With the 20th overall and 107th overall picks at the 2021 CHL Import Draft, the Saskatoon Blades went ahead and made both selections.
With their first pick, the Blades went to Belarus to select 2004-born forward Yegor Sidorov. The 5-foot-10, 154-pound Vitebsk, BLR native had a busy 2020-21 campaign, playing for three different teams. With 20 games for Team Belarus U17, Sidorov scored 16 goals and added 11 assists. He also played 24 games for Team Belarus U18, scoring seven goals and adding seven assists.
Sidorov was added to the U18 World Junior Championship roster, where he contributed five assists in five games. At the U18s he averaged 15:51 of ice time, with 3:38 coming on the man-advantage. All six of his shots at the tournament came on the power play.
“Head coach Mitch Love and director of scouting Dan Tencer both had a chance to see this young man in person in Dallas at the World U-18 Hockey Championships, where he really turned heads getting a point per game as an underage player,” stated Blades GM Colin Priestner in a press release. “He has a really advanced offensive mind for the game and he’s able to make plays at a quick pace. We’re very excited to have him on our roster this year and we believe he has a very bright future with us going into his NHL draft year.”
With their second pick, the Blades headed to Germany, selecting another forward in 2004-born Moritz Elias. The 5-foot-7, 161-pound forward hails from Augsburg, Germany.
Elias was loaned to the DEL’s Nurnberg Ice Tigers for 16 contests. While with the team, Elias scored one goal and added an assist.
“Moritz will be a fan-favourite from the first day onward,” said Priestner. “He is shorter in stature but he plays like a bulldog with a really strong build. He has the speed, skill, and hockey IQ to be a dynamic player for us. He is one of the youngest forwards to ever score a goal in the DEL as a 16-year old, and he has all
the tools to be a big-time player for us. We’re excited to continue the discussions with him and his family leading into the fall about his future with our team.”
The team has never had a player from Belarus on the team and just two Germans have cracked the roster. Richard Mueller played 53 games over two seasons for the Blades, while Bradley Bergen played just one game.
