Blades draft 11 players in 2024 WHL Prospects Draft
Saskatoon, SK – It was a busy day for the Saskatoon Blades during Thursday’s WHL Prospects Draft.
The Blades entered the day with zero picks in the the first five rounds of the draft after going all-in on a WHL Championship run this spring. The team fell short in the Eastern Conference Final to the Moose Jaw Warriors in the most evenly matched series the WHL has ever seen. General manager Colin Priestner made several trades early in the draft to recoup draft picks, allowing the organization to draft some key players on their radar.
“Given the picks that we were able to pick up, we were able to very specifically target some players that give us the requisite skill, competitiveness, and drive to have a really good draft class,” said Blades director of scouting Dan Tencer, “We liked the depth of the draft and were able to target some guys in terms of different styles of play.”
Saskatoon helped 11 players realize their dream of being drafted to the WHL. BC-born players make up the largest portion of the draft with four total from west coast, three from Manitoba, and pairs from Saskatchewan and Alberta. By position, the Blades added seven forwards, three defencemen, and one goaltender.
The Blades first pick of the day wasn’t until the sixth-round at 133rd overall. That changed when the Blades acquired a 2024 third-round pick (66th overall) from the Kamloops Blazers (Prince George Cougars) in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick and a 2027 third-round pick.
TRADE 🚨
The Blades swapped picks with the Kamloops Blazers during the 2024 @TheWHL Prospects Draft
DETAILS 📰 | https://t.co/5toLrtfXSz pic.twitter.com/LybN8AuAeN
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 9, 2024
Before the Blades made used their newly acquired pick, the Blue and Gold added another third-round pick from the Kelowna Rockets. The Blades sent a 2025 fourth-round pick (Everett Silvertips) and a 2027 third-rounder (Spokane Chiefs) for the 61st overall pick in the third round of this draft. The pick acquired by Saskatoon originally belonged to the Medicine Hat Tigers.
TRADE 🚨
The Saskatoon Blades acquired another third-round pick in the 2024 @TheWHL Prospects Draft in a deal with the Kelowna Rockets
DETAILS 📰 | https://t.co/3PJwDpkSw7 pic.twitter.com/VqViWy95np
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 9, 2024
The Blades used their first pick of the day to draft skilled forward Jagger John at 61st overall. The 14-year-old winger scored 20 goals and 18 assists in 27 games with Northern Alberta Xtreme U15 Prep (NAX) of the Canadian School Sport Hockey League (CSSHL). The Fort McMurray, AB product led the playoffs in scoring by a wide margin with nine goals and ten assists in five appearances. John helped Team Alberta Blue win the 2024 Alberta Cup, dishing three helpers in five games at the tournament.
“He’s just an extremely skilled player,” said Tencer, “He played in the CSSHL for the NAX program that won the championship this year. He’s an undersized player, but he’s quick. He’s offensively intelligent. His stick skills are outstanding. He’s a creative player that we think will be able to produce offensively for us. He’s unique compared to some of what we have in the last couple of draft classes, which was really attractive to us.”
Saskatoon added a defenceman five picks later selecting Julian Revel at 66th overall. The 5-foot-11 blueliner netted six goals and 19 assists in 26 games with Burnaby Winter Club U15 Prep of the CSSHL. The 15-year-old, left-shot defender tacked on 16 penalty minutes in the regular season as well. Revel brought his edge into the postseason with 14 penalty minutes in three games and one goal. In five games at the John Reid Bantam tournament, Revel assisted on six goals.
“The word I’d use with him is poise,” said Tencer, “You watch him with the puck on his stick, whether it’s in his own zone, neutral zone transition, or laterally across the offensive blue line, he always looks composed and poised with the puck. His eyes are always up and is a very confident player that sees the ice well and can make plays. We feel he can be an excellent transitional defenseman. I think he’s going to be a guy that can do a good job getting the puck into our forward’s hands. Julian is a guy that we project will log pretty significant minutes at the WHL level.”
The Saskatoon Blades are excited to draft defenceman Julian Revel with the 66th overall pick
The left-handed shot had six goals and 19 assists in 26 games this season pic.twitter.com/EoduYDv24H
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 9, 2024
The Blades made their third trade of the day by acquiring a 2024 fourth-round pick from the Victoria Royals in exchange for a 2028 second-round selection. The 77th overall pick in this year’s draft originally belonged to the Vancouver Giants.
TRADE 🚨
The Saskatoon Blades nabbed a fourth-round pick in this year's @TheWHL Prospects Draft from the Victoria Royals pic.twitter.com/QvRfUD9qz3
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 9, 2024
Saskatoon drafted their first player from Manitoba in forward Cohen Lewko with the pick acquired from Victoria. The 2009-born forward lit the lamp 19 times and assisted 23 times in 26 games with the CSSHL’s RINK Hockey Academy Winnipeg U15. The 5-foot-11, Sanford, MB native tacked on 26 penalty minutes during the regular season and added one goal and two assists in four playoff games.
“Lewko’s got captain qualities,” said Tencer, “He’s just a fantastic person and leader. His drive and competitiveness is through the roof. He’s a big body, right shot, a real strong skater. He can beat goalies from distance with his shot, but he’s willing to go to the paint and score goals there too. I think he’s a guy that will play a very competitive North-South power game, be able to put the puck in the net, and compliment a guy like Jagger.”
The Blades are proud to select forward 5-foot-11 forward Cohen Lewko with the 77th overall pick
Lewko scored 19 goals and 23 assists in 26 games this season pic.twitter.com/V7iuCsYWSa
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 9, 2024
Saskatoon sat idle through the fifth round before making their fourth selection at 133rd overall in the sixth round. The Blades drafted Winnipeg, MB defenceman Spencer Kuntz 133rd overall in the sixth round. The silky-moving blueliner had three goals and 22 assists in 27 games with RINK Hockey Academy Winnipeg U15 Prep. Kuntz suited up in four playoff games and got six penalty minutes.
“Lots of physical maturity yet to come, but has tremendous character and compete level,” said Tencer, “This is a kid with some real sandpaper to his game. He’s got excellent mobility and uses that mobility to defend hard. His gaps are excellent. He’s strong on his stick and really takes pride in defending.”
With our sixth-round pick, we're proud to select defenceman Spencer Kuntz
The right-handed shot had three goals and 22 assists in 27 games this season with RINK Hockey Academy Winnipeg U15 Prep pic.twitter.com/67fajfYE8r
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 9, 2024
The Blades went fishing back in British Columbia drafting speedy forward Treyce Pavlic at 155th overall in the seventh round. The 5-foot-7 playermaker notched 14 goals and 36 assists in 27 games with the CSSHL’s Delta Hockey Academy U15 Prep G. The 14-year-old winger added one goals and three assists in five playoff games suited up in six games at the Brick Invitational Tournament.
“Treyce is one of the most offensively intelligent players in the draft class” said Tencer, “Offensive IQ, creativity, just through the roof. He’s a player that with even a shred of time and space is going to do absolutely nasty things offensively. He has some height in the family, so we’re hopeful that there’s a little bit more growth to come. In today’s game, with that skill and brain, you can do some pretty special things even as an undersized player.”
The Saskatoon Blades are thrilled to select forward Treyce Pavlic with the 155th overall selection
The left-handed shot was nearly two points-per-game in the @CSSHL U15 with 14 goals and 36 assists in 27 games. pic.twitter.com/KrAruHAyEI
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 9, 2024
The Blades brought more skill up front drafting forward Tristan Hoko 177th overall in the eighth-round. The West Kelowna, BC native had 26 goals and 13 assists in 27 games with Okanagan HA U15 Prep of the CSSHL, adding one goal in three playoff games.
“Trisan is another guy that knows what to do with the puck on his stick, and he plays ferociously to get it,” said Tencer, “He’s built very broadly and very fast. He’s willing to compete inside the ice. He wins his battles and if you get the puck on his stick, he sure knows what to do with it. He’s got a great release on his shot. He’s got good, strong shot selection with his eyes up.”
We're happy to announce forward Tristan Hoko as our eighth-round pick in the 2024 @TheWHL Prospects Draft
The skilled forward put up 26 goals and 13 assists in 27 games with Okanagan HA U15 Prep pic.twitter.com/5c4hLg38dh
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 9, 2024
Going for homegrown roots in the ninth-round the Blades drafted Saskatoon, SK’s own Millar Anderson. The 5-foot-11 forward recorded 14 goals and 29 points in 29 contests with the Saskatoon Generals of the Saskatchewan AA Hockey League (SAAHL). Anderson was a stud through six playoff games with five goals and five assists.
“Millar is a later birthday, who already has immense size and isn’t going to stop growing anytime soon,” said Tencer, “He skates extremely well for a large player, and his IQ for the game is strong. If you put him in the middle of the ice, you’ve got yourself a traditional two-way, very large, nice skating centerman.”
Going homegrown!
The Saskatoon Blades are excited to draft forward Millar Anderson from the @saskatoongens!
The local kid scored 14 goals and 29 assists in 29 games this season pic.twitter.com/CbEo2FQtir
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 9, 2024
Sticking with Saskatchewan roots the Blades selected North Battleford, SK product Rylee Belyk in the tenth-round. The 6-foot-1 defenceman scored six goals and 13 assists in 29 games with the North West Stars of the SAAHL and also collected 24 penalty minutes.
“Rylee’s got tremendous size and big oomph to his game,” said Tencer, “He plays with a lot of confidence, assertiveness, and carries himself with a lot of poise. We think there’s a ton of tools there for him and look forward to watching him mold his game. There’s no secret with both of those picks looking to stay close to home and looking to add some size into the draft class.”
The Blades selected towering defenceman Rylee Belyk from the North West Stars
The Saskatchewan kid had six goals and 13 points in 29 games pic.twitter.com/04yBIh6SwM
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 9, 2024
The last time the Blades drafted a goalie born in Fort St. John, BC was 2021 when they selected 2023-24 WHL Rookie of the Year nominee Evan Gardner. 5-foot-11 netminder Dysen Loewen could follow in his footsteps after being drafted 243rd overall in the 11th round. Loewen went 11-5-4 with the AEHL’s Grande Prairie Storm U15 with a .916 save-percentage and a 3.27 goals-against average.
“Dysen still has growing to do, but is a player that the coaches liked both with his club team and at the provincial championships this year,” said Tencer, “Our goalie coach Jeff Harvey watched film on him and really likes the way he moves and poise he carries himself with. We had Dysen reasonably high on our goalie list and felt if you end up with another quality goalie to follow up the likes of Gardner and Budd, there’s no problem with that.”
The Blades drafted goalie Dysen Loewen from the Fort St. John Flyers!
The last goalie drafted from Fort St. John was Evan Gardner and that turned out pretty well 😉 pic.twitter.com/ZzzJ8aKaPJ
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 9, 2024
The Blades selected forward Lincoln Reaves 265th overall in 12th-round, and capped off the draft with another forward in Hunter Ethelston.
“Lincoln had a great offensive output in the AEHL this season,” said Tencer,” At Alberta Cup, he was one of the more noticeable players. He plays with a ton of pace, is dynamic has a good shot, and sees the ice extremely well. I think there’s a lot of offensive upside with him.”
The Blades added more skill up front selecting forward Lincoln Eaves
The right-handed shot scored 21 goals and 30 assists in 31 games in the @AEHL_HA pic.twitter.com/R1YjqKYq7F
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 9, 2024
“We think Hunter is really raw and just scratching the surface,” said Tencer, “His trajectory all year was extremely strong. He’s a big body who moves extremely well, a very hard worker, a good student of the game, wants to compete, and we think as he continues to develop he’s got a ton of tools to continue to climb up.”
The Blades drafted forward Hunter Ethelston with the 287th overall selection
Ethelston scored 11 goals and seven assists in 29 games in the WAAA U15 League pic.twitter.com/Fa7cl4AAqa
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 9, 2024