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Nothing has been normal this week for Josh Fluker, just days removed from a five-piece trade which sent him from Washington state to Saskatoon.
That spilled over to his first practice with the Saskatoon Blades on Thursday morning.
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Instead of pulling a blue and gold practice jersey over his head however, the 20-year-old blueliner stepped into a costume reminiscent of the film Top Gun.
Wearing a jumpsuit and sunglasses, Fluker was introduced to the Blades in their annual Halloween 3-on-3 tournament practice.
“It’s different, but it’s loose,” Fluker said. “It was good to have that and come into that.”
The Blades will expect Fluker to fly up and down the ice this season, after the veteran defenceman was acquired by Saskatoon on Wednesday along with two conditional fourth-round draft picks from the Wenatchee Wild.
In exchange, the Blades sent 19-year-old defenceman Isaac Poll and a conditional fourth-round pick of their own back to Wenatchee.
After two seasons spent mostly on the sidelines, Fluker said he’s ready to turn the page in Saskatoon.
“I got the news about three days ago,” Fluker said.
“Colin (Priestner) called me a couple nights ago and when I heard the news, I was pretty pumped. I struggled the last few years with injury and a fresh start is good for me.”
Fluker, the seventh-overall pick in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, had requested a trade out of Wenatchee so he could be closer to his family in Boissevain, Manitoba.
A veteran of 181 career regular season and playoff games with Wenatchee and the Swift Current Broncos, Fluker’s growth slowed in recent years with injuries to both of his hips.
After requiring surgery in back-to-back years, the overager said he feels ready to contribute with the Blades at full health and with his trademark skating ability back.
“I’ve struggled the last two years having that asset in my game,” Fluker said. “I mean, it’s still there. Coming off the surgeries, I feel a lot better and I feel like it’s back in my game.”
Blades interim head coach Andrew Sarauer said Fluker’s confidence with the puck has been noticeable, as well as his leadership ability through two practices.
“What you see out of Josh is his skating ability,” Sarauer said. “He’s a guy that can fly out there. He moves pucks real good and he was a captain in Wenatchee.”
Fluker will slot into a Blades defence core which includes captain and Montreal Canadiens prospect Brayden Klimpke, Jordan Martin, Jack Kachkowski and fellow 20-year-old Tyrone Sobry.
He said it’s a group he’s excited to mesh with and help lend his experience towards.
“Super veteran back there and I’m excited to add to it,” Fluker said.
“I think we can create a lot and defence wins championships, so I’m fired up to play with these guys.”
Goaltender Koen Cleaver was traded to the Saskatoon Blades on Oct. 26, 2026 from the Lethbridge Hurricanes in exchange for a 2029 ninth-round pick. (Scott Roblin/650 CKOM)
Fluker is expected to make his Blades debut on Saturday afternoon against the Seattle Thunderbirds, which will also be the first home game dressed by newly acquired goaltender Koen Cleaver.
The 19-year-old from Port Alberni, B.C. was traded to Saskatoon on Monday from the Lethbridge Hurricanes in exchange for a 2029 ninth-round pick.
Cleaver said he’s looking forward to a new chapter in his career after 78 games in a Hurricanes uniform.
“I’d definitely say so, for sure,” Cleaver said.
“Definitely, my time in Lethbridge was great, but probably didn’t go the way I wanted to. I couldn’t be more happy to get traded off to Saskatoon and start fresh here.”
Cleaver was one of Lethbridge’s most highly-touted prospects when he entered the league in 2024-25 and played in 44 games last season, however his results have been up and down with a career 4.25 goals against average and .872 save percentage.
According to Sarauer however, Cleaver will bring some added experience in net to pair with first-year starting goaltender Martin Psohlavec.
“Koen is just a veteran goalie in our league,” Sarauer said.
“He’s been in the league for three or four years now and just a bit of a veteran presence back there. We’ll try to ease the load off (Psohlavec) a little bit and give us some stability back there.”
While Cleaver awaits his first start as a member of the Blades, he’s already begun forming a relationship with Psohlavec, who has started 10 of Saskatoon’s 13 games.
“I’ve seen a lot of good goalies in this league and Marty’s for sure one of them,” Cleaver said. “All I’m doing is just looking to go out there in practice, just compete for my starts and try to get better every day.”
Saturday’s game against Seattle will be Sarauer’s first home contest as interim head coach, with Dan DaSilva away at U17 World Hockey Challenge in Oakville, Ontario this week.
But even after an 0-2-1 Alberta road trip, he’s encouraged by what he’s seen over his first few games leading from behind the bench.
“Honestly, not changing a whole bunch,” Sarauer said. “Systems stay the same and all that. It’s just continuing to hammer home work ethic and compete, and playing with pace. Guys had good energy today at practice.”
It will be an earlier puck drop for both the Blades and Thunderbirds on Saturday with a 2 p.m. start to accommodate trick or treaters for Halloween.
Sarauer believes his group will have the advantage over Seattle however, as they come into the game on SaskTel Centre ice fully rested.
“That’s a new one for sure,” Sarauer said.
“In my three years here, I don’t think we’ve had (a start time) like that. Mostly 4 o’clock starts, but it’s an opportunity for us to jump on a team. I know (Seattle) is playing (Friday), so we have to use that to our advantage and start on time.”
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