Saskatoon Blades Remain Optimistic Following Early Playoff Exit

On April 2, the Saskatoon Blades’ season came to a sudden end with a 6-2 loss to the Calgary Hitmen in Game 4 of the Western Hockey League (WHL) Quarterfinals. In any other year, this would be demoralizing. The Blades were the first WHL team to get to 10 wins, held onto first place in the East Division for several weeks, and had home ice advantage until the last two games of the season before the Hitmen swept them. They also struggled with penalties and had to kill off several weak calls, putting them at a disadvantage all series.

Yet, as the Blades walked back to the dressing room, they didn’t hang their heads. All season long, this team was told they were too young, didn’t have enough talent, and were going to finish at the bottom of the standings. Yet, despite all that negativity, they proved that they can still compete with an inexperienced team. The Blades finished the season on a tough loss, but everyone on the team saw that the future is only going to get brighter.

Facing Calgary Was a Worst-Case Scenario

The end of the 2024-25 season saw one of the tightest playoff series the league has ever seen. With just a few games remaining, four teams all had a chance to claim first place in the East Division, and the Blades were right there with them. While that made for a thrilling conclusion to the year, no one knew who would face each other in the playoffs. For Saskatoon, they had a chance at three potential playoff matchups: the Prince Albert Raiders, the Lethbridge Hurricanes, and the Hitmen.

The Raiders were likely the Blades’ preferred matchup. Not only were they very familiar with their northern rivals, but facing them meant they’d taken first in the division. Unfortunately, they suffered back-to-back losses against Prince Albert in their final two games of the season, dashing their hopes of that. The Hurricanes also would have been a good matchup. They’d added several key pieces at the deadline for a deep playoff run, but Saskatoon seemed to have their number and never let them get away with much. But the Brandon Wheat Kings ruined that plan, winning their last two games to sneak ahead of the Blades.

That left Saskatoon in sixth place and set to take on Calgary. Like the Hurricanes, they also loaded up at the deadline, but they had been much more aggressive, adding two former World Junior players in Tanner Howe and Sawyer Mynio, plus experienced WHL veterans Daniel Hauser, Carson Birnie, and Kalem Parker. Saskatoon had managed to come out on top during the regular season, but just barely, outscoring their opponents 16-15. But the playoffs went very differently; the Hitmen stormed out to a dominant two-game lead at home while keeping the Blades to just three total goals.

Saskatoon’s only way to save the series was a Game 3 win at home, and everything started out well. The Blades attacked hard and fast and put the Hitmen on their heels early, but a misplay led to a Calgary goal late in the first, sucking the momentum out of the building. They came back hard in the second and scored a goal to tie the game, but the energy was gone, and soon after, the Hitmen took back control. The game ended much like the first two. Game 4 went similarly, with Saskatoon starting strong, but Calgary bounced back in the second, bullying their opponents to emotional penalties and proving they were bigger and better. Before anyone knew it, the game was over and the season was done.

Blades Find Plenty of Positives in Tough Loss

It’s never fun getting swept in any league, but in the WHL, a number of players will finish their junior careers with that loss. That was the case for team captain Ben Saunderson, who had every reason to be disappointed. He missed his chance to capture the team’s first WHL title last season, then concluded his time in the league with six straight losses. Yet he remained proud of what his team accomplished because they stuck with the game plan, no matter how hard it got.

“There was never any rollover in the room, on the ice, on the bench,” Saunderson said after the loss. “No one was ever giving up. We fought until the very end, every single night. We knew they’re a really good team over there and you’ve got to give credit where credit’s due. Hell of a hockey team. But we never quit.”