Saskatoon Blades Defy the Odds to Clinch Playoff Berth

“We knew that he had that capability and that he has soft hands,” said head coach Dan DaSilva after the team’s recent matchup against the Raiders. “He’s a very smart player and has an extremely high hockey IQ, puts himself in really good positions, then he can finish. You saw that tonight, his hand-eye coordination, his deflection goal night was unbelievable.”

DaSilva’s not just pumping Laing’s tires. That goal, which put the Blades up 1-0 midway through the first period, showed off Laing’s expert precision and awareness. It’s something that’s made him an offensive threat no matter where he is, but especially when he’s close to the net. After all, it’s not easy to move a player who stands well over six feet and weighs nearly 210 pounds.

Ethan McCallum has also been fantastic during the Blades’ injury struggles, starting 13-straight games and coming away with a .902 save percentage (SV%) while facing 36 or more shots in a game during that stretch. His calm demeanour has kept the Blades grounded despite the chaos around them. “You just tell yourself, ‘Next play.’ That’s what me and Gards and our goalie coach just live by, just play the next play. You don’t know what’s going to happen next, so just focus on the next shot and what’s behind you,” he said.

With Laing and McCallum stepping up, the Blades have gone 7-4-1 in the last 12 games, putting them within striking distance of first place in the East Division. McCallum has continued to start after Gardner returned to the Blades, allowing Saskatoon’s starter to rest up for the playoffs. Things are coming together just in time to make some noise in the playoffs.

Blades Believe in Their Core Despite Consistency Issues

However, there have been some hiccups along the road, including a frustrating shutout loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on home ice on Feb. 25 and, in the next game, an embarrassing 6-2 loss against the last-place Moose Jaw Warriors. DaSilva didn’t mince words after those games. “We have to be ready from the start. Our intensity and our effort on the road right now are so much better than it is at home. We don’t seem to get excited or into it right away. We wait around and test the waters and see what kind of game it’s going to be, and we can’t afford to do that. We have to be a team that has no passengers and is ready to go from the start,” he said.

The injuries haven’t helped, of course, but the Blades have also worked at playing a more consistent game. Saskatoon has been great at scoring the first goal, but not so much at defending their lead. “It’s huge (getting the first goal),” said McCallum after the Hurricanes loss. “We’re a pretty young group, so sometimes after the first goal, we do slow down a bit, but I think the first goal can build up momentum, and for us working toward the playoffs, just making sure we can keep the lead after we get it.”

“The resilience of our group, we’re always able to bounce back, no matter what,” McCallum added, “and I think just for us, it’s trying to play for 60 minutes every game, trying to find that consistency because when we’re a the top of our game, we all believe that we can beat anyone in this league.”

It’s one thing to have blind optimism, and many skeptics would argue that’s the case with the Blades especially when looking at how much talent the team’s lost in the past year. But McCallum and the rest of the Blades proved that they are still a team to be taken seriously against the division-leading Raiders, and will look to continue proving it into the playoffs.

“That’s been a motivation for us all year long,” said DaSilva regarding the skepticism. “With the guys we had before and the guys we have now, it’s still been the same. We go and try to focus on getting better every single day and proving people wrong. We were motivated by the naysayers, the haters, and the non-believers because we have a lot of belief in this group in that room and they have it too. It would be special, it’s a goal of ours to clinch the tight division title but at the end of the day our main goal is just to focus on getting better every day and that’s what we’ve done as the season goes on.”

Saskatoon Could Still Secure Home Ice

With spots two through eight separated by five points in the Eastern Conference, there’s a real chance that, by the end of the 2024-25 season, the Blades could have home-ice advantage. They sit just one point behind the Raiders with a game in hand and the two will face each other twice more before the season ends on March 22. Before that, the Blades will face the 10th-place Regina Pats twice, who they’ve already beaten three times, and take on the Brandon Wheat Kings and Swift Current Broncos, who sit below Saskatoon in the standings.

Ending up in first place gives the Blades a potential matchup with the Wheat Kings, who they’ve faced six times already. On the other hand, remaining in second forces them to take on the Calgary Hitmen or Hurricanes, two very tough opponents who loaded up at the trade deadline.

With so much that can change in the next few games, it’s out of the weeds as the end draws near. DaSilva said as much when asked about his preferred opponent in the playoffs. “I’m not going down that road. I don’t need to be giving any type of ammo or motivation anywhere else,” he laughed. “We’re just solely focused on us and our game and we still have a few games here left on the home stretch and I know there will be a lot of jostling for position and whoever we get in that first round we’ll be ready for.”

The Blades will return to the ice on Tuesday, March 11 in Regina to take on the Pats and, hopefully, secure two big points in a very tight playoff race. But, no matter where they end up, this team knows they won’t go down easily. It’s been their mantra from day one, and they live it on the ice, getting better every day.