When Saskatoon Blades blue liner Ben Saunderson checked his phone over the weekend, it was a conversation with his defence partner Tanner Molendyk that caught him a bit off guard.
On his screen was a message from the Nashville Predators prospect, congratulating him on being named the team’s captain for the 2024-25 WHL season.
“He actually texted me a day before just joking around saying, ‘Hey, congrats,'” Saunderson said. “I guess someone had talked to him about it and I hadn’t officially heard anything, so I kind of just laughed it off.”
The official word came down on Monday for Saunderson, who was unveiled as the 63rd captain in franchise history with a passing of the torch from last season’s captain Trevor Wong, handing the man affectionately nicknamed ‘The Dog’ his familiar number two jersey with a ‘C’ stitched above the Blades crest.
“I’m kind of speechless at the moment,” Saunderson said. “It’s a privilege and an honour that they had the trust in me to lead this group. I’m just thankful to the guys that I’ve come up with, my leaders teaching me about the league and now for me to be able to teach everyone else, it’s pretty cool.”
Turning 20 years old just days prior, it’s a welcome birthday gift for the Carberry, Man., product who has spent his entire 195-game junior career in Saskatoon.
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Over that span, he’s contributed six goals and 56 points, while becoming a top-four defender on back-to-back Eastern Conference final squads.
“He was the guy that was on my radar,” Blades head coach Dan DaSilva said. “First and foremost, from when I got named head coach to when I started to think about who would be the captain of this team moving forward. He was the first guy that came to mind.”
Four alternate captains were also announced by the Blades on Tuesday, with Molendyk, Brandon Lisowsky, Tyler Parr and Rowan Calvert joining Saunderson in the team’s leadership group.
With a much younger roster than in previous years, Saunderson added it’s an even more important honour with close to a dozen first- and second-year players on the roster.
“It’s just a different atmosphere than U18 would be,” Saunderson said. “I think it’s super important just to be there for them and be a role model.”
Saunderson’s first game as Blades captain goes Wednesday night in Calgary, with Saskatoon (3-0) aiming to keep its undefeated start alive against the Hitmen at 7 p.m.
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