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The Saskatoon Blades are getting closer and closer to the start of their 60th season.
Even though the 2022-23 WHL season was one of the best in franchise history, the Blades are entering the ’23-24 season with a chip on their shoulders.
“It takes a lot of time and effort and heartache to get to where we are,” said Blades general manager Colin Priestner. “But there is a lot of pride in that room and in the organization and we feel like it’s our time and we want to make the most of it.”
As things sit right now, no team is viewed as a clearcut favourite to run away with things in the WHL, which is a change from the previous two seasons.
“It’s a different mentality this year,” Priestner said. “There’s no superteams. Last year, everybody knew there were three teams that were going to keep adding.”
The Blades’ season was ended by one of those superteams; the Winnipeg Ice swept Saskatoon in the Eastern Conference finals.
“There’s probably two or three teams that you can identify that won’t be as strong, but there are at least 16 teams that are going to be a hard out every night,” Priestner said.
The Blades’ GM said the group learned a valuable lesson in last year’s playoff run and it hopes that experience can help the Blades this season.
“You can’t play 14 games in the first two rounds and feel like you’ve had seven heart-stopping, life-changing games,” said Priestner, whose squad went seven games against each of the Regina Pats and Red Deer Rebels in the first two rounds. “I think physically we were out of gas by the time we played Winnipeg.
“We had some players get injured during the Red Deer series, plus you can’t go through 14 games of war and expect to be fully ready to play against a superteam.”
The Blades are also without their captain, as Aidan De La Gorgendiere has graduated from the WHL.
“There’s certainly a ton of guys who can wear a letter. I think it’s fairly obvious to our group internally and to our fans who our next captain is going to be,” said Priestner.
One major change this year in the Canadian Hockey League is the fighting ban in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Priestner was asked if he thinks that rule change will make its way to the WHL.
“I don’t think so,” he said. “I think there’s a different mentality out west. I would support the rule change but I know I’m in the minority there. I don’t want our kids to fight, but if they do and it happens, it’s a part of the game, but I don’t think teenage athletes should have to fight.”
Day 1 of the Blades’ training camp is Friday at SaskTel Centre.
