Blades alumni Roulette, Gustafson take home Canada West conference awards
Written by Canada West Newsroom
Saskatoon Blades alumni Blake Gustafson and Conner Roulette earned personal Canada West hardware for the 2025-26 season.
Gustafson was this year’s recipient of Canada West Men’s Hockey Community Service Award recipient for a second consecutive season, reflecting his incredible commitment to service and to bringing the University of Alberta student-athlete community together. The University of Alberta (UofA) Golden Bears defenceman appeared in all 28 games, recording two goals and 13 assists for 15 points while providing steady two-way play. In the classroom, the Ardrossan, AB native carried a 3.9 GPA in 2025-26 after posting a 3.8 the previous year, earning U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian recognition in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Gustafson’s leadership within University of Alberta Athletics has been extensive and impactful. As President-Elect of the University Athletics Board – set to serve as President in 2026-27 – he helps lead biweekly meetings coordinating varsity-wide events and volunteer initiatives across all 22 teams. He created streamlined sign-up systems and promotional strategies to enhance student-athlete engagement, and spearheaded the second annual Golden Bears Hockey Teddy Bear Toss while expanding the initiative to include the first-ever Canada West Women’s Hockey Teddy Bear Toss. The campaign collected 1,002 teddy bears and raised $1,270 for the Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre, more than doubling the previous year’s impact.
Gustafson’s also played a central role in safeguarding the long-term sustainability of varsity athletics at Alberta as Campaign Lead Assistant and Varsity Community Liaison for the 2026 Legacy Fund Plebiscite Committee. He coordinated directly with head coaches and student-athletes across all programs to drive awareness and participation, helped develop a varsity-wide communications strategy, and contributed to discussions on equitable distribution of Legacy Fund resources.
A point-per-game player as a freshman, first-year University of Saskatchewan (UofS) Huskie Conner Roulette takes home the UofA Hockey Alumni Trophy as the Canada West Rookie of the Year.
Roulette finished tied for seventh in conferencing scoring among all players in 2025-26 and led all rookies with 15 goals and 20 assists. One of Saskatchewan’s most consistent performers, the former ECHLer and Tulsa Oiler recorded more multi-point games (8) than pointless games (6) in his debut campaign, adding 86 shots and a +16 rating.
Roulette helped the Huskies capture their second consecutive Canada West Championship, defeating the Mount Royal University (MRU) Cougars 2-0 in the best-of-three final last weekend. Roulette became the 12th conference Rookie of the Year in program history, and first since Jared Dmytriw in 2019-20.
