Blades shift focus to 2024 WHL Prospects Draft
The Saskatoon Blades season came to an end Tuesday, May 7th after a tight Game 7 overtime loss in the Eastern Conference Final to the Moose Jaw Warriors. The best-of-seven series set a modern-day WHL record for the most overtimes in a series with six. Despite a heartbreaking end to the season, the Blades can hold their heads high for an amazing season.
Saskatoon captured the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for the fifth time in franchise history, going 50-13-2-3 during the regular season. It’s the most wins the organization has earned since the league switched to a 68-game slate in the 2018-19 season. Captain Trevor Wong became the first Blade since 1996 to reach 100 points in a single season. The overage centre scored 15 goals and led the WHL with 86 assists in 68 games. Anaheim Ducks prospect Egor Sidorov also became the first Blade since 1996 to score 50 goals in a season, doing so in dramatic fashion during the dying second of the final regular season game.
Several players enjoyed new career highs while the club experienced the best playoff run in 30 years. In Game 7 vs Moose Jaw, 13,000+ fans filled SaskTel Centre to support the Blue and Gold in a historic year for one of the WHL’s oldest franchises.
Saskatoon’s focus shifts to the future as the WHL Prospects Draft is set for Thursday, May 9th at 10:00a.m. The club has 11 pending 20-year-old forwards for the 2024-25 season on their roster, meaning big decisions are imminent for management.
Blades Director of Scouting Dan Tencer says despite the circumstances following elimination from the playoffs, it’s an exciting time of year for him and his staff.
“We look for the pure drive to succeed as a player,” said Tencer, “The pure determination and willpower to do whatever it takes to become excellent.”
Blades Director of Scouting Dan Tencer says this year’s draft is deep, boding well for the Bridge City Bunch who currently have no picks in the first five rounds.
“A lot of the players in the later rounds go there because they’re not a finished product yet,” said Tencer, “They’re 14 years old, so we’re not really concerned about them being finished product right now. We want to know where they’re going to be at 17 and 18 years old. The biggest determining factor in that is how bad they want it and how hard they’re going to work for it.”
Saskatoon sacrificed picks in the early rounds to pursue their first Ed Chynoweth Cup in franchise history. The Blades first pick of the draft as of Wednesday, May 8th is 133rd overall in the sixth round:
Sixth Round
- 133rd (SAS)
Seventh Round
- 155th (SAS)
Eighth Round
- 177th (SAS)
Ninth Round
- 199th (SAS)
Tenth Round
- 221st (SAS)
11th Round
- 243rd (SAS)
12th Round
- 265th (SAS)
“If you look at the teams that we’ve built here over the last five to six years, we’ve shown a real good ability to hit with some of those later round picks.” said Tencer.
Saskatoon drafted defenceman Spencer Shugrue 184th overall in the ninth round of the 2018 WHL Prospects Draft. The 5-foot-9 became one of the most beloved Blades in recent memory with his clutch moments in the 2022-23 postseason. Shugrue scored a goal in Game 7 of Round 1 of the 2023 WHL Playoffs against the Regina Pats and potted another pair of goals in Game 7 of Round 2 that year against the Red Deer Rebels. His performance helped the Blades to their first Eastern Conference Final appearance in 29 years. The Los Angeles, CA native finished his career with 131 games in a Blue and Gold sweater
2005-born forward Rowan Calvert was drafted 187th overall in the ninth round of the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft. The Moose Jaw, SK native didn’t see much ice time in his rookie season on a deep Blades squad during 2022-23 season, only lacing up for just one of the club’s 18 playoff games that spring. Calvert worked his tail off during the summer and enjoyed plenty of success in his sophomore season with the club. The 5-foot-10 winger scored a career-high ten goals and 15 assists in 68 games and finished the season at +8. Calvert’s play earned him time on the powerplay throughout the season, cashing in four times on the man-advantage. The 18-year-old forward added three goals and one assist in this year’s run to the Eastern Conference Final.
The hometown kid jams it in and ties up the game on the power play pic.twitter.com/S5f5Df3aRm
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 5, 2024
Towering 6-foot-4 blueliner Morgan Tastad was selected by the Blades 194th overall in the ninth round of the 2021 draft. The rookie defender played his way into 44 games during the 2023-24 season, scoring two goals and four assists with a +3 rating. The Loreburn, SK product dressed in 11 playoff games this season and recorded one assist. Tastad received a nod from NHL Central Scouting at the start of the season, receiving a “W” rating, indicating a sixth or seventh round candidate, and a first time NHL Draft eligible “Work in Progress” player with limited scouting history and games played. The left-handed shot gained valuable experience with a deep playoff run and veteran blueliners to look up to, and his ceiling is only going up as the years go.
Proving doubters wrong his whole life, netminder Austin Elliott did so again when the Blades drafted him 261st overall in the 12th round in the 2019 draft. The Strathmore, AB product had an outstanding rookie season in 2022-23, going 25-6-3-0 with a .911 save percentage and a 2.20 goals-against average. Elliott went on to play 11 games that postseason, going 3-0 in elimination games, including 2-0 in game 7s. Elliott’s play earned him a nod on the CHL all-rookie team that season. The 6-foot-2 netminder went 29-8-2-1 this year with a .904 save percentage and a 2.39 goals-against average. Elliott’s win totals was tied for third in the WHL and his four shutouts was tied for second with tandem partner Evan Gardner.
The Blades also enjoyed a deep 2023 draft with 2008-born players. The future looks exciting with many players selected in last year’s draft having stellar seasons.
“We love the ’08 draft,” said Tencer, “We feel that’s a real deep draft. Cooper Williams, unbelievable year. Zach Olson, great year. Riley Budd, a stud in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL). Guys like Matthew Dowdall, Nathan Guenther, Liam Eisnor, Benjamin Bowtell’s a high-skill guy that we’re hoping to recruit.”
Saskatoon drafted Olsen 29th overall last year in the second round. The 6-foot-2 centre scored 14 goals and 15 assists in 25 games with Edge School Prep U18 of the CSSHL. The Calgary, AB product added four goals and five assists in ten playoff games. Olsen made his WHL debut on Mar. 23rd, 2024 in the club’s final regular season game against the Prince Albert Raiders in front of 13,000+ fans at home.
Williams was selected 41st overall in the second round by Saskatoon last year. The Calgary, AB product enjoyed one of the best seasons by a rookie that the Alberta Elite U18 Hockey League (AEHL U18) has ever seen. The 16-year-old sniper scored 29 goals and 22 assists in 30 games with the Calgary Buffaloes as a 15-year-old for the majority of the season. The Calgary, AB native added seven goals and six assists in 13 playoff games, helping Calgary capture a provincial championship. The Buffaloes finished third in the nation, capturing a bronze medal at the 2024 Telus Cup.
Budd had one of the best rookie seasons by a goalie the CSSHL has ever seen after the Blades selected him 42nd overall at last year’s draft. The 6-foot goalie’s 15-2-0 record, .936 save percentage, 1.77 goals-against average, and three shutouts earned him the CSSHL’s U18 Prep Top Goaltender award.
Drafting plenty of talent goes further back than the 2023 draft.
“If you look at the ’07 age group, we had Hudson Kibblewhite on our team this year,” said Tencer, “We’ve got three defensemen in Brayden Klimpke, Jordan Martin, and Isaac Poll coming in next year that we’re really excited about. Those guys are going to be excellent defencemen in this league.”
“Look at Colton Worthington in that ’07 group as well. Later draft pick, and he played in Telus Cup this year with the Brandon Wheat Kings U18 AAA team. He won the silver medal and played a ton for the Brandon team. He had an excellent preseason for us. A lot of years he probably would have made our team at 16.”
The 2024 WHL Prospects Draft gets underway at 10:00am Thursday, May 9th at 10:00a.m. Live draft results can be viewed HERE
To view more of the exciting future within the Blades organization, click HERE