Saskatoon Blades announce camp players list: Team Clark and Team McLellan

The Saskatoon Blades have announced a list of 72 young men who will be vying for a spot on the roster come the start of the Western Hey League season.

Split into four teams, each named after a Blades alumnus in Braden Holtby, Wendel Clark, Todd McLellan and Todd Gulutzan, the six dozen skaters will hit the ice on Monday, August 26th and Tuesday, August 27th following physical testing on Sunday, August 25th. Here, over two days we break down who will be there and where they come from with stats from eliteprospects.com and a little bit of opinion.

Team McLellan

Goaltender Austin Elliot comes from the Notre Dame Hounds and was a Blades 2019 WHL Bantam Draft selection. In 16 games started for the AAA bantam Hounds, Elliot had a 3.57 goals against average and .898 save percentage.

The other goaltender on the roster is Cam Beson from Grande Prairie. Starting in 22 games Beson had a 2.84 goals against average and impressive .910 save percentage for the northern Alberta midget AAA team.

An invite to camp, Carson Shewfel is a big 15-year-old defenseman towering at 6-foot-5 and weighing a whopping 210 pounds. Shewfel is a left-shot from the Winnipeg Hawks.

A 2018 Bantam Draft selection, Marek Schneider comes locally from the Prince Albert Mintos. A disciplined defender, Schneider has only received 25 penalty minutes in 40 games over two seasons with the Mintos.

Cole Assailly is listed on the camp roster as a defenseman from the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL E15).

From the Victoria Royals is right handed defenseman Parker Malchuk. A veteran of 56 WHL games Malchuk has one assist in his young career.

Majid Kaddoura is the lone returning Blade for defence from last years roster on Team McLellan. Kaddoura had a goal and an assist with the blue and gold to go along with a respectable +16 in 41 games.

Defenceman Scott Walford, a veteran of over 200 WHL games (including playoffs), was acquired from the Victoria Royals on August 14. (Photo: Jay Wallace)

Rounding out the defence for Team McLellan is recently acquired (trade via Victora) Scott Walford. A NHL drafted and former WHL all-star, Walford will battle for one of three available slots as an overage. This year Walford will get the opportunity to skate in his 200th career WHL regular season game having already played in 191. In those games Walford has accumulated 17 goals and 92 assists for 109 points.

From southern Alberta, 2019 Bantam Draft selection, Sam Callahan. With the Okotoks Oilers midget AAA club, Callahan scored 41 points, 23 of those goals, in 33 games in 2018-19.

Local product, Mason Bueckert, last skated for the Saskatoon Generals bantam AAA team and was selected by the Blades in the 2019 Bantam Draft. Averaging a goal-per-game Bueckert notched 31 in 31 games to go along with 30 assists.

A returning player is left-wing Kyle Crnkovic. A 2017 selection from the Bantam Draft, Crnkovic skated in 52 games in the 2018-19 season and notched 11 goals and 20 helpers for 31 points.

Cal Caragata, like Crnkovic, was selected in the 2017 Bantam Draft and will be looking to crack the roster as a centre. Caragata has yet to play a WHL game, however, secured 41 points in 38 games last season with the Regina Pat Canadiens while suiting up for one game in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League with the Estevan Bruins.

Chase Wouters

Acquired via a trade with Kootenay last season Cyle McNabb split the year with the Vancouver Giants (34 games) and Kootenay Ice (three games) before finishing with the year with 22 games for Saskatoon. In his 80 total games McNabb notched seven goals and three assists.

Team McLellan invitees include, both from the west central region of the province, 2003 born left wing Tylin Hilbig and 2004 born centre Kayden Ostrom. 17-year-old, Sebastian Gracia and Saskatoon local Logan Olson will round out the invitees.

Finally for forwards is captain Chase Wouters. Another player who will skate in his 200th career WHL game this season, Wouters is a veteran of 196 games who has scored 49 goals and 72 assists for 121 total points.

Team Clark

The first goaltender on the roster, from the Yale Hockey Academy of the CSSHL E15, is Brayden Melnyk. A 2018 Bantam Draft selection of the Blades, Melnyk started in 16 games for the Elite 15s last year and finished with a 3.75 goals against average and .892 save percentage.

Returnee Nolan Maier, 18, is among the top goaltenders in the WHL. (photo-David Zammit)

The other netminder on Team Clark is returning Blade Nolan Maier. Arguably one of the best goaltenders in the Eastern Conference, if not the league last year, Maier started 53 games and won 38 of them to go along with a 2.67 goals against average and astounding .926 save percentage, an improvement from his 3.31 GAA and .895 save percentage in 43 games the year before.

Ty Ettinger

Starting last season with the Brandon Wheat Kings, defenseman Ty Ettinger only played one game with the Wheaties before being picked up by the Vancouver Giants where he played an additional 31 games, chipping in with three assists. Ettinger finished the season with the Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the Alberta Junior Hockey League and will be looking to make a return to the WHL with Saskatoon.

The first of the two allowable import players Radek Kucerik stands at 6-foot-3 and weighs 209 pounds. From the Czech Republic Kucerik represented his country at the 2018 U18 World Junior Championship while captaining the HC Kometa Brno U19 club. In 43 games Kucerik racked up 23 goals (6 assists and 17 assists).

Spencer Shugrue was selected in the 2018 Bantam Draft by the Blades and last played for the L.A. Jr. Kings where he skated in 43 games, scoring two goals and adding seven assists to go along with 28 penalty minutes.

Another 2018 selection from the Bantam Draft Charlie Wright hails from Olds Alberta.  Meanwhile, Brett Leonard and Jordan Grill round out the defenseman for team Clark and attend camp as invites.

For forwards Jayden Wiens plays centre and joins a strong 2018 Bantam Draft presence on team Clark.  A playmaker, Wiens racked up 27 assists in 44 games to go along with 7 assists with the Tisdale Trojans.

A Blades Bantam Draft selection from 2017, Davis Frank is looking for a roster spot with Saskatoon. Playing a hard-nosed game Frank piled up 129 penalty minutes in 42 games. He also had 14 goals and 15 assists through those games.

Another player looking to get back into the WHL is right wing Tyler Ho. Playing in parts of three seasons with the Vancouver Giants Ho has skated in 76 games and has accumulated 12 points in that time. He finished last season with the Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League.

Another Saskatoon product, Alex Bernauer was selected in the 2018 Bantam Draft and last skated for the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts.

Looking for what could be his last shot with the Blades is 2016 Bantam Draft selection Brady Nicholas. Last season, Nicholas got a nine game stint with Saskatoon where he was held off the score sheet and was handed 14 penalty minutes along with a -4 rating.

Sammy May, and Braden Plaschewsk, both selected in the 2017 Bantam draft, centre Brayden Bablitz, left wing Sammy May and right wing Garett Powers round out forwards for team Clark and are attending the Blades training camp as invites.

Catch all the above players in action during the Kirkland Cup at SaskTel Centre. The full schedule can be found here. Tomorrow we look at the players making up team Holtby and Team Gulutzan.