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Saskatoon Blades forward Chase Wouters is savouring his final day as a junior hockey player.
With the Blades set to wrap up the shortened 2021 season in the Regina hub on Wednesday, Wouters, 21, is reflecting on a rare five-year career spent in the Western Hockey League.
“Our last practice was (Tuesday) and it kind of sunk in,” Wouters said hours before wearing a Blades uniform for the final time in a contest against the Brandon Wheat Kings.
“It’s just (about) thinking back on all the good times and cherishing all the memories throughout my five or six years here in Saskatoon. There’s for sure mixed emotions about it all.”
Those good times were hard to come by when Wouters first suited up against the Prince George Cougars as a 15-year-old.
The 19th overall selection in the 2015 WHL bantam draft joined the Blades during some difficult rebuilding years as the team underwent plenty of staff changes and failed to qualify for the playoffs.
From there, Wouters began to build himself a reputation as a hard-working and determined player. Not known for his flashy play — although that was evident at times — Wouters earned admiration from fans and coaches for his steady defensive play and detailed approach to the game.
“He exemplifies exactly what it means to be a Saskatoon Blade,” head coach Mitch Love said. “To come to the rink next fall for training camp and not see Chase there will have a different feel to it for sure.”
Wouters will graduate from the league as the longest-serving captain for the oldest WHL franchise, an accolade he hasn’t spent much time thinking about.
“As older guys, we’re just sharing our experience throughout the league and what it takes to play junior hockey,” Wouters said. “It takes a big amount of focus and determination to be successful, and those are definitely messages we’ve shared.”
His veteran experience was needed more than ever as the pandemic created the most unique season for junior hockey players — a 24-game schedule in a hub environment with no fans and no playoffs.
“It kind of feels like every game in the bubble here has been playoff hockey,” Wouter said. “I don’t regret a single thing about it.”
Love echoed Wouters’ sentiment but still wishes some form of playoffs could have been organized.
“This has been something that none of us will ever experience again,” Love said. “There’s a lot of people that are dictating what you can or can’t do …
“From a selfish standpoint, we would have loved to have had some sort of a playoff. It would have given the kids something to look forward to, even if it was abbreviated.”
As Wouters prepares to continue his hockey career in the pro ranks, the things he will miss most about his time in Saskatoon are the small moments off the ice — the road trips, hotel stays, relationships and card games.
“We played a lot of President, a lot of Golf and played a lot of Crib this year and last year, especially,” Wouter said of his go-to card games.
Being able to swindle some of the younger players was an opportunity he rarely let pass him by.
“Cards is a big thing we played back home with my family all the time, so yeah, I know my way around a deck of cards,” he said.
Whether it be cards, hockey or a future in academics, Love couldn’t be any prouder of the Blades captain and whatever is waiting for him after Wednesday.
“He’s going to do great things in his career and his life. He’s an outstanding young man,” Love said. “He’ll be forever remembered for what he’s meant to our organization the last five years.”