Siemens & Benson

[witness]

Lorne must have been giddy to see Benson still at the table for their second pick.
Don't know much about Siemen, but he is a winner and plays to win.
Benson is a beauty. You are going to love this kid, Blades fans. Plays with his heart on his sleeve and has huge talent. And he is a Saskatchewan boy.
The Blades are already better!

[hobster]

Im very happy with those picks i have seen Benson play this past winter he looks like a man playing with boys allready, awesome puck handler and very responsible, he is gonna be a gooder here for years too come .

[Trav]

d-man in the 2nd round Dalton Thrower, apparently he's a offensive minded d-man, was ranked 23rd by ISS so he was picked around that area. Might he have been the best player available? Thought maybe they'd go for a forward.

[hobster]

Good puck moving defencmen make for better fowards in the future im happy wih the top 3 picks finnally a good draft for the Blades.

[Bocephus]

You guys have a Sutter in the program. Lukas is the pick.

[Trav]

Blades also have Brody Sutter, not sure if they're brothers or cousins, I think cousins though, believe Brody is Darryl's son.

[Shortys]

Looks like some nice picks, but the way things are now with the blades you would have thought two first round natural scorers would have been picked. Molleken must have confidence with the guys already in the system to pick up the slack in the scoring slump, and with Benson we should be fine. Our D was already strong, now it will be stacked for at least a conference win!

[Trav]

Benson was considered the top player in the draft and with Siemens being the top d-man in the draft, doesn't hurt to stock up on both positions

[WHL Rules]

Blades also have Brody Sutter, not sure if they're brothers or cousins, I think cousins though, believe Brody is Darryl's son.

Brody is Duane's son. Lukas is Rich's boy and Darryl's hockey playing son is former Rebels captain and Kootenay ice player Brett.

[Trav]

wasn't quite sure.

[WHL Crazy]

http://www.bantamaachallenge.ca/pages/2007/top_stats_07.php

5gp 12-5-17 named MVP

[Scout]

Both these players should be dominant in the WHL. I realize it's very early, but early scouting reports are rating both these guys first round picks in the 2011 draft. Benson right now is rated #9 in North America and Siemans is rated #12 in North America. Like i said, it will change but as of right now thats where both these guys sit. Good job on both picks.

Scout

[Tidball]

Gotta love Benson at #1 and Trask at #3 for most goals in that tourny.

[booboo]

The Blades rule again????? Why is it that you always trump up the Blades when you know they have been hopless for awhile? With the 3rd and 6th pick this year even the Blades scouts could not screw up. I guess denial is not just a river in Egypt. :groovy:

[wango tango]

The Blades rule again????? Why is it that you always trump up the Blades when you know they have been hopless for awhile? With the 3rd and 6th pick this year even the Blades scouts could not screw up. I guess denial is not just a river in Egypt. :groovy:

gotta love coming on a board and doing a little trolling!

and is there a problem with feeling optimistic about a teams selections? i think if you talk to any management with any team they'll tell you they feel pretty good about their selections.

i especially like the siemens selection at 3. from what i've read he seems to be the concensus #1 dman available, good pick.

benson's got lots of offensive skill and like inglis in the 2007 bantam draft has grit to go with the skill.

[Scout]

I'm not from Saskatoon but the Blades are on the right track. Just like Ottawa Senators and even Medicine Hat Tigers, they are building through the draft. They have some great players in the system and just added some more. Give these guys a couple years and look out. You will start seeing improvement next year.

Scout

[wango tango]

mollekens draft record looks pretty good, i consider any draft where three players from a draft make the league successful. his first bantam draft was 2005.

2005. zahn, toomey, patterson, philp, and clements have all spent time in the lineup. patterson, and philp will be in tough to make the team next season. i believe clements is now in either the bcjhl, or ajhl. zahn and toomey are both ranked by nhl central scouting for the 2008 nhl entry draft.

2006. berg, hamilton, and sohn. all saw time with the team this season. berg will need to improve his foot speed to stay on the team. hamilton was a regular all season. sohn had a good minor league season and was rewarded with some time in the lineup at the end of the year. morrison is also a pretty highly regarded goalie prospect from b.c. who will challenge for the backup spot in camp this year.

2007. inglis. spent the end of the season with saskatoon after his midget team was eliminated. look for nicholls, hebel, and crooks to challenge for spots from this draft.

2008. siemens, benson, thrower, and sutter. their impact will not be felt for two years at the earliest.

these are just draft picks, the blades 50 man protected list has undergone a huge makeover over the last year. listed players like dziurdzynski, krahn, w. klassen, b. sutter, chikie, and gillien. some of those players have also already spent some time in the lineup this past season.

so when scout says the team is building through the draft he is absolutely right. management and coaching stability and continuity has gone a long way to get things going in the right direction.

[howley]

good post!

[Trav]

Good post Scout. Nice to have a fellow WHL fan thats not from Saskatoon giving a positive view of the team.

[Scout]

Since Lorne took over the team they have become alot younger and through the draft alot stronger. You can't expect alot when your team is the second youngest team in all the W.H.L. with an average age of 17.783 behind Prince George who are the youngest with an average age of 17.682. Unlike Prince George, Saskatoon played the spoiler in the last half of the season where these players started to get comfortable in the league and were one of the best teams down the stretch. Your goaltending is set with 18 year Braden Holtby leading the way . Your defence is big and mobile led by Finnish sensation Jiri Niemi who will anchor your D now that he has his rookie season out of the way and is accustomed to the North American style. Both Jiri and Stefan Elliot are both offensive defencemen. Klassen, Zahn, Berg and Funk are all big who will take care of their end of the ice if they all stay with the team next year. Now Lorne is fine tuning the forwards. If Gillies returns, which there is a very good chance of because he has to make the big club or return to junior and can't be sent to the A.H.L., then you guys will gel even quicker and be that much better. Say what you want about Colton, but he is a leader who these kids listen to and respect. The Blades have some of the best up and coming kids in their system than most of the teams in the league and pretty much all through the draft.

Scout

[xoxoxo]

Don't write Patterson off yet. He lost from the end of January on because of a skate blade slash to the wrist or maybe you missed that event??? He is a great defensive forward and is one of the best skaters on the team. Hopefully his recovery will be complete. He will be with the Blades and if not another team will take advantage of what he has to offer. It is all about opportunities. Look to be surprised by everyone when training camp starts.