Saskatoon Blades Working Through the Growing Pains

The most frustrating part was that, for most of the game, the Blades were the better team. For the first two periods, they put 28 shots on net, forcing the Raiders’ goalie to stand on his head. But as the game wound down, Saskatoon began giving up too many turnovers and the Raiders jumped on the opportunities, leading to the loss. It was the same story the night before in Prince Albert; the Blades led in shots and opportunities, but they just couldn’t convert enough of them into goals.

“I think the last five periods of the last two games have been really good from us,” said goalie Evan Gardner. “We’ve been spending lots of time in the opponent’s end and creating lots of chances, but it just feels like we’re getting unlucky and it sucks because we know what we’re capable of in that room and it sucks coming out on the short end of the stick every night.”

Head coach Dan DaSilva was also frustrated with the result, but he didn’t dwell on the negative too long. “I thought we had a number of guys who played well tonight in spurts,” he said after the loss. “I don’t think we had a consistent game but I thought we played good hockey for a large part of that game and a large part of this weekend, so there are a lot of positives but there’s also a lot of things we need to work on and learn from as a young group.”

Blades’ Defense Shines Through Offensive Struggles

One of the biggest positives from Sunday was the team’s defensive efforts. Veteran Grayden Siepmann was one of the Blades’ ice time leaders and was all over the ice, generating scoring chances and shutting down the Raiders. Rookie Brayden Klimpke had a very strong showing, playing a solid two-way game that blended speed and intelligence, and newcomer Jack Kachkowski also made a great first impression in his Sasktel Centre debut, playing a reliable shutdown role while showing off his high-end agility to create scoring chances.

This is nothing new for the Blades. “We were such a defensively structured team last year and our systems haven’t changed from last year,” said Gardner. “But lots of new faces, lots of young guys that have come up from midget and other leagues that don’t quite understand but are still learning what it takes to win every night. Learning that those blocks add up and all that d-zone stuff really does matter because, you know, anyone can put it in the back of the net in this league, so I think it’s really good to learn our lessons from these games, especially in the d-zone, and just knowing you can’t get away with much in this league.”

Several players have been strong defenders all season, but it wasn’t as obvious when Ben Riche, Brandon Lisowsky, and Tanner Molendyk were on the team. Veteran Ben Saunderson has been a stud on the back end since game one, as have youngsters Morgan Tastad and Jordan Martin, who were regularly employed as shutdown defenders early in the season. But now, without those stars, others have begun to shine. “I like Klimpke on our team,” said Siepmann when asked about which young defenders have stood out recently. “He’s got a lot of poise for a young guy, you don’t really see that often. Usually a lot of young guys are just afraid to make plays out there, but overall I like his game a lot.”

“I think if you look at us as a whole we’re a pretty defensively minded team,” said DaSilva. “That’s, in our opinion, how we win hockey games, so that hasn’t been something that’s been adjusted. It’s been something we’ve been preaching since day one here and we take pride in defending. The offense is going to have to come by committee but we need everyone to commit to playing a team-first, defence-first type of mentality.”

Saskatoon Is Committed to Growing Together

The biggest challenge in the second half of the season will be establishing chemistry and routines, and the only way to solve that is to give the players time. So, while losing to their provincial rival is never fun, a lot of the Blades kept things in perspective. It also helps that many of Saskatoon’s veterans have gone through stretches like this before.

“Even when I was young we always talked about growing as a team,” said Siepmann, who’s in his final year of WHL eligibility. “I know my first couple of seasons in Calgary we were really young and kind of on a little bit of a losing streak, but the main message is to just stick together and keep moving forward, getting better every day as a team.”

Getting better every day has become the Blades’ mantra this season. Everyone knew it wasn’t going to be an easy season, so Saskatoon committed to taking it one game at a time. The Blades have something clear to work towards, and one or two rough patches aren’t going to take their eyes off that goal.

“Ultimately we’re still the same team,” said Calvert following their shootout loss to the Portland Winterhawks. “We still have the same identity and the same goals and the same leaders and the same coaches, but ultimately it’s about bonding with those new guys and bringing them in and making them Blades. At the end of the day, it does feel a bit different, but we’re still the Blades and we’re still going to be that same club that we were through the first half of the season.”

When a roster gets shaken up as much as the Blades did, there’s always going to be a period of instability. But everyone has been open and honest with the direction the organization is headed, and everyone has bought into the plan.

“It’s not the end of the world (to lose these games),” said DaSilva. “Are there going to be growing pains? Yes. Is there going to be stuff that we need to learn from? Absolutely. But this group is still a really good hockey team, there’s a lot of good hockey players in the room, whether they’re 17, 16, or 20 years old, they’re good hockey players and they’re good people and we’re going to keep working at it here to get better every single day. It’s been our mentality and our mindset since the beginning of the season so we just have to keep sticking with it.”

This roster is designed to grow together; With just three 19-year-olds, the only change that the Blades have to make for next season is letting go of their three 20-year-olds. That’s built a strong bond between all the players that are here, because they know they’re part of something bigger.