Saskatoon Blades set sights on WHL championship

The start of a new hockey season brings hopes and expectations while also shutting the door on what happened last year.

The Saskatoon Blades start their season Saturday in Regina against the Pats, and expectations have never been higher.

The Canadian Hockey League ranked the Blades ninth among all CHL teams ahead of the season opener.

The @HuskiesRn lead the #CHLTop10 preseason rankings!

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) September 20, 2023

Blades head coach Brennan Sonne said the goal this year is simple.

“I want to hang the East Division banner,” said Sonne. “I want to win a WHL championship. It’s pretty simple. We had 16 goals last season, and we accomplished all of them but those two.”

Saskatoon lost in the Eastern Conference final last season, falling in four games to the Winnipeg Ice in the best-of-seven series.

Sonne says he doesn’t think any team is 100 per cent ready for the new season just yet.

“Players are gone, training camps were quick and you haven’t played a ton of games,” said Sonne. “We’re happy with the plan that we’ve executed. We’ve followed it pretty precisely, and it’s a process. What you are in Game 1 is not what you are in Game 68.”

The Blades will have a different face leading them into battle this year, as the team announced that Trevor Wong will be the Blades’ new captain.

This is Wong’s third season with the Blades and his final season in the WHL.

“It’s my last year and I want to enjoy it. We have an unbelievable group of guys in this room,” said Wong.

Wong said the team isn’t paying much attention to the CHL rankings that were put out Wednesday.

“We have very high standards in this room, and we don’t think too much about those rankings at all because they don’t really mean much at all,” said Wong. “For us, our goal is the championship.”

Wong broke out offensively last season, scoring 27 goals and recording 86 points in 68 games.

Wong credited his linemates Brandon Lisowsky and Yegor Sidorov for much of his success last year, saying they made his job pretty easy. The newly minted captain said he believes the confidence he gained last season will help him repeat his success again this year.

“Obviously confidence is a huge thing. Every year you play in this league you kind of gain a little bit more confidence,” said Wong.

Adding the “C” to his jersey has given Wong a little bit more confidence, but he said it’s an honour to have it.

“We have so many great guys in this room (and it) makes my job pretty easy,” said Wong. “There’s lots of returners and guys who have been in the Blades organization for a long time.”

Despite the big group of returning players, there will also be a few new faces to the organization this year.

One of those new faces is 18-year-old Samuel Barcik, a 6-foot-2, 192-pound shutdown defenceman from Slovakia.

Barcik was selected 56th overall in the CHL import draft last July.

But there are differences in hockey between North America and Europe.

“Obviously the rink is smaller than in Europe, but I’m getting used to it. Guys will help me a lot,” said Barcik. “I have played in some tournaments in Canada, so I had some expectations, and I think it went pretty well. I’m getting used to it, but I think it’s going so good so far.”

Barcik said everyone in Saskatoon has been very welcoming since he first arrived.

“I’ve got very good billets and all the guys are so nice. They are making it so (much) easier,” said Barcik. “Obviously I miss my family, but the billets give me the feeling (that) I am family, so it does help me a lot.”

Barcik said it’s been very important to have that help and support around him.

“I’m alone here. It’s an eight-hour difference between here and Slovakia, so I don’t talk to my parents very often, but if I do I’m very grateful for it,” said Barcik.

Barcik said he is very impressed with the Blades so far, and he feels like they have a very good chance to win the league.

The Blades also have a new face behind the bench.

Christine Bumstead is set to be the first female coach in Blades history.

“Christine’s going to be doing stuff with the staff in practice, maybe running drills (and) skill stuff,” said Sonne. “She’s really going to be working with us on the hockey ops side.”

The Blades’ first home game of the 2023-24 regular season is set for Sunday against the Prince Albert Raiders.