In many stats. The Blades sport one of the top defences in the league only allowing 55 goals thus far. They Also sport the best record and are currently in 1st place in the WHL. They have 5 of the top 6 players in the +- category. They also have the top 2 penalty minute leaders.
I dont think a team has ever led in all those categories. The Blades are a talented, strong defensively, ofensively, and very tough team. This would be year 5 of Lornes "5 year plan" Has he finally built the team needed to take the Blades into the promise land? Only time will tell. At 17-3-0-3 Blades fans have alot to be excited about. They meet the Cougars tomorrow, who are also owned by a Brodsky.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Thats more like it
Going into last Wednesdays tilt against the Kootenay Ice. The Blades havent scored for 100+ minutes. They snapped that streak just 15 seconds into the game and potted 8 goals that night. Then in Red Deer tonight, the offense was again potent as they scored 6 more. 14 goals in their last 2 games and their PP is 3/6 in those 2 games. The record is now 4-2-0-2, certianly much better than it was a week ago.
But now Lorne is faced with another problem. Wintoneak looked to be the odd man out. Kytnar was supposed to stay. When Kytnar went down with a nagging injury(which could affect him later in the season) Wintoneak took his spot for the time being. Since playing for the injrue Kytnar, Wintoneak has definately been the best Blades player. He has 9 points in 6 games including a 4 point night tonight in Red Deer! Wintoneak also has 2 powerplay goals - PP goals have been a struggle with the Blades this season. Lorne is also under pressure from Oilers management to keep him on the team. Here is what the stats of the players look like.
Wintoneak 6GP - 3 goals, 6 assists, +3.
M Kytnar 3 GP - 0 goals, 1 assist, -1.
Who would you keep? Wintoneak seems like the obvious choice. I hope Lorne can find a home for Kytnar.
But now Lorne is faced with another problem. Wintoneak looked to be the odd man out. Kytnar was supposed to stay. When Kytnar went down with a nagging injury(which could affect him later in the season) Wintoneak took his spot for the time being. Since playing for the injrue Kytnar, Wintoneak has definately been the best Blades player. He has 9 points in 6 games including a 4 point night tonight in Red Deer! Wintoneak also has 2 powerplay goals - PP goals have been a struggle with the Blades this season. Lorne is also under pressure from Oilers management to keep him on the team. Here is what the stats of the players look like.
Wintoneak 6GP - 3 goals, 6 assists, +3.
M Kytnar 3 GP - 0 goals, 1 assist, -1.
Who would you keep? Wintoneak seems like the obvious choice. I hope Lorne can find a home for Kytnar.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Blades aquire goaltender Steven Stanford from the Raiders
In what was certainly an interesting an unexpected move. Lorne aquired Stanford from the Raiders. Stanford was on Campese's untouchable list last season. However a couple things changed that.
1 - The emergence of a very good 16 yr old goalie in Jacob Edwards
2 - Garret Zemlaks phenomenal play
Unfortunately this is likely the end for Sharkey. Things dont turn out the way you expect. Krahn will be 20 next season and obviously not part of the plan. Sharkey didnt get a chance this year and will probably get beat out by Oswald or Iwan next season. To the Raiders are Wall and Yaworsky, a couple players who will get a better chance in PA. Kozyra is likely gone as a result. Morrison and Stanford are the men between the pipes now. 2 good goalies, i dont know who the starter will be. But its good to have some experience and depth in that position.
Tyler Matheson has been traded to Kelowna for a 7th round pick.
Lorne NEEDS to find a home for Wintoneak. The 30+ goal scorer has decent value as its early on in the season. But that value decreases as the season wears on. Im sure Lorne has recieved all the interest he's gonna get, now its time to strike a deal. Also, once Wintoneak is gone, Lorne cam focus in picking lines and letting the players find chemestry with their linemates, and that should lead to some more wins. 2-2-0-2 is not a record a contender should have.
1 - The emergence of a very good 16 yr old goalie in Jacob Edwards
2 - Garret Zemlaks phenomenal play
Unfortunately this is likely the end for Sharkey. Things dont turn out the way you expect. Krahn will be 20 next season and obviously not part of the plan. Sharkey didnt get a chance this year and will probably get beat out by Oswald or Iwan next season. To the Raiders are Wall and Yaworsky, a couple players who will get a better chance in PA. Kozyra is likely gone as a result. Morrison and Stanford are the men between the pipes now. 2 good goalies, i dont know who the starter will be. But its good to have some experience and depth in that position.
Tyler Matheson has been traded to Kelowna for a 7th round pick.
Lorne NEEDS to find a home for Wintoneak. The 30+ goal scorer has decent value as its early on in the season. But that value decreases as the season wears on. Im sure Lorne has recieved all the interest he's gonna get, now its time to strike a deal. Also, once Wintoneak is gone, Lorne cam focus in picking lines and letting the players find chemestry with their linemates, and that should lead to some more wins. 2-2-0-2 is not a record a contender should have.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Welcome home, Boyer
Last season Boyer was one of the players i hoped Lorne would get at the trade deadline. He didnt, but he got him now. Boyer is coming to Saskatoon in exchange for a 3rd round pick, and Stefan Burzan(2009 bantam draft) Burzan was excellent in the Blades camp and i had him picked to make the team as a 16 yr old next season.
(image from saskatoonblades.com)
Jeremy Boyer will bring some speed, leadership, experience, and scoring touch, to a club that will improve from his services. Boyer is from Saskatoon and a former Blazer.
Lets take a look at the trades this season.
-Ryan Funk to Vancouver for a 4th
-Chris Langkow to Everett for a 6th and a 3rd
-Tyler Kiziuk from Prince George for a 6th
-Jeremy Boyer from Seattle for Burzan and a 3rd.
What the Blades lost - Langkow, Funk, and Burzan
What the Blades recieved - Kiziuk, Boyer, and a 4th.
(The 3rds and 6ths cancel out)
Lorne, IMO has done an excellent job trading. And there are definately more to come. Lorne has to get rid of at least 1 20yr old and 1 euro(or Kytnar who is a 20yr old euro)
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Blades very mediocre start
1-1-0-1 is about as mediocre as you can get. Not good considering those 3 games were against teams they should be beating. There are a few problems with the start of the season(some out of Lorne's control)
1 - Getting a good start - The Blades have yet to score in the 1st period. The Blades have played good in the 2nd half of all their games but cannot get a good start going. They need to be fast right from the opening faceoff to the end of the game if they want any success.
2 - Work on the PP - The Blades IMO have the best slap shot and best wrist shot from the point. Elliott with the wrister and obviously Niemi with the slapper. Ive seen Niemi take 3 slap shots at home, hes had the chance for about 10. He's got a 100+ mph shot, he needs to use it. To give you an idea on how hard that is, the hardest shot in the NHL is Zdeno Chara at 105.6, an NHL record.
3 - Shoot the puck - The Nicholls Patterson play was nice, but those do not work very often. Despite returning a good part of the team, the Blades still need to keep it "Simple and Hard" Their team logo.
4 - Finalize the lines(out of Lornes controll) With the suprise returns of Kytnar and Klassen, Lorne im sure has been on the phone trying to figure out what to do with his 4 overagers and 3 euros. Part of the reason the Blades looked slow is because they have no chemestry. Once they get a final roster to play the season, you can expect to see the old Blades team you were hoping for. Unfortunately they have not figured out the euro and overage situation yet, so things will be rough till Lorne makes the trades he needs to.
1 - Getting a good start - The Blades have yet to score in the 1st period. The Blades have played good in the 2nd half of all their games but cannot get a good start going. They need to be fast right from the opening faceoff to the end of the game if they want any success.
2 - Work on the PP - The Blades IMO have the best slap shot and best wrist shot from the point. Elliott with the wrister and obviously Niemi with the slapper. Ive seen Niemi take 3 slap shots at home, hes had the chance for about 10. He's got a 100+ mph shot, he needs to use it. To give you an idea on how hard that is, the hardest shot in the NHL is Zdeno Chara at 105.6, an NHL record.
3 - Shoot the puck - The Nicholls Patterson play was nice, but those do not work very often. Despite returning a good part of the team, the Blades still need to keep it "Simple and Hard" Their team logo.
4 - Finalize the lines(out of Lornes controll) With the suprise returns of Kytnar and Klassen, Lorne im sure has been on the phone trying to figure out what to do with his 4 overagers and 3 euros. Part of the reason the Blades looked slow is because they have no chemestry. Once they get a final roster to play the season, you can expect to see the old Blades team you were hoping for. Unfortunately they have not figured out the euro and overage situation yet, so things will be rough till Lorne makes the trades he needs to.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The WHL is back(new fight rules, new jerseys)
Well we are in for another exciting WHL season! There is alot going on this season, first the new fight rule. Players will not be able to take off their helmets before fighting. If their helmets come off during the fight that's fine, but no more dumping the lids before squaring off. It sucks but apparently the league had to do it in order to have insurance for the players. On a somewhat positive note, players will likely just unstrap their helmets after dropping the mitts that way they'll come off rather easily once they engage. Especially the tough guys or more frequent fighters. From what I understand, unstrapping helmets before fighting won't be against the rules. -from HordiBrusk29 at hockeyfights.com
However i think the players sent a message to the WHL saying that this rule aint gonna stop them from fighting. There were multiple line brawls. Something like 25 fights on opening night which is unheard of unless you watched during the 80's. The Blades/Pats had a bit of a brawl that saw 4 fights and Zahn fighting twice. From what has transpired, it looks like fighting aint out of the game just yet.
Fans get to see all new RBK jerseys for EVERY CHL team. I have checked all of them out and my favorites in order are.
1 - Rouyn Noranda Huskies
2 - Saskatoon Blades
3 - Kamloops Blazers
4 - London Knights
5 - Regina Pats
However i think the players sent a message to the WHL saying that this rule aint gonna stop them from fighting. There were multiple line brawls. Something like 25 fights on opening night which is unheard of unless you watched during the 80's. The Blades/Pats had a bit of a brawl that saw 4 fights and Zahn fighting twice. From what has transpired, it looks like fighting aint out of the game just yet.
Fans get to see all new RBK jerseys for EVERY CHL team. I have checked all of them out and my favorites in order are.
1 - Rouyn Noranda Huskies
2 - Saskatoon Blades
3 - Kamloops Blazers
4 - London Knights
5 - Regina Pats
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Windsor does if after all
After a shocking 0-2 start. The Spitfires decided it was time to get their act together. In some very close games the Spitfires clawed their way back to a winning record. While doing so it was only fitting that Taylor Hall, Nemisz, and Ellis found their games. After defeating the Voltigeurs in the semi final Windsor found themselves battling the team that they beat earlier to stay alive. On the other hand the Rockets were faced with the task of playing the only team to have beat them thus far.
Now the Rockets had a chance to eliminate Windsor early on. But the Rockets were already garunteed a spot in the final so in a way this was a meaningless game for them. Well the Rockets played soft and Windsor came out with a win despite another poor effort from their club. So in the final would the Windsor make the Rockets regret not eliminating them when they had the chance.
Yes would be the answer to that question. Windsor came flying out of the gate. Windsors 1st shot, a goal. Windsors 2nd shot, a goal. Windsors 3rd shot, a goal. Windsor had 3 goals in 3 shots and Kelowna hadnt even got a shot off yet. Mark Guggenberger is pull and Adam Brown saw his 1st taste of action in 2 months. To his credit he would make some huge saves right away. After 1 period Kelowna looked down and out.
8 seconds into the 2nd period Cody Almond scores. 3-1 going into the 3rd. Ryan Ellis would blast a point shot that beats Brown and 4-1 would be your final. The Spitfires never gave up despite looking like the laughing stock of the Memorial Cup just a few days in. Mickey Renaud was watching them from up above with pride. The Spitfires became the 1st ever team to win it all after starting 2-0 at the Memorial cup.
Now the Rockets had a chance to eliminate Windsor early on. But the Rockets were already garunteed a spot in the final so in a way this was a meaningless game for them. Well the Rockets played soft and Windsor came out with a win despite another poor effort from their club. So in the final would the Windsor make the Rockets regret not eliminating them when they had the chance.
Yes would be the answer to that question. Windsor came flying out of the gate. Windsors 1st shot, a goal. Windsors 2nd shot, a goal. Windsors 3rd shot, a goal. Windsor had 3 goals in 3 shots and Kelowna hadnt even got a shot off yet. Mark Guggenberger is pull and Adam Brown saw his 1st taste of action in 2 months. To his credit he would make some huge saves right away. After 1 period Kelowna looked down and out.
8 seconds into the 2nd period Cody Almond scores. 3-1 going into the 3rd. Ryan Ellis would blast a point shot that beats Brown and 4-1 would be your final. The Spitfires never gave up despite looking like the laughing stock of the Memorial Cup just a few days in. Mickey Renaud was watching them from up above with pride. The Spitfires became the 1st ever team to win it all after starting 2-0 at the Memorial cup.
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