SERIES PREVIEW: (6) Saskatoon Blades vs. (3) Calgary Hitmen

Facing each other in the WHL postseason for the first time in a quarter-century, the Calgary Hitmen and Saskatoon Blades make for one of the most intriguing Eastern Conference matchups for a number of reasons.

Both teams have exceeded preseason expectations for 2024-25 and came one win away from clinching their respective division titles, despite taking very different approaches to the season.

One year after a 50-win season that saw Saskatoon clinch the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as WHL regular season champs and come within a goal of the 2024 WHL Championship Series, the Blades still find themselves in contention with a new-look, younger roster.

2024 WHL Rookie of the Year nominee Evan Gardner has built on his breakout season in net to sit fifth in save percentage and tie for fourth in shutouts with three while earning his entry-level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Blades have relied on a balanced scoring attack headed by alternate captain Tyler Parr (20G-41A, 61PTS) and talented rookies like Cooper Williams and 2025 NHL Draft-eligible David Lewandowski.

Saskatoon chose to build for the future on the trade front with veterans like Tanner Molendyk, Brandon Lisowsky and Ben Riche heading west but found impact players in return.

Calgary Flames prospect Hunter Laing, who came back in the Riche trade, leads all Blades skaters with 25 goals, while 18-year-old Hayden Harsanyi has chipped in 24 points (12G-12A).

Over in Cowtown, Hitmen General Manager Garry Davidson decided to strike after a hot start, taking big swings on NHL prospects to help the Hitmen return to the playoffs as a powerhouse after failing to qualify in two of the team’s last three seasons.

The Hitmen’s impactful moves included the addition of veteran Connor Hvidston, 2024 WHL Champion defenceman Kalem Parker (Minnesota Wild), Tanner Howe (Pittsburgh Penguins), goaltender Daniel Hauser and defenceman Sawyer Mynio (Vancouver Canucks).

That’s not a slight against team-developed talent, either.

Veteran Oliver Tulk is coming off his first 100-point season and top 2025 NHL Draft-eligible Ben Kindel was just one point behind him.

Captain and San Jose Sharks prospect Carson Wetsch surpassed 30 goals for the first time in his career and leads the WHL with 10 game-winning goals, while 2024 top-10 pick Carter Yakemchuk (Ottawa Senators) chipped in with 10 powerplay goals to help Calgary reign as the fifth-highest scoring team in the league while allowing the second-fewest goals against.

However, Saskatoon has the edge in the regular season series with a 2-1-1-0 record.

The Scotiabank Saddledome has been a near-inpenetrable fortress for opposing teams in 2024-25, with the Hitmen posting the league’s best home record at 26-6-1-1.

They’ll look to maintain that home-ice advantage when puck drops on Game 1 on Friday, March 28.

Every match in the WHL Playoffs will be streamed for free on Victory+.

 

2024-25 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

Saskatoon leads 2-1-1-0
October 2, 2024- Saskatoon 5, Calgary 3
December 7, 2024- Calgary 5, Saskatoon 4 (OT)
January 10, 2025- Saskatoon 1, Calgary 4
February 14, 2025- Calgary 3, Saskatoon 6

GAME BREAKERS

Saskatoon Blades: A 6-foot-6, 209-pound winger who uses his size to intimidate and can score 25 goals? Calgary Flames prospect Hunter Laing has been trending up and enters the playoffs on a five-game point streak. Laing leads Saskatoon in goals, is second on the team in points and and boasts a team-best +11 rating since joining the Blades. The 18-year-old is also battle-tested after helping his former team, the Prince George Cougars, claw their way to the 2024 Western Conference Championship.

Calgary Hitmen: Tulk the Hulk has smashed his first 100-point season in the WHL and is one of just six skaters to hit the century mark. The Gibsons, B.C. product led all skaters in the Calgary/Saskatoon regular season series with four goals and four assists, highlighted by a 5-4 overtime win that saw Tulk score a goal and set up all three Ben Kindel goals, including the game-winner. With more than 250 regular-season points (111G-148A) under his belt, Tulk will try to make an impact in his second trip to the WHL postseason.

GOALTENDING

Saskatoon Blades: This series promises a stellar goaltending showdown. 2024 WHL Rookie of the Year nominee Evan Gardner is ready to build on his first trip to the WHL Playoffs after posting back-to-back shutouts late in the season and earning an NHL contract. The ‘Gardian’ has made a name for himself with acrobatic stops while facing a pile of shots and heightened workload and forms a solid tandem with Ethan McCallum, who had one of his busiest nights of the season with a 39-save performance in a 6-3 win over Calgary on February 14, 2025.

Calgary Hitmen: Playoff experience was a key factor in Calgary bringing in Daniel Hauser in early January. He backstopped the Winnipeg ICE to appearances in the Eastern Conference Championship in 2022 and the WHL Championship Series in 2023 while making the WHL East Division First All-Star Team in both campaigns. Hauser has come exactly as advertised for the Hitmen, going 20-4-0-0 in Calgary with a 1.91 goals-against average, a .926 save percentage and five shutouts. He set a new WHL wins record with his 123rd victory in the final week of the regular season and tied the league record for consecutive shutouts with four straight clean sheets.

X FACTOR

Saskatoon Blades: You can’t put a price on experience. Rowan Calvert may have come up short against his brother, Atley, and the Moose Jaw Warriors in the historic seven-game Eastern Conference Championship in 2024, but he’s come out of the gates hot in a career-best year. Calvert is tied for second among all WHLers in power-play goals (16) and is tied with Tyler Parr for most game-winning goals on the Blades (5). The 19-year-old also leads his team with two goals and four assists against the Hitmen this season.

Calgary Hitmen: Can’t start a fire without some Kindel-ing. Ben Kindel has been projected as a potential late first-round pick in this year’s NHL Draft after a stunning season that’s seen him rack up 35 goals and 99 points. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound centreman is seventh overall in league scoring and a key feature on Calgary’s special teams. Kindel also set a Hitmen franchise record this season with a 23-game point streak that saw him tally 45 points (15G-30A). The 17-year-old linked potted a hat trick and seven assists against Saskatoon in 2024-25.

2025 WHL PLAYOFFS SERIES SCHEDULE

Game	Visitor		Home	Day	Date	Time
1	Saskatoon	@	Calgary	Friday	March 28	7:00 p.m.  MST
2	Saskatoon	@	Calgary	Sunday	March 30	2:00 p.m. MST
3	Calgary	@	Saskatoon	Tuesday	April 1	7:00 p.m. MST
4	Calgary	@	Saskatoon	Wednesday	April 2	7:00 p.m. MST
5*	Saskatoon	@	Calgary	Friday	April 4	7:00 p.m. MST
6*	Calgary	@	Saskatoon	Sunday	April 6	4:00 p.m. MST
7*	Saskatoon	@	Calgary	Tuesday	April 8	7:00 p.m. MST