Watch above: While the Saskatoon Blades 2014-15 WHL season may be over, the team took some strides in the right direction. As Kim Thue reports, the team is optimistic about next season.
SASKATOON – 2014-15 marked another tough season for the Saskatoon Blades. It was the second straight season the team ended their year in mid-March.
However, it wasn’t all bad as the Blades’ rebuilding clearly took steps forward this year, winning three more games than last season and showing that a foundation is in place and a brighter future is on the horizon.
“We had more wins than last year and that’s kind of what the goal was,” stated the outgoing Blades captain Brett Stovin.
“We have two unbelievable goaltenders. We have some young defence that are extremely skilled. We have some extremely skilled forwards with good chemistry up front. I see things starting to click and go in the right direction.”
READ MORE: Blades play last home game of 2014-15 season in front of 8,900 fans
Stovin, the leading scorer, will be moving on but the young core is still in place. Players like Cameron Hebig, Wyatt Sloboshan, Ryan Graham and Nik Amundrud will be leaned upon heavily to get this team to the next level.
“Just looking forward to next year you hope that we are going to do better. I know all of our goals are to make the playoffs,” said forward Ryan Graham, who will be a 19-year-old veteran next WHL season.
“For me personally, I’m going to have an even bigger role and I’m just going to have to work that much harder to fill the shoes of some of the older guys that are leaving.”
The Blades will also be selecting in the first round of the WHL bantam draft for the first time since 2010. They own the twelfth and seventeenth overall picks, which will go a long ways to replenishing the team’s shallow prospect pool.
While the draft will be an integral part of the Blades future, those players will naturally be a couple years away from making an impact.
Blades Head Coach and General Manager Bob Woods feels he has some work to do this off-season and expects his returning players to take the next step in order for his team to get to where they want to be.
“There are a few pieces we need to fit into our lineup,” admitted Woods.
“I believe the guys returning are going to be a lot better than they were this year with the experience and developing mentally and physically. The foundation is in place now. Guys know what is expected from us.”
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