The puck drops for the Saskatoon Blades as the quest for the 2013 Memorial Cup begin tonight.
The Blades open the year on the road in Prince Albert in what can be described as the most important season in franchise history.
The Bridge City Bunch will be hosting the 2013 Memorial Cup in May and look poised to be one of the top teams in the WHL.
Up front, the Blades will be led offensively by Matej Stransky, who led the team last season with 39 goals and 81 points, Josh Nicholls, Lukas Sutter and Brent Benson.
Add off-season acquisitions Shane McColgan from Kelowna and Brendan Walker from Brandon and a stable of young talent looking to leave their mark and the Blades shouldn’t have any trouble lighting the lamp this season.
The defence corp remains intact, with Dalton Thrower, Darren Dietz, Duncan Siemens, Conner Cox and Matthew Pufahl all returning.
Thrower and Dietz have seen their stock skyrocket year after year in the WHL, and the Blades will need to see the progression continue again this year.
Young defensemen Nelson Nogier and Brett Lernout will both be given an opportunity to start the season, and the Blades are hoping by the new year, both will be impact players on the back end.
In net, Andrey Makarov is back for his 2nd season in Saskatoon. Makarov had an up and down first season with the Blades, but has all the talent and tools to dominate in the crease.
The Blades first action at Credit Union Centre is Saturday night when they play host to Prince Albert on the back end of a home and home with the Raiders.
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