SERIES PREVIEW: Prince Albert Raiders (8) vs. Saskatoon Blades (1)

The Saskatoon Blades enter the 2024 WHL Playoffs as the team to beat.

The Blades captured the fifth Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for WHL regular season champion and sealed a 50-win season for the third time in franchise history.

Saskatoon has set itself apart as the stingiest, most consistent team in the WHL, allowing the fewest goals against (163), icing the number one penalty kill in the WHL (85.6%) and tying a franchise record with a 14-0-2-2 point streak.

SaskTel Centre has been a hostile environment for visitors, with Saskatoon putting up a league-best 29-4-1-0 home record.

But the Raiders have played in many tight games and proven it can knock some top talent off-kilter.

More than a dozen of Prince Albert’s games have required overtime or a shootout.

They’re also among the stingiest clubs in the WHL, entering the night with the seventh-fewest goals-against (215).

Forward Sloan Stanick is having a career season and has passed 80 points for the first time, while Polish import Krzysztof Macias has caught fire, averaging a point per game in the new year.

Blades Captain Trevor Wong is coming off a career-best 101-point (15 goals, 86 assists) season, becoming the first Saskatoon player to record more than 100 points since 1995-96.

Wong led the Blades in scoring through last year’s playoff run to the Eastern Conference Final with six goals and 21 points in 18 games and looks to make another deep run in his final WHL season.

Saskatoon also made the first blockbuster trade of the season in November, bringing in Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Fraser Minten, who tallied 19 goals and 19 assists in 36 games with his new team.

The Blades went 8-0-0-2 against the Raiders in the regular season, with four of the games decided by a single goal.

This is the first time Saskatoon and Prince Albert have met in the postseason since the Raiders defeated the Blades in six games in the second round of the 2019 playoffs en route to Prince Albert’s second WHL Championship.

Game One of the first-round series is set for Thursday, March 28 at 7:00 p.m. CST in Saskatoon at SaskTel Centre.

STAT PACK

	Saskatoon Blades	Prince Albert Raiders
Record	50-13-2-3	31-32-2-3
Leading Scorers	Trevor Wong (15G, 86A, 101 PTS) Egor Sidorov (50G, 38A, 88PTS) Brandon Lisowsky (42G, 38A, 80PTS)	Sloan Stanick (30G, 54A, 84PTS) Niall Crocker (23G, 34A, 57PTS) Aiden Oiring (21G, 29A, 50PTS)
Leading Goaltender	Austin Elliott (29-8-2-1, 2.39, .904)	Max Hildebrand (25-20-2-2, 2.88, .907)
Powerplay	26.1% (6th)	23.3% (10th)
Penalty Kill	86.1% (1st)	78.2% (8)
2023 WHL Playoffs	Lost Third Round (Winnipeg)	Did Not Qualify
Last WHL Championship	–	2019

 

Regular Season Series: Saskatoon leads 8-0-0-2
September 24, 2023- Prince Albert 2, Saskatoon 4
October 15, 2023- Saskatoon 3, Prince Albert 2 (SO)
November 2, 2023- Saskatoon 7, Prince Albert 2
December 27, 2023- Prince Albert 3, Saskatoon 6
January 6, 2024- Saskatoon 1, Prince Albert 2 (SO)
January 26, 2024- Saskatoon 4, Prince Albert 5 (SO)
January 27, 2024- Prince Albert 2, Saskatoon 3
February 9, 2024- Prince Albert 1, Saskatoon 6
March 22, 2024- Saskatoon 5, Prince Albert 1
March 23, 2024- Prince Albert 0, Saskatoon 5

GAME BREAKERS

Saskatoon Blades: Human highlight reel Egor Sidorov earned his 50th goal of the season in the final game against Prince Albert, capping off a sensational campaign that saw him rack up five hat tricks and a CHL-leading 12 game-winning goals. The Anaheim Ducks prospect is also tied for third among WHLers with 16 powerplay goals on one of the most effective man-advantages in the league. Sidorov totaled five goals and five assists in nine outings against the Raiders this season.

Prince Albert Raiders: Alternate captain Sloan Stanick is having a career year, hitting 30 goals for a second straight season and adding 54 assists for 84 points. He’s lit the lamp seven times on the powerplay, twice shorthanded and has two game-winners. The Rapid City, Man. product was also Prince Albert’s most effective skater against Saskatoon in the regular season with five goals and four assists in 10 matches.

GOALTENDING

Saskatoon Blades: The Saskatoon Blades have been comfortable rotating between second-year netminder Austin Elliott and rookie Evan Gardner. Elliott got the bulk of the starts, posting a 29-8-2-1 record, a 2.39 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage, while two-time Kal Tire WHL Rookie of the Week Gardner put up a 21-5-0-2 record and a league-best 1.91 goals-against average and pristine .927 save percentage. The duo are tied with four shutouts. Elliott went 4-0-0-0 against Prince Albert in the regular season while Elliott went 4-0-0-2. Will one netminder seize the crease or will Saskatoon continue to share the workload?

Prince Albert Raiders: Max Hildebrand went from nearly undrafted to Prince Albert’s team MVP. In his first campaign as the Raiders’ starter, Hildebrand posted a 25-20-2-2 record, a 2.88 goals-against average (which ranks 10th in the WHL) and a .907 save percentage (sixth-best in the WHL). The Martensville, Sask. product was the first Giuseppe WHL Goaltender of the Year after posting his first WHL shutout against Moose Jaw.

X FACTOR

Saskatoon Blades: Team Canada fans may have been robbed of seeing Tanner Molendyk compete at the World Junior Hockey Championship due to an injury, but the smooth-skating blueliner will look to take advantage of the playoff spotlight. Blades Head Coach Brennan Sonne has complimented Molendyk’s offensive growth (he put up a career-best 10 goals, 46 assists and a +40 rating in 50 games), with the Nashville Predators prospect averaging over a point per game in his third full WHL season. The McBride, B.C. product scored four goals and six assists against Prince Albert this season and played a key role on the Blades’ league-best penalty kill, which allowed the fewest powerplay goals in WHL history this season (29).

Prince Albert Raiders: Top 2024 NHL Draft prospect Ryder Ritchie only suited up for half of Prince Albert’s games against Saskatoon in the regular season but still managed to net a pair of goals and assists. The Kelowna, B.C. product ended up with 19 goals and 25 assists in 47 games to sit second on the Raiders roster with .94 points/game. Prior to the final regular season meetings against the Blades, Ritchie had put up nine points in five straight games. Prince Albert will need a healthy Ritchie, consistent Stanick and dialed-in Hildebrand to take a run at the regular season’s top dog.

SERIES SCHEDULE