Blades select forward Kain Martinuik with 15th overall pick in 2025 WHL Prospects Draft
Edmonton, AB – The Saskatoon Blades are excited to announce the selection of Kain Martinuik with the 15th overall pick in the 2025 Western Hockey League (WHL) Prospects Draft.
THE PICK IS IN!
We're thrilled to draft forward Kain Martinuik with our first pick of the 2025 @TheWHL Prospects Draft! pic.twitter.com/bjmHE5Z0Fm
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 8, 2025
The pick wasn’t held by Saskatoon minutes before the selection was made. The Blades struck a deal for the 15th overall pick minutes before it was called with the Swift Current Broncos. Going the other way was the Saskatoon Blades 22nd overall pick, a 2025 fourth round pick, and a 2025 fifth round pick.
TRADE 🚨
We've acquired the 15th overall pick for 2025 @TheWHL Prospects Draft from the Swift Current Broncos! pic.twitter.com/SmkT52SU6Z
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 8, 2025
The 93rd overall selection came from a deal right before the draft started that saw forward Willy James head to the Penticton Vees.
TRADE 🚨
We've struck another deal with the Penticton Vees ahead of the @TheWHL Prospects Draft
READ MORE 📰 | https://t.co/5vf2vEofnN pic.twitter.com/I4vuUEJP9b
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 7, 2025
“For Willy James, it was a great chance at a refresh,” said Blades general manager and president, Colin Priestner, “He had a great start to the year for the first ten games, and then (suffered) a lot of injuries and just never got on track with us. There’s so many young guys coming in that are signed, so, we didn’t want him to be in a numbers game.”
Martinuik, a 15-year-old winger, scored a blistering 44 goals and 36 assists for 80 points in 57 games with Shattuck St. Mary’s 14U AAA. The Peachland, BC native native added six goals and three assists in five games at US 14 Nationals.
“I couldn’t have done it without my coaches, my teammates, my peers, especially my family, and everyone that’s been there along the way,” said Martinuik, “I’m kind of lost for words at the moment.”
The 5-foot-11 winger previously played with St. George’s School U15 Prep in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) in 2023-24. Martinuik registered more than a point-per-game with 14 goals and 23 assists in 27 games. In four playoff games, the left-handed shot dished six helpers to go along with his eight penalty minutes.
“I heard my name and my phone just started exploding, and all my teammates came in and cheered me on.”
“We had Kain Martinuik rated in our top three overall,” said Priestner, “We didn’t really spend a whole lot of time talking about him throughout the preparation of the week because we just assumed that he was gone in the top five, if not ten. Then, at ten, 11, 12, it’s starting to be like, ‘what’s going on here? Why is this guy falling?’ Maybe it’s being from Shaddock St. Mary’s, a Canadian kid going down south to play.”
Martinuik is the first player to be selected by Saskatoon in the first round since defenceman Isaac Poll in 2022.
“He’s a 6-foot plus kind of power forward scoring centre that plays with an edge,” said Priestner, “He’s mean. He had 110 PIMS for SHA this year and 40 goals. He just brings the intensity of the whole group up, and I thought he was a great compliment to some of the guys like Halat and the Johns, smaller wingers we took last year. He’s a power centre that we think can be a first liner and certainly play at 16.”
The U.S. Priority Draft begins Thursday, May 8 at 9:00am CT, followed by the remaining rounds of the WHL Prospects Draft.
