Blades welcome 11 players in 2025 WHL Prospects Draft
Edmonton, AB – A busy draft week for the Saskatoon Blades has come to a close.
The organization welcomed 11 new players into the organization during the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft. The week started with the Blue and Gold striking a deal with the league’s newest member, the Penticton Vees, to avoid submitting a protected players list for the Vees expansion draft on Wednesday. Saskatoon traded 2006-born defencemen Morgan Tastad and Ethan Weber, along with the 31st overall pick of the prospects draft in exchange for expansion draft exemption and the 24th overall pick of the draft.
Prior to Round 1 of the draft Wednesday night, the Blades struck another deal with the Vees. Saskatoon traded 2006-born winger Willy James for the 93rd overall pick. As players continued to be taken throughout the first round, the Blades saw an opportunity to target a player they wanted. With the Swift Current Broncos on the clock at the 15th overall pick, the Blades traded for the selection in exchange for the 22nd overall pick, the 73rd overall pick, and the 93rd overall pick. The Blades drafted 5-foot-11 forward Kain Martinuik with the 15th overall pick.
“ It’s kind of been a hectic few days with three drafts going on at once, with expansion, U.S and the prospects draft.” said Blades general manager and president, Colin Priestner.
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/ZxK9PKSJnG
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 8, 2025
The 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. Martinuik is the first player to be selected by Saskatoon in the first round since defenceman Isaac Poll in 2022.
The remainder of the draft took place Thursday, with the Blades holding the first selection of Day 2 at 24th overall. Priestner and crew made another addition to their forward group picking 5-foot-11 winger Noah Fowler with the first pick of the second round. The Quesnel, BC native dominated the U15 Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) with 29 goals and 33 assists for 62 points in 36 games. Fowler showed poise in big tournament play. The left-handed shot scored five goals and one assists in five games at the John Reid Memorial tournament. Fowler also scored at a goal-per-game pace with Team Canada West at the Cwench World Invite, netting six goals and two assists in six gamers.
“He’s a guy that we’re really excited about,” said Blades director of scouting, Dan Tencer, “He plays the game extremely fast, with tenacity, and he’s the type of kid that makes everybody around him better.” You could put him in any position on the ice and he’s going do his job in all three zones.”
With the first pick of the day in the @TheWHL Prospects Draft, we're proud to select forward Noah Fowler!
The 5-foot-11 forward scored 29 goals and 33 assists in 36 games in the @CSSHL U15 pic.twitter.com/H85rXCnUbW
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 8, 2025
On the clock at pick 35, the Blades traded the selection to the Calgary Hitmen for the 43rd overall pick and the 83rd overall pick.
TRADE 🚨
We've swapped picks with the Calgary Hitmen in Round 2 pic.twitter.com/sz3E98JkSp
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 8, 2025
The Blades took their first defenceman of the WHL Prospects Draft with the 43rd overall pick by selecting Braden Nowoselski. The White City, SK native scored 21 goals and 28 assists in 26 games with the Saskatchewan AA Hockey League’s (SAAHL) Prairie Storm U15 AA. Nowoselski came alive in the playoffs scoring one goal and 16 assists in ten games.
“ We think he is about as smart as they come on the back end,” said Tencer, “Just (has) a high IQ, elite footwork, and his edges are exceptional. He plays the game with a tremendous amount of poise, and he competes well above his size. We’re excited bout his potential in the next couple of years to continue to grow and develop into an extremely well-rounded player.”
With the 43rd overall pick, we're excited to announce the selection of defenceman Braden Nowoselski!
The left-handed shot scored 21 goals and 28 assists in 26 games with Prairie Storm U15 AA pic.twitter.com/IndVvPaGzi
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 8, 2025
The Blades made another pick swap for the 77th overall pick and the 181st overall pick from the Victoria Royals in exchange for the 129th overall pick and a 2027 fourth round pick.
TRADE 🚨
We've swapped picks with the Victoria Royals ahead of the 77th overall pick pic.twitter.com/97453LOPte
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 8, 2025
The Blades drafted goalie Bracken Larocque with the 77th overall pick. The 6-foot netminder. rocked a 12-4-2 record, 2.65 goals against average (GAA), two shutouts, and .930 save percentage (SV%) with the Alberta Elite Hockey League’s (AEHL) Grand Peace Storm U15 AAA. Larocque was even better in the postseason with a 3-2 record, 2.01 GAA, and a .947 SV%.
“We had a couple of prospects that both the scouts and our goalie coach, Jeff Harvey, really like,” said Tencer, One of them was Bracken LaRocque. He’s a Grand Prairie kid who’s a very late birthday, continues to grow, and was a huge part of them being a team that went on a run to provincials this year. He was super consistent every time we saw him.”
We're happy to select our first goalie of the @TheWHL Prospects Draft, Bracken Larocque!
The 14-year-old netminder posted a 12-4-2 record, 2.65 GAA, and .930 SV% with Grand Peace Storm U15 AAA pic.twitter.com/KSF8fiuTtI
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 8, 2025
Another big trade transpired as the Blades acquired 20-year-old scorer Dominik Petr, the 199th overall pick, and a conditional 2028 fifth round pick from the Brandon Wheat Kings in exchange for the 83rd overall pick. For full trade details, click HERE.
TRADE 🚨
Earlier today, we acquired pending overage forward Dominik Petr, and two @TheWHL Prospect Draft picks for the 83rd overall selection in the 2025 draft
READ MORE 📰 | https://t.co/ySIkNYeluk pic.twitter.com/AVkVHkO2qG
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 8, 2025
Saskatoon went with hometown defenceman Dax McDougall with their sixth round pick. The right-handed shot notched eight goals and 18 assists in 29 games with the SAAHL’s Saskatoon Outlaws U15. McDougall added a goal and two assists in four playoff games.
“ He’s a rangy, right-shot defender who continued to get better at every step of the way through the year,” said Tencer, “He plays the game with a lot of composure on the back end, defends really well taking away time and space, and he can move pucks.”
The hometown kid!
We're proud to select defenceman Dax McDougall with the 118th overall pick of the 2025 @TheWHL Prospects Draft! pic.twitter.com/5FYfIa282C
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 8, 2025
Saskatoon waited 52 spots for their next selection and used it to pick another right-shot defenceman in Liam Brooks. The Duluth, MN native scored 11 goals and 17 points in 17 games with the MN Voyageurs 14U AAA in the Minnesota High School Performance (MNHP) league. Brooks scored two goals and three assists in five playoffs games. The 5-foot-10 blueliner dominated with Duluth East Bantam AA scoring 35 goals and 47 assists in 55 games.
“One of the top offensive defensemen in the state of Minnesota,” said Tencer, Obviously, with the the rules changing and American players considering our league, I think you saw a lot of teams do that with later draft picks today. That was certainly one of the targets for us.”
With our first pick of the eighth round, we're happy to select defenceman Liam Brooks from Duluth, MN! pic.twitter.com/jBPWUkywH2
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 8, 2025
The Blades added another forward 11 picks later with 5-foot-7 winger Nicholas Voinea. The 14-year-old winger scored 13 goals and 20 assists in 36 games with Yale Hockey Academy U15 Prep of the CSSHL, tacking on 30 penalty minutes.
“Nicholas is a driver,” said Tencer, “He’s a heart and soul guy on his team. He’s the type of guy who’s going to drag his team into the fight every game. Undersized player, but again, a late birthday. So lots of growth potential there. Whatever size he is, he plays five feet bigger than that.”
With our second pick of the eighth round, we're happy to select forward Nicholas Voinea from Yale Hockey Academy U15 Prep
The 14-year-old winger scored 13 goals and 20 assists in 36 games in @CSSHL U15 this past season pic.twitter.com/Dd08RL5grQ
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 8, 2025
The Blades held back-to-back picks in the ninth round. Minnetonka, MN native Bo Skelton was selected at 198th overall. The 15-year-old winger netted seven goals and 27 assists in 54 games with Shattuck St. Mary’s 14U AAA this past season.
“Bo’s a young man who is not yet nearly reaching the peak of his physical development,” said Tencer, “I think a player that’s certainly down around that area is very, very highly thought of. He’s a guy that gives us, once again, a little bit more skill, a little bit more versatility as an American player in this age group, and I look forward to watching him continue to develop in an extremely quality program.”
With the first of back-to-back ninth round picks, we're excited to pick forward Bo Skelton! pic.twitter.com/mlOehkBHeA
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 8, 2025
The Blades took winger Alexander Sharman with the very next selection in the draft. The Coldstream, BC product scored an impressive 21 goals and 38 assists for 59 points in 36 games RINK HA Kelowna U15 prep of the CSSHL. Sharman lit the lamp three times in five games at the John Reid Memorial tournament.
“High IQ player, good size, great shot, and was a massive driver on the RHA Kelowna team,” said Tencer, “Alex is the type of guy who can play with good players, uses his brain to create offence, and has the stick skills to execute. So, we thought at that particular point in the draft, he gave us an offensive upside that was significant.”
We are happy to select forward Alexander Sharman with the very next pick! pic.twitter.com/Kc0LMkkM6e
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 8, 2025
The Blades picked their second goalie of the draft 221st overall in the tenth round. 6-foot netminder Max Hartel went 15-3-1 with a .915 SV%, 2.14 GAA, and three shutouts with the AEHL’s Calgary Bisons U15 AAA. Hartel went 5-2 in the playoffs with a .922 SV% and 2.44 GAA in seven appearances.
“We saw him play really well a bunch of times including at the provincial championships,” said Tencer, “A little bit undersized in terms of a goalie, but super athletic, high battle, reads the game extremely well, and gave his team a chance to win every game that he played. I know our goalie coach Harv is really excited to work with him.”
We've selected goalie Max Hartel with our tenth round pick!
The Calgary, AB netminder went 15-3-1 with a .915 SV%, 2.14 GAA, and three shutouts in 2024-25 pic.twitter.com/YdfY3OG66a
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 8, 2025
The Blades final pick of the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft was defenceman Austin Su in the 11th round. The left-handed shot scored two goals and 14 assists in 32 games this season the CSSHL’s Delta Hockey Academy U15 Prep.
“ Austin had a tough year because he was injured a couple of times, but high intelligence is the first thing,” said Tencer, “He’s very undersized right now, but that size is coming. We’re not concerned about that. He’s got size in his family, and he’s going to grow. He plays the game with poise. He sees the game extremely well from all areas of the ice. We think with him, the trajectory that we’re likely to see as he gets healthy the next year is going be really good.”
Our 2025 @TheWHL Prospects Draft concludes with defenceman Austen Su! pic.twitter.com/dFWpJFoIAG
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) May 8, 2025
