As the weekend progressed there were plenty of rumors around why Colton had requested a trade and we waited, until Tuesday when an announcement was made.

Rockets and Blades pull off big trade

The deal

The Blades confirmed they had moved Dach (currently injured with a right shoulder issue) to the Kelowna Rockets for 18-year-old centre Trevor Wong.

Wong, who was passed up in this past year’s NHL entry draft, surprised last year as a point-per-game player. Born in Vancouver, BC, and having played his minor hockey in the Vancouver area, Wong excels at moving the puck up the ice with speed.

Wong only went two consecutive games without a single point last year and during his 17-year-old season had a four-goal game in Prince George. Early sentiments have the Rockets sweeping this trade; however, some hockey pundits are saying to not sleep on Wong. The undersized forward is quick, has a nose for the net, and continues to develop. Time will be the true test of who wins this trade, however, this allows the Blades to move on as the Regular Season begins Friday in Moose Jaw to face the Warriors.