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Saskatoon Blades defenceman Brayden Klimpke admits his French needs a bit of work after his first trip to Montreal this summer.
“No I didn’t (practice), maybe I should start learning that,” Klimpke said.
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First day of @BladesHockey training camp is underway at SaskTel Centre with a special guest coach.
— Scott Roblin (@ScottRoblin) August 28, 2026
Former Blades player development coach and current @PWHL__Seattle head coach Christine Bumstead is on the ice this weekend.@CKOMNews @CJMENews pic.twitter.com/ACPvpFJY3l
Klimpke has returned to Saskatoon for Blades training camp this weekend following the busiest off-season of his hockey career.
Coming off a breakout 46-point season last year, the Calgary athlete was taken in the fourth round of the 2026 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens in June.
What followed was a trip to “La belle province” for Canadiens rookie camp for Klimpke, which served as an introduction to one of the most passionate fan bases in the sport.
“Montreal is a special place, obviously a really storied organization,” Klimpke said.
“Going there and getting to see all the fans, even at development camp they were showing out for sure. It was definitely really cool.”
Klimpke has entered Blades camp as one of the team’s most important players ahead of the 2026-27 Western Hockey League season, after emerging as Saskatoon’s most relied upon defenceman both at even strength and on special teams.
Set to head into his third WHL campaign, the 18-year-old feels he has more to give even after reaching career highs in games played, goals, points and ice time as a top-pairing option last year.
“I thought I did take a big step last year,” Klimpke said.
“I want to take another big one this year, both defensively and offensively. I think I have a lot more and I have high expectations for myself.”
Saskatoon Blades forward Cooper Williams was selected 158th overall in the fifth round of the 2026 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Steve Hiscock/Saskatoon Blades)
Klimpke isn’t the only Blades returnee who has brought NHL rookie camp experience back to Saskatoon, as centre Cooper Williams was taken one round later at 158th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Williams and former Blade Zach Olsen were both selected by Toronto, with the pair getting the chance to share their first NHL rookie camp side by side.
“It was an unreal experience,” Williams said.
“Getting to go down there (with) a couple buddies like Olsen, just pretty cool. What are the odds of that? Going down there with a lot of the (WHL) guys down there, it’s cool being able to connect with them.”
Blades head coach Dan DaSilva has noticed a big difference in both Klimpke and Williams this week at camp, not only for their NHL experience, but how the pair look on the ice with some added muscle.
“Both of those guys obviously put on some size over the course of the summer and got the boost from being drafted to the NHL,” DaSilva said.
“They both look really good. Obviously, the NHL development camps in the summer should give them some confidence. They’re not pros yet obviously, but they look like they’ve taken a step in that direction.”
Williams, who is coming off 57 points in 66 games last year, will be one of Saskatoon’s top offensive threats along with fellow returning forwards Hunter Laing, Hayden Harsanyi and Kazden Mathies.
At the team’s season-ending press conference last spring, Williams said he didn’t have the sophomore season he envisioned and is determined to become a top-line centre this year with the Blades.
“Going into the season full of confidence,” Williams said. “Just coming in here wanting that role, wanting to play in every opportunity you can and just be the guy.”
Not only are Williams and Klimpke connected through Blades blue and gold, they are both committed to the University of North Dakota and are expected to head to the NCAA a year from now.
Their allegiances will be tested at the professional level however, as the pair are on opposite sides of one of the most storied rivalries in hockey between the Maple Leafs and Canadiens.
According to Williams, that’s been put on the back burner with their shared goal of bringing the Blades their first WHL title.
“Not so much right now,” Williams said. “No, just one the same team now. Our goal is to win here, so I’ll just focus on that after.”
With 77 faces at training camp, the Blades will have a much different look in 2026-27 following the departure of several key players including overage forwards Rowan Calvert and Tyler Parr, goaltender Evan Gardner, plus top-six forwards Olsen and David Lewandowski.
DaSilva said the talent loss is one side of the coin, the other being a number of leadership roles that will need to be filled over the coming weeks.
“Losing Rowan and Tyler as leaders and culture guys is a big loss for us,” DaSilva said.
“We’re going to have multiple guys that can help in those roles and step up in that way. It’s going to be interesting to see how it all plays out over the course of the year.”
Both Klimpke and Laing served as alternate captains during the 2025-26 season for the Blades, though DaSilva said there’s no clear-cut choice for who will inherit the ‘C’ from Parr.
Wearing a letter on his chest in just his second junior season, Klimpke said it’s an honour which has crossed his mind.
“I’d love to lead this group into battle every night,” Klimpke said. “I love these guys, I take pride in being a leader and leading by example.”
Despite a seven-point drop in the standings last season with a 34-27-5-2 record, the Blades reached Eastern Conference semifinals after a thrilling Game 7 overtime win against the Edmonton Oil Kings in the opening round.
While DaSilva noted expectations are difficult to nail down during training camp, the goal this season will be to contend for a division title and an even deeper playoff run.
“My hope would be that we take a step,” DaSilva said.
“How big that step is? We’ll see, but I know the group is hungry and they’re driven. They got a taste of the second round last year. I think the last two years we’ve exceeded expectations and my hope would be that we do the same thing this year.”
Inside the Blades locker room, confidence is high that championship contention is within reach with under three weeks to go until the start of the regular season.
“We all believe in here that we’re going to be the best team in the league,” Williams said.
“We want to win here, just knowing that we can we have the team to do it. It’s just all coming in, buying into the program, buying into the culture and just doing whatever we can to win.”
Saskatoon Blades president and general manager Colin Priestner is set to enter his 11th season leading the team’s hockey operations department. (Steve Hiscock/Saskatoon Blades)
Priestner looks back on off-season
Blades president and general manager Colin Priestner walked into SaskTel Centre on Friday in disbelief that hockey season has already arrived.
The off-season has been a busy one for the Priestner and his staff however in finding replacements for departing players, with a handful of signings and trades prior to the start of training camp.
“We’ve got a ton of good returning players,” Priestner said.
“We return almost our whole (defence) core from last year and added a few guys that I think are really good back there. In net we obviously had a big hole with Evan Gardner, but I think we’ve found a special kid in Martin (Psohlavec).”
The Blades will have an entirely new goaltending tandem in 2026-27 with Gardner graduating to the professional ranks and the trade of backup Ryley Budd to the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Psohlavec, a Philadelphia Flyers prospect, is expected to seize the Blades starting role after being taken in the first round of the CHL Import Draft, with Taye Timmerman, Max Hartel and Bracken Larocque set to battle for backup minutes.
Saskatoon will also feature three new imports this season with Psohlavec, Danish forward Tristan Petersen and Austrian Konstantin Hutzinger on the ice at camp.
The Blades are also expecting Russian sniper and first round import pick Yegor Gusev to also arrive in the coming days after immigration delays pushed back his journey to Canada.
“He’s flying on Monday to Türkiye to get his passport stamped,” Priestner said.
“As soon as that’s basically (done), he sits in a hotel room and waits for three days until someone phones him. Once that’s the case, he can fly here.”
Two notable absences from camp however are Olsen and defenceman Tristen Doyle, who have both departed for the NCAA level at Colorado College and Merrimack College, respectively.
In Olsen’s case, Priestner said the Blades were under the impression that he’d be returning for a third WHL season prior to changes in the Maple Leafs front office with John Chayka taking over as the team’s general manager.
“Toronto told us he was coming back and then Toronto fired some of their staff,” Priestner said.
“Their new staff came in and the plan changed, that’s life in our league. We would still welcome him back. I think the school that took him made a ton of lofty promises to him about what his role will be, so we’ll see if those are fulfilled.”
As for Doyle, Priestner confirmed an injury at Merrimack opened up a late spot on the team’s roster for the veteran WHL defenceman.
Along with a trade for Saskatoon athlete Tyrone Sobry, Priestner feels there are players able to take on Doyle’s minutes on the power play this season.
“It was late in the game, but luckily Sobry was a guy that our coaches loved last year and didn’t really want to move,” Priestner said.
“We have guys that we feel are power play quarterbacks with Klimpke and I also think that Jack Kachkowski can do that as well.”
A minor injury has sidelined Harsanyi for the start of training camp, though Priestner said it’s a day-to-day situation that likely won’t keep the winger from the start of the WHL season.
As for defenceman Isaac Poll who is recovering from surgery, the Blades have listed him as month-to-month with the goal of having him ready for games prior to the start of December.
The Blades wrap up training camp on Sunday with the final of the Kirkness Cup, before their first pre-season game Tuesday at 2 p.m. against the Prince Albert Raiders at SaskTel Centre.
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