It wasn’t long ago that the Saskatoon Blades had a defence surplus, leading them to trade 19-year-old defender Tyrone Sobry to the Prince George Cougars. It was a way to give a Western Hockey League (WHL) veteran a chance to play every night, which was not guaranteed in Saskatoon.
It only took a minute for that to completely change, and now, for the past two games, the Blades have finished with just five defencemen on their bench. “It’s been tough,” said defenceman Jordan Martin, who’s been playing regularly on Saskatoon’s top pairing, “but I think all five of us really stepped up our…games to take on this mess.”
It certainly hasn’t been pretty at times, but the Blades are muscling their way through it. In the past two games, they’ve allowed five goals but still come away with three of a total four points. For a team that’s working to lock down home ice in the playoffs, that’s exactly what they need to do.
Saskatoon’s Defencemen Have Been Dropping Like Flies
Injuries have been a big strain on the Blades’ blueline. Since Dec. 13, Saskatoon has lost 26 games from defencemen alone, and over the last three games, they’ve been down three crucial veterans. 17-year-old Kaden Allan has been out all but one game since Dec. 28, shutdown defender Isaac Poll went back on the injured list on Jan. 16, and the big, physical Derek Thurston has been off the ice since Nov. 22 and is still waiting to be cleared to play.
That’s put a ton of strain on the remaining defencemen on the Blades roster. Brayden Klimpke and Tristen Doyle have been excellent as top puck movers in the top four, but without the defensive presences of Poll, Allan, and Thurston, Jordan Martin and Jack Kachkowski have been taking on a heavy share of that load. The last spot has gone to 17-year-old rookie Jack Lavallee and, when needed, affiliate call-ups like Julian Revel and Ewen Gillis.
So far, that grouping has worked out well, but any unexpected changes can have massive impacts. After a fight against Victoria’s Seth Fyer in the first period, Martin left the game and didn’t return to the bench, leaving the team with five defencemen for 45 minutes. Suddenly, the Blades were down to one defensive presence, which hurt their rotation and the flow. After allowing just 13 shots against in the first period, fatigue began to set in, and the Royals snuck 11 shots against the Blades in the third period.
However, despite the challenges, the Blades have managed to find wins. Over the last 10 games, Saskatoon has a 5-3-2 record.
“It speaks volumes to the d-core stepping up,” said alternate captain Rowan Calvert after beating the Royals 3-1, “but also, as a team, we make sure we’re managing pucks and playing the right way, so it’s not turnovers, turnovers, and spending lots of time in our own zone. It was a tough effort from the boys tonight, but we got’er done.”
Getting Back to Blades Hockey
When the Blades are on their game, they are a fast, aggressive team that doesn’t give up a lot of chances. They’ve managed to blend strength and competitiveness with speed and skill in a way that few of their opponents have been able to match, and any shots that do get through have to get through Evan Gardner, one of the best goalies in the WHL over the last two seasons.
However, when the Blades are off their game, it can get ugly. They overplay the puck, looking for more passing opportunities than scoring chances, resulting in turnovers, giveaways, and odd-man rushes. That’s been most obvious on the power play; despite a 26.9% effectiveness with the man advantage over the 2025-26 season, they have just three goals in their last 22 power plays, giving them a paltry 13.6% success rate.
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“As always, we’re focused on what we need to do,” said head coach Dan DaSilva ahead of the game against Victoria. “We didn’t have the weekend that we wanted in terms of how we need to play, so that’s been the messaging this week, just kind of resetting and getting back to playing Blades hockey…At the end of the day, you need to show up when the puck drops.”
Last weekend, the Blades took on the Swift Current Broncos in a home-and-home series. The Broncos currently sit dead last in the WHL and have the fewest goals scored of any club, but they nearly outscored the Blades, finishing the two games with a 7-6 goal spread. While every team will present a challenge, Saskatoon can’t fall to a 3-0 deficit in the first period and still expect to be competitive.
Thankfully, the game against Victoria saw some positive changes. There were still a few bad habits present: a 5-on-3 power play that lasted over a minute and a half saw the Blades register one shot on net and two missed nets. But the Blades pelted Victoria’s goalie, registering 35 shots over the 60 minutes. The Blades were also able to capitalize on the power play, with Cooper Williams in the right spot at the right time to tap home a juicy rebound to get Saskatoon on the board.
These recent struggles aren’t indicative of a team struggling to work together, but a sign of how difficult it has been to deal with all the injuries and gaps on the back end. To come away with as many points as they do despite the challenges speaks to the strength of this club. With Poll and Allan listed day-to-day, there’s hope that they will be back on the Blades’ roster in no time, which will only make the team stronger as the playoffs creep closer and closer. That’s a great place to be if they want to secure home ice advantage.
