Saskatoon Blades’ Brayden Klimpke Emerging as a Key Player

Klimpke finished his first full WHL season as the Blades’ third-highest scoring defender behind 20-year-olds Grayden Siepmann and Ben Saunderson, with three goals and 26 points in 59 games. In the playoffs, he continued to produce, and although the Blades were swept by the Calgary Hitmen, he led the team with three assists in those four games. He was also one of the best rookies in the league, finishing 25th in points and seventh among rookie defencemen. Despite his age, Klimpke was playing a top-four role, which set him up well for a strong sophomore campaign.

A Strong Start to 2025-26 WHL Season

Things could not have gone better for Klimpke to start the 2025-26 season. In the Blades’ first home game, he scored the overtime-winner, showcasing everything that makes him such a strong defenceman. In the defensive zone, he forced a turnover from the Prince Albert Raiders, then, with a burst of speed, drove the puck up the ice before passing it to a wide-open Hayden Harsanyi. But, when the puck didn’t go in off the initial shot, he was ready to catch the rebound, shovelling it by the sprawling Raiders goalie.

The weight of the new letter hasn’t slowed him down at all. “I like it, it’s good,” Klimpke said of his new role to the Blades’ play-by-play announcer, Les Lazaruk, after the Raiders’ game. “But nothing’s really changed, honestly, I just keep doing what I’m doing.”

However, part of his game has changed, namely his physicality. Last season, Klimpke would get pushed around due to his lack of size, and his lack of strength limited the power he could get behind his shot. But over the summer, he added 12 pounds of muscle, and although he’s still on the smaller size for a hockey player, he no longer gets pushed around. There’s no hesitation to charge into the corner or behind the net to retrieve pucks, and if he catches an opponent unaware along the boards, he’s more than happy to knock them down.

Klimpke has shown a new eagerness to play in all areas of the ice, leading some to wonder if he’d be willing to take on a shutdown role if asked. “You always want to be on the ice,” he told Lazaruk. “So, if that’s what the team wants me to do, then that’s what I’ll do.”

Klimpke has fully embraced the Blades’ motto of getting better every day, showing it on and off the ice, and his teammates have noticed. So, when it came time to pick a leader, there really wasn’t any doubt that, despite his age, Klimpke would be an excellent role model for a team still adjusting to the grind of the WHL.

Molendyk’s Impact on Klimpke

Like Klimpke, Tanner Molendyk started his career in Saskatoon at a significant size disadvantage. When he joined the Blades in 2020-21 for 17 games, he stood at 5-foot-10 and 154 pounds – two pounds lighter than Klimpke’s weight last season. So, when the pair met up last season, Molendyk served as mentor for the young blueliner. “He’s unreal,” Klimpke said after the leadership announcement. “I definitely learned a lot from him as well.”

With both players considered undersized for defencemen, they both began to rely on their speed and agility to contribute. It led to very similar results; Molendyk put up 18 points in 55 games in his first full season in 2021-22, eight points less than Klimpke’s 26. But when Molendyk returned for his sophomore season with more muscle and more confidence, he quickly became one of the WHL’s best defensive prospects up for the 2023 Draft. That resulted in a first-round selection by the Nashville Predators and a spot on Canada’s blue line at the 2025 World Junior Championship.

But another similarity is their leadership styles. Molendyk was always a soft-spoken player in interviews, choosing his words carefully and keeping a low profile. In games, he led more by example, and as an alternate captain from 2023 to 2025, he helped make Saskatoon one of the best teams in the league.

That’s exactly what Klimpke wants to do. “I think leading by example, playing the right way,” he said. “Showing the new guys how we do things around here, off the ice and on the ice.”

Klimpke has proven that he can handle being the Blades’ top defenceman. He’s significantly stronger than he was last season, but he’s also more confident. There’s a fearlessness to his game that wasn’t as noticeable as a rookie, which is a very similar progression to Molendyk’s rise as Saskatoon’s best defender. While Klimpke may never fully hit the heights of his predecessor, he’s on the right path for a big breakout season.