The Saskatoon Blades have solved the issue of having too many overage players on their roster by trading Ryan Graham to the Swift Current Broncos.
With Jesse Shynkaruk ready to return to the lineup after missing 10 games with an upper body injury, the Blades found themselves with four healthy 20-year-old players – one more than the maximum allowed in the WHL.
READ MORE: Saskatoon Blades trade Ryan Graham to Swift Current Broncos for picks
When the Broncos offered to take Graham off Saskatoon’s hands in exchange for a pair of draft picks, the deal was too good to resist.
“We just couldn’t turn the return down. It was the same kind of return that some franchise-type 100-point players have gotten as 20-year-olds,” general manager Colin Priestner explained.
The Blades players were well aware that someone would have to be moved eventually but the reality of life without Graham, who was the longest-serving member of the team, is now sinking in.
“We knew one of the guys had to go so I wasn’t surprised someone left but yeah, it’s definitely going to be different playing against him,” said captain Wyatt Sloboshan, who has been a teammate of Graham’s since the 2014-15 season.
Born in Calgary, Graham was selected by the Blades 91st overall in the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft.
He made his debut with the team at the end of the 2011-12 season and went on to play 248 regular season games and a single playoff contest for Saskatoon.
After a 22-goal, 46-point campaign as a 19-year-old in 2015-16, he was poised to be one of the Blades’ offensive leaders this season, but a pre-season knee injury forced him to miss the first six weeks and when he returned to the lineup his demeanor on the ice had changed. Graham had one goal and four assists in 11 games after rejoining the lineup.
“We weren’t seeing the passion and the same enthusiasm that he was usually playing with and we talked to him a little bit about it and I think he just, after four and a bit years here he just decided as well maybe it would be time to try another place out and see if he could get his game back in order,” Priestner said.
Blades head coach Dean Brockman also noted the change.
“Personally we just felt that he needed another, you know a new place to play. I think for him, he’s played here long enough, maybe it was getting a little bit stale,” he said.
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However, Graham might still be wearing a Saskatoon uniform if not for the emergence of Shynkaruk, who made the team as a training camp walk-on and recorded six goals and three assists in 11 games prior to getting hurt.
Shynkaruk also quickly eased into a leadership role with the young team. Priestner admitted the former Moose Jaw Warrior and Kamloops Blazer has far exceeded expectations since joining the club, adding that Shynkaruk’s positive energy on the ice is also appreciated.
“Jesse comes back in (after his injury), he’s extremely eager to be here. He thought he might be in Junior A this year or something. He was waived in June, so I think he’s looking at this season like he’s playing with house money, and he’s playing like it,” Priestner said.
Like fellow overagers Bryton Sayers and Kolten Olynek, Shynkaruk knew a deal was imminent but tried not to worry about things out of his control. Now that it’s happened, he’s ready to do his part to fill the void created by Graham’s departure.
“Ryan was obviously one of the biggest leaders in that locker room and it was tough to let him go but I think I can sure step into that role and teach the young guys some stuff and just shed some knowledge on them,” he said.
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Thanks to the trade, the Blades now have more bargaining chips at their disposal and Priestner said a skilled forward is at the top of his shopping list. The Blades are one of the lowest scoring teams in the WHL and with the Blades gunning for a playoff spot this season, they’ll need more firepower to keep up with their rivals.
“We’ve got two first (round picks), two seconds, a third this draft and we’re open for business to try and improve our team,” he said.
The WHL trade deadline is on Jan. 9, 2017.
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