[{"id":76857,"date":"2026-06-23T14:49:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T18:49:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/?p=76857"},"modified":"2026-06-23T14:49:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T18:49:33","slug":"2026-nhl-draft-profile-zach-olsen-saskatoon-blades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/article\/2026-nhl-draft-profile-zach-olsen-saskatoon-blades","title":{"rendered":"2026 NHL Draft Profile | Zach Olsen, Saskatoon Blades"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>From the outside, <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl\/players\/29429\">Zach Olsen<\/a>&#8216;s rise through the NHL Draft ranks might have some scratching their heads.<\/p>\n<p>The bare stats don&#8217;t necessarily fly off the page- but as Olsen&#8217;s coaches, teammates and opponents will tell you, goals and assists don&#8217;t tell the full story.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, in a recent poll by The Athletic&#8217;s Scott Wheeler, the Saskatoon Blades winger was voted the most underrated player in the 2026 NHL Draft class by his peers.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s always moving,&#8221; Blades star and fellow draft-eligible forward Cooper Williams said. &#8220;He&#8217;s big and he&#8217;s strong, and when you add his speed to it, he&#8217;s hard to stop in puck battles, and he&#8217;s just always competing as hard as he can.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">New at <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheAthletic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@TheAthletic<\/a>: The NHL Draft player poll.<\/p>\n<p>I surveyed 65 of the top prospects in the 2026 class. The results, packed with quotes and insight: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zaGrgTgq6l\">https:\/\/t.co\/zaGrgTgq6l<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DvlLYptxGa\">pic.twitter.com\/DvlLYptxGa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/scottcwheeler\/status\/2067013040051032424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 16, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In a sophomore season that saw him switch from centre to right wing, Olsen posted 18 goals (including three game-winners) and 16 assists for 34 points in 57 regular-season games, along with a team-leading 79 penalty minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Blades Head Coach Dan DaSilva sees shades of gritty Washington Capitals alternate captain and Stanley Cup champion Tom Wilson in the youngster&#8217;s game.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s such a presence when he&#8217;s on the ice. The opponent knows when Tom Wilson is on the ice, and our opponents know when Zach&#8217;s out there, &#8221; DaSilva explained. &#8220;He can play up and down your lineup. He can play a fourth-line checking role, where you need someone to just be responsible defensively, bring energy, and get on the forecheck, and then he can also play in the top six, on your top line, where he&#8217;s on the forecheck, creating time and space for his teammates, getting them the puck and getting open and getting to the net, and he can finish really well. He&#8217;s really a complementary player to anyone he&#8217;s playing with.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Clocking in at 6-foot-1.25 and 207 pounds, Olsen prides himself on the work he&#8217;s put in to round out his 200-foot game without losing his sandpaper approach.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I definitely like to get gritty and get dirty,&#8221; Olsen added. &#8220;I like to go to the dirty areas, go to the corners, get to the net front, and kind of just try to get under people&#8217;s skin. I know my physicality, definitely, is a huge part of my game, and I know in the NHL there are lots of physical guys out there, so I think it&#8217;ll translate well.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">One, two, three, four, Zach Olsen likes to score!<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BladesHockey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@BladesHockey<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/NHLDraft?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NHLDraft<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1IeoujAMXi\">pic.twitter.com\/1IeoujAMXi<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheWHL\/status\/2068809172402262021?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 21, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Calgary, Alta. product tacked on another six points (2G-4A) in 10 playoff games to upset the Edmonton Oil Kings before falling to the eventual Eastern Conference Champion Prince Albert Raiders and got the call to Team Canada for the first time shortly afterwards.<\/p>\n<p>Olsen notched a pair of goals in five games for Canada at the 2026 IIHF U18 World Championship, scored for Team East at the 2026 WHL Prospects Game and has raised his NHL Central Scouting ranking to 36th among all North American skaters.<\/p>\n<p>He placed in the top 20 in five of 15 tests at the 2026 NHL Combine, including a fifth-place finish in anaerobic fitness- peak power output (watts\/kg).<\/p>\n<p>And he&#8217;s doing this while managing additional health factors.<\/p>\n<p>Olsen was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was in the second grade.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I got super, super sick,&#8221; Olsen said. &#8220;My parents noticed even weeks before that, that something was going on with me. I wasn\u2019t acting like myself. I was drinking lots and lots of water, going to the bathroom a lot, and so one day, my mom decided that it\u2019d be best if we&#8217;d take me to the Children\u2019s Hospital. They ended up running some tests and found out that I have Type 1 diabetes. So it was definitely scary at first, kind of learning what diabetes is, and I didn\u2019t know if I\u2019d be able to play hockey.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Like many young athletes who&#8217;ve faced a similar diagnosis, Olsen dialled into Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi&#8217;s journey.<\/p>\n<p>He leapt back into elite hockey and even captured a CSSHL U18 Championship with Calgary&#8217;s Edge School before making the jump to the WHL.<\/p>\n<p>Now, he&#8217;s part of a wave of aspiring professionals carrying the torch.<\/p>\n<p>Olsen and his Blades teammate, Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Evan Gardner, have advocated for diabetes awareness in Saskatoon and met with local schoolkids to share more about the condition and how it&#8217;s simply become a part of their game day routines.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;(It) feels like I&#8217;ve had it my entire life, so it&#8217;s kind of just another thing I do,&#8221; Olsen shrugged. &#8220;Got to make sure my blood sugar is right, make sure I&#8217;m eating right, just little things like that.<\/p>\n<p>(I) just want to help show other younger kids, maybe who are getting diagnosed and they don&#8217;t know what it is and if they can play, that it&#8217;s not over and there&#8217;s always more, and you can keep doing what you do.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That leadership extends to the Saskatoon locker room, where DaSilva says Olsen has established himself as a young man that his teammates look up to.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s a guy that is beloved by his teammates,&#8221; DaSilva added. &#8220;He&#8217;s a guy that can hold court and everyone&#8217;s kind of drawn to. He&#8217;s just got that, you know, great positive energy. He&#8217;s just emerged as a leader amongst the younger guys, but now, obviously, with some of our older players departing this year, we&#8217;re going to need guys to step up, and we&#8217;ll definitely be looking to Zach to do that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Olsen, along with teammates Williams and defenceman Brayden Klimpke, will be glued to the draft boards this weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Round 1 of the 2026 NHL Draft begins on Friday, June 26, at 5:00 p.m. MT, with Rounds 2-7 running the following day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From the outside, Zach Olsen&#8216;s rise through the NHL Draft ranks might have some scratching their heads. The bare stats don&#8217;t necessarily fly off the page- but as Olsen&#8217;s coaches, teammates and opponents will tell you, goals and assists don&#8217;t tell the full story. In fact, in a recent poll by The Athletic&#8217;s Scott Wheeler,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":445,"featured_media":76858,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[{"term_id":570,"name":"Zach Olsen","slug":"zach-olsen","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":570,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":15,"filter":"raw","term_order":"75"}],"class_list":["post-76857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-zach-olsen","category-541","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/06\/22171003\/Profiles-1920-9.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/445"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":76850,"date":"2026-06-22T13:03:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T17:03:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/?p=76850"},"modified":"2026-06-22T13:10:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T17:10:40","slug":"blades-announce-2026-preseason-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/article\/blades-announce-2026-preseason-schedule","title":{"rendered":"Blades announce 2026 preseason schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Saskatoon, SK \u2013\u00a0<\/strong> The Western Hockey League (WHL) announced the 2026 preseason schedule on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>The Saskatoon Blades hit the ice five times for exhibition play in the fall. Action begins Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 2:00pm CST with a rookie game at SaskTel Centre against the Prince Albert Raiders.<\/p>\n<p>The Bridge City Bunch continue the preseason on Friday, Sept. 4 at InnovationPlex versus the Swift Current Broncos at 7:05pm. Warman Home Centre Communiplex will once again feature the Blades hosting the Raiders on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 7:00pm. The Highway 11 rivals lock horns for the final time on Thursday, Sept. 10 at the Art Hauser Centre for a 7:00pm puck drop.<\/p>\n<p>Saskatoon\u2019s preseason concludes at SaskTel Centre against Maddox Schultz and the Regina Pats at 7:00pm on Saturday, Sept. 12.<\/p>\n<p>The 2026-27 WHL regular season schedule will be unveiled Tuesday, June 30.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-size: 24pt\"><strong>Full 2026 WHL Preseason Schedule<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<table width=\"650\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\"><strong>Visitor<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"112\"><strong>Home<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"111\"><strong>Date<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"96\"><strong>Time<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"228\"><strong>Location<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Seattle<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Everett<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">August 30<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">1 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Angel of the Winds Arena \u2013 Everett, Wash.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Tri-City<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Portland<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">August 30<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">2 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Veterans Memorial Coliseum \u2013 Portland, Ore.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Tri-City<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Wenatchee<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">August 31<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">2 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Town Toyota Center \u2013 Wenatchee, Wash.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Prince Albert<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Saskatoon<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 1<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">2 p.m. ST<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">SaskTel Centre \u2013 Saskatoon, Sask.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Medicine Hat<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Lethbridge<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 1<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. MT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">VisitLethbridge.com Arena \u2013 Lethbridge, Alta.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Swift Current<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Regina<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 1<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. ST<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Brandt Centre \u2013 Regina, Sask.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Penticton<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Kamloops<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 2<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Sandman Centre \u2013 Kamloops, B.C.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Moose Jaw<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Regina<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 2<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. ST<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Brandt Centre \u2013 Regina, Sask.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Vancouver<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Seattle<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 4<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">12 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Angel of the Winds Arena \u2013 Everett, Wash.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Spokane<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Portland<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 4<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">3:30 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Angel of the Winds Arena \u2013 Everett, Wash.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Regina<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Brandon<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 4<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. CT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Assiniboine Credit Union Place \u2013 Brandon, Man.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Red Deer<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Calgary<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 4<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. MT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">7 Chiefs Sportsplex \u2013 Tsuut\u2019ina Nation, Alta.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Kelowna<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Kamloops<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 4<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Sandman Centre \u2013 Kamloops, B.C.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Moose Jaw<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Prince Albert<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 4<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. ST<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Art Hauser Centre \u2013 Prince Albert, Sask.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Edmonton<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Prince George<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 4<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Tumbler Ridge Arena \u2013 Tumbler Ridge, B.C.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Saskatoon<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Swift Current<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 4<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. ST<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">InnovationPlex \u2013 Swift Current, Sask.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Tri-City<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Everett<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 4<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Angel of the Winds Arena \u2013 Everett, Wash.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">London (OHL)<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Victoria<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 4<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7:05 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre \u2013 Victoria, B.C.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Seattle<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Spokane<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 5<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">2 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Angel of the Winds Arena \u2013 Everett, Wash.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">London (OHL)<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Victoria<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 5<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">4:05 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre \u2013 Victoria, B.C.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Portland<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Everett<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 5<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">6 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Angel of the Winds Arena \u2013 Everett, Wash.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Kamloops<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Kelowna<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 5<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">6:05 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Prospera Place \u2013 Kelowna, B.C.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Lethbridge<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Medicine Hat<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 5<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. MT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Co-op Place \u2013 Medicine Hat, Alta.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Swift Current<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Moose Jaw<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 5<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. ST<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Southland Co-op Centre \u2013 Assiniboia, Sask.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Calgary<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Red Deer<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 5<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">6 p.m. MT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Marchant Crane Centrium \u2013 Red Deer, Alta.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Brandon<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Regina<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 5<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">6 p.m. ST<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Chief Denton George Memorial Multiplex \u2013 Ochapowace, Sask.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Prince Albert<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Saskatoon<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 5<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. ST<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Warman Home Centre Communiplex \u2013 Warman, Sask.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Tri-City<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Wenatchee<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 5<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">6 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Town Toyota Center \u2013 Wenatchee, Wash.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Edmonton<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Prince George<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 6<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">12 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Tumbler Ridge Arena \u2013 Tumbler Ridge, B.C.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Wenatchee<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Vancouver<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 6<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">12 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Angel of the Winds Arena \u2013 Everett, Wash.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Seattle<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Everett<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 6<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">4 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Angel of the Winds Arena \u2013 Everett, Wash.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Regina<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Moose Jaw<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 8<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. ST<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Temple Gardens Centre \u2013 Moose Jaw, Sask.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Kamloops<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Penticton<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 8<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">6:35 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">South Okanagan Events Centre \u2013 Penticton, B.C.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Kelowna<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Penticton<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 9<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">6:35 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">South Okanagan Events Centre \u2013 Penticton, B.C.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Red Deer<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Lethbridge<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 10<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. MT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">VisitLethbridge.com Arena \u2013 Lethbridge, Alta.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Saskatoon<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Prince Albert<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 10<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. ST<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Art Hauser Centre \u2013 Prince Albert, Sask.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Wenatchee<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Seattle<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 11<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">3 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Toyota Arena \u2013 Kennewick, Wash.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Moose Jaw<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Brandon<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 11<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. CT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Assiniboine Credit Union Place \u2013 Brandon, Man.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Swift Current<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Medicine Hat<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 11<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. MT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Co-op Place \u2013 Medicine Hat, Alta.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Edmonton<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Red Deer<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 11<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. MT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Marchant Crane Centrium \u2013 Red Deer, Alta.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Prince Albert<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Regina<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 11<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. ST<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Brandt Centre \u2013 Regina, Sask.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Portland<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Spokane<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 11<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Toyota Arena \u2013 Kennewick, Wash.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Victoria<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Everett<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 11<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7:05 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Angel of the Winds Arena \u2013 Everett, Wash.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Seattle<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Portland<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 12<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">2 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Toyota Arena \u2013 Kennewick, Wash.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Medicine Hat<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Swift Current<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 12<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">5 p.m. ST<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">LSB Legacy Wickenheiser Centre \u2013 Shaunavon, Sask.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Calgary<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Edmonton<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 12<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">6 p.m. MT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Glenn Hall Centennial Arena \u2013 Stony Plain, Alta.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Brandon<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Moose Jaw<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 12<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">6 p.m. ST<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Temple Gardens Centre \u2013 Moose Jaw, Sask.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Kamloops<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Prince George<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 12<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">5 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">West Fraser Centre \u2013 Quesnel, B.C.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Regina<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Saskatoon<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 12<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. ST<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">SaskTel Centre \u2013 Saskatoon, Sask.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Penticton<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Kelowna<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 12<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">6:05 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Prospera Place \u2013 Kelowna, B.C.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Spokane<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Tri-City<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 12<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">6:05 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Toyota Arena \u2013 Kennewick, Wash.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Victoria<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Vancouver<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 12<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">7 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Jon Baillie Arena \u2013 Port Coquitlam, B.C.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Victoria<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Vancouver<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 13<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">2 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Langley Events Centre ARENAS \u2013 Langley, B.C.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Wenatchee<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Tri-City<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 13<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">2:05 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Toyota Arena \u2013 Kennewick, Wash.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Prince George<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Kamloops<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 13<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">5 p.m. PT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">Sandman Centre \u2013 Kamloops, B.C.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"104\">Lethbridge<\/td>\n<td width=\"112\">Calgary<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">September 13<\/td>\n<td width=\"96\">4 p.m. MT<\/td>\n<td width=\"228\">7 Chiefs Sportsplex \u2013 Tsuut\u2019ina Nation, Alta.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saskatoon, SK \u2013\u00a0 The Western Hockey League (WHL) announced the 2026 preseason schedule on Monday. The Saskatoon Blades hit the ice five times for exhibition play in the fall. Action begins Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 2:00pm CST with a rookie game at SaskTel Centre against the Prince Albert Raiders. The Bridge City Bunch continue the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":445,"featured_media":76851,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-76850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-541","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/06\/22112024\/Preseason-Schedule-2026-Web.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/445"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":76841,"date":"2026-06-17T19:55:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T23:55:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/?p=76841"},"modified":"2026-06-17T19:55:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T23:55:32","slug":"former-blades-captain-wouters-inks-first-nhl-contract-with-vancouver-canucks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/article\/former-blades-captain-wouters-inks-first-nhl-contract-with-vancouver-canucks","title":{"rendered":"Former Blades captain Wouters inks first NHL contract with Vancouver Canucks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Is 2026-27 the year we finally &#8216;C&#8217; Chase Wouters in the NHL?<\/p>\n<p>If his latest pro contract is any indication, the odds are looking good for the longtime AHL captain and former Saskatoon Blades star.<\/p>\n<p>The Vancouver Canucks have signed the 26-year-old to a one-year, two-way contract.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Chase has worked extremely hard to earn this contract,&#8221; Canucks General Manager Ryan Johnson said.\u00a0 &#8220;He is a heart and soul type player, someone who doesn\u2019t cheat the game and always goes the extra mile to work on his craft. Detail-oriented and coachable, Chase is a very good hockey player who leads by example. I am impressed with his development and proud of the progress he has made since turning pro. Besides all his work on the ice, he is the first to raise his hand to help others and go above and beyond in the community. His leadership qualities, skill set, and hockey IQ have helped him take another step forward in his hockey journey.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The North Battleford, Sask. product was originally drafted by the Blades with the 18th overall pick in the 2015 WHL Prospects Draft.<\/p>\n<p>Wouters went on to register 181 points (75G-106A) in 280 regular-season games over parts of six seasons in the Bridge City.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the stats, he proudly served as captain for three seasons and remains the longest-serving &#8216;C&#8217; in the Blades&#8217; long history.<\/p>\n<p>The 6-foot, 182-pound centreman signed with the AHL&#8217;s Abbotsford Canucks as an undrafted free agent in 2021 and has spent his entire professional career with the club.<\/p>\n<p>Wouters has racked up 120 points (43G-77A) in 338 games in five seasons with Abbotsford and has served as team captain since 2022.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s won the team&#8217;s Man of the Year award four times and ranks as the franchise leader in regular-season games played (338) as well as playoff matches (38).<\/p>\n<p>Wouters posted five points (2G-3A) in 24 outings to help the Canucks hoist the Calder Cup as AHL Champions in 2024-25 and brought the cup to Saskatoon to celebrate shortly afterward.<\/p>\n<p>Tuesday&#8217;s signing marks Wouters&#8217; first NHL contract.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is 2026-27 the year we finally &#8216;C&#8217; Chase Wouters in the NHL? If his latest pro contract is any indication, the odds are looking good for the longtime AHL captain and former Saskatoon Blades star. The Vancouver Canucks have signed the 26-year-old to a one-year, two-way contract. &#8220;Chase has worked extremely hard to earn this&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":445,"featured_media":76842,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[{"term_id":313,"name":"Chase Wouters","slug":"chase-wouters","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":315,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":18,"filter":"raw","term_order":"170"}],"class_list":["post-76841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-chase-wouters","category-541","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/06\/17145656\/Wouters_NHL-Signings-1920.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/445"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":76833,"date":"2026-06-17T11:01:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T15:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/?p=76833"},"modified":"2026-06-17T11:01:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T15:01:38","slug":"blades-announce-2026-27-home-opener-presented-by-go-merlin-ford-lincoln","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/article\/blades-announce-2026-27-home-opener-presented-by-go-merlin-ford-lincoln","title":{"rendered":"Blades announce 2026-27 Home Opener presented by Go Merlin Ford Lincoln"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p><strong>Saskatoon, SK \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>The first glimpse of the Saskatoon Blades 2026-27 regular season at SaskTel Centre has been revealed.<\/p>\n<p>The Blue and Gold welcome fans back to SaskTel Centre for the Home Opener presented by Go Merlin Ford Lincoln on Saturday, Sept 25 at 7:00pm CST against the Prince Albert Raiders. The Bridge City Bunch invade Assiniboine Credit Union Place to begin the season on Friday, Sept, 18 at 6:00pm CST.<\/p>\n<p>The 2026 preseason and remainder of regular season schedule are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saskatoon, SK \u2013\u00a0The first glimpse of the Saskatoon Blades 2026-27 regular season at SaskTel Centre has been revealed. The Blue and Gold welcome fans back to SaskTel Centre for the Home Opener presented by Go Merlin Ford Lincoln on Saturday, Sept 25 at 7:00pm CST against the Prince Albert Raiders. The Bridge City Bunch invade&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":445,"featured_media":76834,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-76833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-541","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/06\/16111654\/Home-Opener-Web.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/445"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":76831,"date":"2026-06-16T10:41:04","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T14:41:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/?p=76831"},"modified":"2026-06-16T10:41:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T14:41:04","slug":"2026-nhl-draft-profile-brayden-klimpke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/article\/2026-nhl-draft-profile-brayden-klimpke","title":{"rendered":"2026 NHL DRAFT PROFILE | Brayden Klimpke"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A lifelong dream for Saskatoon Blades defenceman Brayden Klimpke could become reality in less than two weeks at the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think every kid&#8217;s goal that plays hockey in Western Canada is to hear their name called on (NHL) draft night,&#8221; said Klimpke, &#8220;It&#8217;s something I&#8217;ve thought about a lot.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>A late 2007 birthday, this year marks the first time the Calgary, AB native is eligible for the NHL draft. The 6-foot-1 defenceman had a breakout year in his sophomore Western Hockey League (WHL) season. Following an impressive 2024-25 rookie campaign with three goals and 23 assists for 26 points in 59 games, the left-handed shot was named an alternate captain ahead of the 2025-26 season. Klimpke scored a career-high 47 points (4G, 43A) while playing all 68 regular season games for the Blue and Gold. The NHL Draft-eligible defenceman shined in the postseason to help the Blades advance to the second round, upsetting the third-seeded Edmonton Oil Kings in Round 1. Klimpke registered a goal and three assists in the seven-game series against Edmonton, eliminating the Oil Kings 3-2 in Game 7 overtime. In 11 postseason games, Klimpke registered five points (1G, 4A) while averaging around 30 minutes a night against the opposition&#8217;s top lines. Klimpke&#8217;s efforts earned him the Tanner Molendyk Award for the team&#8217;s defenceman of the year and team&#8217;s MVP Award.<\/p>\n<p>Klimpke cracked NHL Central Scouting&#8217;s Rankings three times this season. The 18-year-old finalized at 74th overall amongst North American Skaters in April, five higher than his midterm ranking in January. Klimpke hopes to be drafted alongside fellow teammates and Calgary natives Zach Olsen and Cooper Williams.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It helps a lot when you&#8217;ve got guys here with you (Olsen, Williams) and kind of go through the experience together,&#8221; said Klimpke, &#8220;We&#8217;ll be there for each other and there to help out.<\/p>\n<p>Round 1 of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft kicks off on Friday, Jun. 26 at KeyBank Centre in Buffalo, NY at 5:00pm MT. Rounds 2-7 start the following day at 9:00am MT.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A lifelong dream for Saskatoon Blades defenceman Brayden Klimpke could become reality in less than two weeks at the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. &#8220;I think every kid&#8217;s goal that plays hockey in Western Canada is to hear their name called on (NHL) draft night,&#8221; said Klimpke, &#8220;It&#8217;s something I&#8217;ve thought about a lot.&#8221; A late&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":445,"featured_media":76832,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[{"term_id":632,"name":"Brayden Klimpke","slug":"brayden-klimpke","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":632,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":11,"filter":"raw","term_order":"15"}],"class_list":["post-76831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-brayden-klimpke","category-541","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/06\/16103915\/A1S05665-3-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/445"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76831"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76831\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":76811,"date":"2026-06-10T12:20:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T16:20:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/?p=76811"},"modified":"2026-06-10T12:28:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T16:28:57","slug":"blades-ink-2010-born-goalie-max-hartel-to-whl-scholarship-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/article\/blades-ink-2010-born-goalie-max-hartel-to-whl-scholarship-agreement","title":{"rendered":"Blades ink 2010-born goalie Max Hartel to WHL Scholarship Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Saskatoon, SK \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>The Saskatoon Blades are excited to announce the signing of 2010-born goaltender Max Hartel to a Western Hockey League (WHL) Scholarship and Development Agreement.<\/p>\n<p>The Calgary, AB native was drafted by the Blades in the tenth round (221st overall) of the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Max is a prospect we&#8217;re very excited about, and he earned this with an exceptional U18 AAA season in Calgary last year,&#8221; said Blades director of scouting, Dan Tencer, &#8220;His ability to read the game is a skill that sets him apart and combined with his technical skill and athleticism, gives him the upside of being an elite goaltender. He is highly driven and focused, and we expect he will continue on the sharp upward trajectory that he&#8217;s shown over the last two years.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Hartel produced one of the best statistical seasons every recorded in the U18 Alberta Elite Hockey League (AEHL). The 6-foot-1 netminder went 13-6-2 with the Calgary Buffaloes AAA squad. Hartel&#8217;s .939 save percentage (SV%) was the highest by a 15-year-old netminder in the U18 AEHL since the stat&#8217;s been tracked in the 1990s. It&#8217;s also the sixth-highest SV% by any goalie in the league&#8217;s history during the same time frame. Hartel&#8217;s 1.94 goals against average (GAA) is the best in AEHL U18 history since the stat&#8217;s been tracked behind only Garin Bjorklund in 2017-18. Hartel also recorded two shutouts during the regular season, tied for second amongst all AEHL U18 goaltenders.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;With Bracken Larocque also at 2010 and Blake Pickens at 2011, we feel very strongly about the young future in our crease,&#8221; said Tencer.<\/p>\n<p>Hartel&#8217;s stellar play continued into four postseason games with the Buffaloes, going 2-2 with a .919 SV% and 2.74 GAA. Following his U18 campaign, Hartel gained valuable experience on the main roster during the Blades 2026 playoff run to the second round.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re excited to welcome the Hartel family to the organization and look forward to watching Max continue his development under the guidance of head coach Dan DaSilva and goaltending coach Jeff Harvey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saskatoon, SK \u2013\u00a0The Saskatoon Blades are excited to announce the signing of 2010-born goaltender Max Hartel to a Western Hockey League (WHL) Scholarship and Development Agreement. The Calgary, AB native was drafted by the Blades in the tenth round (221st overall) of the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft. &#8220;Max is a prospect we&#8217;re very excited about,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":445,"featured_media":76812,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[{"term_id":647,"name":"max hartel","slug":"max-hartel","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":647,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1"}],"class_list":["post-76811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-max-hartel","category-541","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/06\/10115809\/Artboard-2.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/445"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76811\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":76807,"date":"2026-06-03T14:24:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T18:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/?p=76807"},"modified":"2026-06-03T14:24:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T18:24:24","slug":"blades-sign-32nd-overall-pick-harvey-to-whl-scholarship-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/article\/blades-sign-32nd-overall-pick-harvey-to-whl-scholarship-agreement","title":{"rendered":"Blades Sign 32nd Overall Pick Harvey to WHL Scholarship Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"x_elementToProof\"><b data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Saskatoon, SK \u2013<\/b>\u00a0The Saskatoon Blades are pleased to announce the signing of second-round draft pick Hayden Harvey to a Western Hockey League (WHL) Scholarship and Development Agreement. The 15-year-old defenceman was selected 32nd overall of the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft in early May.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">&#8220;Hayden is a total-package defender with an impressive relentlessness and compete level,&#8221; said Blades director of scouting, Dan Tencer, &#8220;His game, both offensively and defensively, reached its heights in the games he played against top opponents throughout the year. He&#8217;s the type of player who will drag you into the fight on a random Tuesday in the middle of the season and also rise to the pressure of the moment in a huge playoff game. Impressively, his game continued to improve at each new landmark of the season, and we anticipate him becoming an all-situations minute-eater for us in the future.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">The Edmonton, AB native scored 14 goals and 26 assists for 40 points in 29 games with the Canadian Sport School Hockey League&#8217;s (CSSHL) OHA Edmonton U15 Prep program. The 5-foot-11 defenceman scored a goal and five assists in six games at the 2026 John Reid Memorial Tournament. Harvey also represented Team Alberta Grey at Alberta Cup, scoring two assists in five games and tacked on 14 penalty minutes.<\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">The Blades would like to welcome Hayden and the Harvey family to Blade City and look forward to helping him develop as a player and citizen in our community.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saskatoon, SK \u2013\u00a0The Saskatoon Blades are pleased to announce the signing of second-round draft pick Hayden Harvey to a Western Hockey League (WHL) Scholarship and Development Agreement. The 15-year-old defenceman was selected 32nd overall of the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft in early May. &#8220;Hayden is a total-package defender with an impressive relentlessness and compete level,&#8221;&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":445,"featured_media":76808,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[{"term_id":645,"name":"Hayden Harvey","slug":"hayden-harvey","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":645,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"3"}],"class_list":["post-76807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-hayden-harvey","category-541","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/06\/03142134\/Hayden-Harvey_Signed2.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/445"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":76788,"date":"2026-06-01T12:58:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T16:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/?p=76788"},"modified":"2026-06-01T12:58:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T16:58:02","slug":"blades-sign-2010-defenceman-liam-brooks-to-whl-scholarship-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/article\/blades-sign-2010-defenceman-liam-brooks-to-whl-scholarship-agreement","title":{"rendered":"Blades Sign 2010 Defenceman Liam Brooks to WHL Scholarship Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Saskatoon, SK<\/strong> \u2013 The Saskatoon Blades are pleased to announce the signing of 2010-born defenceman Liam Brooks to a Western Hockey League (WHL) Scholarship and Development Agreement. The 6-foot-1 defender was selected 170th overall by Saskatoon in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnytime you can add a young defenceman with Liam\u2019s tools and potential, it\u2019s something to be excited about. We\u2019re big believers in his upside and the complete package he brings, with the foundation to become a very impactful player at our level,\u201d said Blades Director of Scouting Dan Tencer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would also like to recognize the work John Crippa, our Minnesota scout, and Jason Becker, our Player Development Coach, have done in building a strong relationship with Liam over the past year. Liam has been highly engaged in our player development program and has consistently shown a strong commitment to improving his game every day. We believe he has an extremely bright future and we\u2019re delighted to welcome him to Saskatoon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Duluth, Minnesota native had 15 goals and 27 points in 27 games playing for Duluth East High in the USHS-MN league in 2025-26.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Signing Liam has been one of the top priorities for a hockey club since last May. He is an elite right-shot defenceman who has size, puck skill, presence and IQ. He really checks all the boxes you are looking for when you&#8217;re building a young defense corps for the future, and his maturity off the ice will allow him a smooth transition into the league as a 16 year old this fall after a fantastic rookie year in a great high school league in Minnesota last winter,\u201d added General Manager Colin Priestner.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He certainly had options being the 6th player taken in the USHL draft, but since day 1 of last year&#8217;s training camp he has been focused on being a Blade, working closely with myself, Jason and John throughout the season and were so excited that he and his family have trusted the Blades for his junior hockey development, joining other notable USA born players like Max Suter and Charlie Johnson to choose Saskatoon as the place to achieve their dreams of playing pro hockey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Blades are pleased to welcome the Brooks family into the organization and community, and look forward to working with Liam here in Saskatoon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saskatoon, SK \u2013 The Saskatoon Blades are pleased to announce the signing of 2010-born defenceman Liam Brooks to a Western Hockey League (WHL) Scholarship and Development Agreement. The 6-foot-1 defender was selected 170th overall by Saskatoon in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft. \u201cAnytime you can add a young defenceman with Liam\u2019s tools and potential, it\u2019s&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":445,"featured_media":76805,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[{"term_id":646,"name":"Liam Brooks","slug":"liam-brooks","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":646,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2"}],"class_list":["post-76788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-liam-brooks","category-541","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/06\/01121232\/Liam-Brooks_Signed2.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/445"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":76787,"date":"2026-05-25T12:48:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T16:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/?p=76787"},"modified":"2026-05-25T12:48:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T16:48:20","slug":"blades-sign-2026-first-round-pick-dernisky-to-whl-scholarship-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/article\/blades-sign-2026-first-round-pick-dernisky-to-whl-scholarship-agreement","title":{"rendered":"Blades sign 2026 first-round pick Dernisky to WHL Scholarship Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Saskatoon, SK <\/strong>\u2013 The Saskatoon Blades are pleased to announce the signing of 2011-born forward Teagan Dernisky to a Western Hockey League (WHL) Scholarship and Development Agreement. The 5-foot-7 winger was Saskatoon&#8217;s first selection in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft at 15th overall in the first round.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Teagan attacks the game every time he&#8217;s on the ice and inserts himself fully and willingly into the guts of the game in all areas,&#8221; said Blades director of scouting, Dan Tencer, &#8220;His speed and tenacity heighten the impact of his high skill level and offensive creativity, and through the season he demonstrated his ability to play in tandem with other elite players but also be the driver when tasked with carrying a line. We think he&#8217;s an ideal fit for how we like to play the game and fits with our already strong group of 2009 and 2010 prospects.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Delta, BC native led the U15 Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) in scoring with 43 goals and 55 assists for 98 points in 30 games. Dernisky continued his scoring ways in three postseason games with a trio of goals and assists for six points. The 5-foot-7 speedster was an animal in tournament play during the 2025-26 season. In six games at the 2026 John Reid Memorial Tournament, the left-handed sniper scored five goals and six assists for 11 points. Dernisky dropped three goals and three assists in four games with Team Red at the 2026 BC U16 Cup.<\/p>\n<p>The Blades would like to welcome the Dernisky family into the organization and community, and look forward to working with Teagan to help achieve his goals under the guidance of Dan DaSilva&#8217;s coaching staff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saskatoon, SK \u2013 The Saskatoon Blades are pleased to announce the signing of 2011-born forward Teagan Dernisky to a Western Hockey League (WHL) Scholarship and Development Agreement. The 5-foot-7 winger was Saskatoon&#8217;s first selection in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft at 15th overall in the first round. &#8220;Teagan attacks the game every time he&#8217;s on&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":445,"featured_media":76792,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-76787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-541","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/25123947\/Teagan-Dernisky-1920-x-1080.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/445"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":76774,"date":"2026-05-19T21:12:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T01:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/?p=76774"},"modified":"2026-05-19T21:12:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T01:12:24","slug":"blades-announce-2025-26-team-award-winners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/article\/blades-announce-2025-26-team-award-winners","title":{"rendered":"Blades announce 2025-26 team award winners"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt\">The Saskatoon Blades held the annual year-end, Season Ticket Holder Barbecue Tuesday, reflecting on a season that left long-lasting memories. The club recognized the efforts of several Blades players from the 2025-26 season, unveiling individual team awards at the event.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-76781\" src=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025053\/Most-Improved-Award-Graphic-2026.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"410\" height=\"513\" data-wp-editing=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025053\/Most-Improved-Award-Graphic-2026.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025053\/Most-Improved-Award-Graphic-2026-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025053\/Most-Improved-Award-Graphic-2026-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025053\/Most-Improved-Award-Graphic-2026-768x960.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-76779\" src=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025049\/Hardest-Worker-Award.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"410\" height=\"513\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025049\/Hardest-Worker-Award.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025049\/Hardest-Worker-Award-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025049\/Hardest-Worker-Award-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025049\/Hardest-Worker-Award-768x960.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-76780\" src=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025051\/Most-Gentlemanly-Award-Graphic.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"410\" height=\"513\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025051\/Most-Gentlemanly-Award-Graphic.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025051\/Most-Gentlemanly-Award-Graphic-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025051\/Most-Gentlemanly-Award-Graphic-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025051\/Most-Gentlemanly-Award-Graphic-768x960.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-76775\" src=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025025\/Bently-Memorial-Academic-Award-Graphic.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"409\" height=\"511\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025025\/Bently-Memorial-Academic-Award-Graphic.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025025\/Bently-Memorial-Academic-Award-Graphic-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025025\/Bently-Memorial-Academic-Award-Graphic-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025025\/Bently-Memorial-Academic-Award-Graphic-768x960.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 409px) 100vw, 409px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-76785\" src=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025103\/Unsung-Hero-Award-Graphic.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"409\" height=\"511\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025103\/Unsung-Hero-Award-Graphic.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025103\/Unsung-Hero-Award-Graphic-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025103\/Unsung-Hero-Award-Graphic-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025103\/Unsung-Hero-Award-Graphic-768x960.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 409px) 100vw, 409px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-76777\" src=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025043\/Community-Minded-Award-Graphic.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"409\" height=\"511\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025043\/Community-Minded-Award-Graphic.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025043\/Community-Minded-Award-Graphic-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025043\/Community-Minded-Award-Graphic-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025043\/Community-Minded-Award-Graphic-768x960.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 409px) 100vw, 409px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-76783\" src=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025058\/Rookie-of-the-Year-Award-Graphic.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"408\" height=\"510\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025058\/Rookie-of-the-Year-Award-Graphic.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025058\/Rookie-of-the-Year-Award-Graphic-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025058\/Rookie-of-the-Year-Award-Graphic-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025058\/Rookie-of-the-Year-Award-Graphic-768x960.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 408px) 100vw, 408px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-76776\" src=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025039\/Best-Forward-Award-Graphic.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"408\" height=\"510\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025039\/Best-Forward-Award-Graphic.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025039\/Best-Forward-Award-Graphic-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025039\/Best-Forward-Award-Graphic-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025039\/Best-Forward-Award-Graphic-768x960.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 408px) 100vw, 408px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-76784\" src=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025101\/Tanner-Molendyk-Award-Graphic.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"408\" height=\"510\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025101\/Tanner-Molendyk-Award-Graphic.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025101\/Tanner-Molendyk-Award-Graphic-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025101\/Tanner-Molendyk-Award-Graphic-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025101\/Tanner-Molendyk-Award-Graphic-768x960.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 408px) 100vw, 408px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-76778\" src=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025045\/Fan-Choice-Award-Graphic.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"408\" height=\"510\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025045\/Fan-Choice-Award-Graphic.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025045\/Fan-Choice-Award-Graphic-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025045\/Fan-Choice-Award-Graphic-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025045\/Fan-Choice-Award-Graphic-768x960.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 408px) 100vw, 408px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-76782\" src=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025056\/MVP-Award-Graphic.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"408\" height=\"510\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025056\/MVP-Award-Graphic.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025056\/MVP-Award-Graphic-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025056\/MVP-Award-Graphic-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11025056\/MVP-Award-Graphic-768x960.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 408px) 100vw, 408px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Saskatoon Blades held the annual year-end, Season Ticket Holder Barbecue Tuesday, reflecting on a season that left long-lasting memories. The club recognized the efforts of several Blades players from the 2025-26 season, unveiling individual team awards at the event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":445,"featured_media":76786,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[{"term_id":644,"name":"Ben Bowtell","slug":"ben-bowtell","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":644,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"4"},{"term_id":632,"name":"Brayden Klimpke","slug":"brayden-klimpke","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":632,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":11,"filter":"raw","term_order":"15"},{"term_id":602,"name":"Tristen Doyle","slug":"tristen-doyle","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":602,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"42"},{"term_id":581,"name":"Hunter Laing","slug":"hunter-laing","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":581,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":11,"filter":"raw","term_order":"63"},{"term_id":579,"name":"Jack Kachkowski","slug":"jack-kachkowski","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":579,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw","term_order":"68"},{"term_id":570,"name":"Zach Olsen","slug":"zach-olsen","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":570,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":15,"filter":"raw","term_order":"75"},{"term_id":566,"name":"David Lewandowski","slug":"david-lewandowski","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":566,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":13,"filter":"raw","term_order":"79"},{"term_id":564,"name":"Tyler Parr","slug":"tyler-parr","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":564,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":8,"filter":"raw","term_order":"81"},{"term_id":556,"name":"Rowan Calvert","slug":"rowan-calvert","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":556,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":11,"filter":"raw","term_order":"89"},{"term_id":553,"name":"Evan Gardner","slug":"evan-gardner","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":553,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":33,"filter":"raw","term_order":"92"}],"class_list":["post-76774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-ben-bowtell","tag-brayden-klimpke","tag-tristen-doyle","tag-hunter-laing","tag-jack-kachkowski","tag-zach-olsen","tag-david-lewandowski","tag-tyler-parr","tag-rowan-calvert","tag-evan-gardner","category-541","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/05\/11121515\/TeamAwardsHeader.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/445"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-blades\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]