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Trav
08-31-2012, 07:20 PM
First scrimmages are tonite, if ur on twitter go follow Les or the Blades twitter, their providing updates.

I watched a bit of the first game and there was some good fast pace hockey at times. The guys I liked were Bosovich, McColgan and Graham Miller who played on the same team as Ryan Gropp (Seattle's 1st rounder in 2011) and scored more goals then Gropp. This kid is going to be good if he commits to the WHL.
I have a feeling Collins will put up a fight for a 20 yr old spot, thought he looked good.

If anyone else went tonite, like to hear ur thoughts.

lordstanley
08-31-2012, 07:33 PM
First scrimmages are tonite, if ur on twitter go follow Les or the Blades twitter, their providing updates.

I watched a bit of the first game and there was some good fast pace hockey at times. The guys I liked were Bosovich, McColgan and Graham Miller who played on the same team as Ryan Gropp (Seattle's 1st rounder in 2011) and scored more goals then Gropp. This kid is going to be good if he commits to the WHL.
I have a feeling Collins will put up a fight for a 20 yr old spot, thought he looked good.

If anyone else went tonite, like to hear ur thoughts.

Yes Les doing the live tweets is great wish i was there i may check out Mondays intersquad game though

Chris Collins has always had the wheels he just lacked the finnish and played a tad timid at times Graham Miller i totally agree

Game over team blue wins 4-3 how did the goalies look Trav ? anyone stand out looks liek 1 more game tonight black vs grey

Trav
08-31-2012, 07:48 PM
Yes Les doing the live tweets is great wish i was there i may check out Mondays intersquad game though

Chris Collins has always had the wheels he just lacked the finnish and played a tad timid at times Graham Miller i totally agree

Game over team blue wins 4-3 how did the goalies look Trav ? anyone stand out looks liek 1 more game tonight black vs grey


B4 he got beat a couple times I thought Zach Klassen looked good in net. Moodie was good as usual. Todd didn't look to bad but he won't be around long. Hopefully some WHL team will take him off our hands.

Trav
09-03-2012, 02:12 PM
Clayton Lake seems to be on the score sheet every scrimmage and again today. Like to see how he does next weekend.

lordstanley
09-03-2012, 03:47 PM
My standouts from the intersquad game

Team Blue
Spencer Trapp; probably the best dman on the ice today
Drake Bodie guy has a heck of a hard shot and also scored
Graham Miller very speedy player
Evan Polei Crash and Banger and got into a nice tilt vs Penner
Christian Stockl best forward on the ice bar none and scored

Team White
Cameron Hebig kid is always hungry for the puck
Clayton Lake kid has a nose for the net
Jay den Piateli sound and steady

Off Games
Brett Lernout always went for the big hit but then a odd man crush would ocure

Tyler Giebel never even noticed him
Landyn Hickmott not a offensive threat at all

Team blue goals
Stockl
Zajac
Hopkins
Bodie

Team white goals
Lake
Bosovich
Young

Fight
Polei vs Penner decision to Polei

lordstanley
09-03-2012, 06:22 PM
Blades trim their roster to 33

http://saskatoonblades.com/article/blades-cut-roster-to-33

No real big surprises other than maybe keepign 5 goalies for pre-season and not letting hebig get a pre-season game in end of the line for 19 year olds Giebel and bosovich

If this Trapp kid ends up in the SJHL he is gonna be a heck of a player for some team

curwie
09-03-2012, 06:22 PM
My standouts from the intersquad game

Team Blue
Spencer Trapp; probably the best dman on the ice today
Drake Bodie guy has a heck of a hard shot and also scored
Graham Miller very speedy player
Evan Polei Crash and Banger and got into a nice tilt vs Penner
Christian Stockl best forward on the ice bar none and scored

Team White
Cameron Hebig kid is always hungry for the puck
Clayton Lake kid has a nose for the net
Jay den Piateli sound and steady

Off Games
Brett Lernout always went for the big hit but then a odd man crush would ocure

Tyler Giebel never even noticed him
Landyn Hickmott not a offensive threat at all

Team blue goals
Stockl
Zajac
Hopkins
Bodie

Team white goals
Lake
Bosovich
Young

Fight
Polei vs Penner decision to Polei

Thanks for the report Lord. Was Ryan Graham playing? Nice to hear Stockl played well.

lordstanley
09-03-2012, 06:34 PM
Thanks for the report Lord. Was Ryan Graham playing? Nice to hear Stockl played well.

Graham has a bit of a injury just bassicly reached a growth spurt and 1 leg is a centimeeter longer than the other he will be fine though

lordstanley
09-03-2012, 06:37 PM
Blades updated roster

Forwards
McColgan
Collins
Zajac
Stransky
McEvoy
Walker
Nicholls
Sutter
Benson
Stovin
Astles
Graham
Bodie
Gomerich
Polei
Pruden
Stockl
Hickmott
Penner

Defense
Siemens
Thrower
Deitz
Cox
Pufahl
Schmidt
Stipancik
Nogier
Hnidy
Lernout

Goalies
Makarov
Moodie
Todd
Davies
Alalouf

BigCat20
09-03-2012, 06:47 PM
Watched A & B finals on Sunday. Couple thoughts:

- Almost all goalies looked good esp the 15/16 yr olds. Definetly something for the future to be optimistic about. Klassen and Didur stood out most.

- think Moodie left the A final early, should have played the whole period but didnt. Looked like groin issue.....twitter post of "well that sucks #sadtweet" after game as well.

- team black line of Hebig-Penner-Polei seemed very good together. Moved puck well & were physical

- maybe a sentimental fav of mine.....J. Lambert. 5'3" 100 lbs, looked like a baby out there. Pretty nice stick handler & can skate. Would have liked to see him in the intersquad game. Maybe he'll hit a growth spurt this yr

- never seen Graham play. Pretty crazy story about him in the paper about his leg length discrepancy when he grew since last yr. Think he'll stick around to get treatment. Prob will be trade bait.

- my count is 6 goalies in camp after Andrey get here in am. Cant think of any reason for Johnson or Todd to be here for more than this wk

curwie
09-03-2012, 07:47 PM
Just read the article regarding Graham's growth spurt. Since the end of last seasons he's grown 3 inches and put on 22 pounds. Crazy.

Trav
09-03-2012, 08:28 PM
It sucks Miller got sent down but I'm guessing he left on his own cuz he's a lot better then some of the guys that are staying. Hope they sign him

lordstanley
09-03-2012, 08:31 PM
It sucks Miller got sent down but I'm guessing he left on his own cuz he's a lot better then some of the guys that are staying. Hope they sign him

Millar Played okay today has good speed but that is about all plays a little timid against guy's his own age and size out there deffinitly a good skater though

Trav
09-03-2012, 08:43 PM
Bit surprised hickmott is still there.

lordstanley
09-03-2012, 08:47 PM
Bit surprised hickmott is still there.

Me too he really didn't impress me at all this training camp looks like he could be a bust

I guess Alex Moodie may be hurt a bit his leg he was suppose to find out how serious it was today after seeing a doctor that may be why they are hanging on to Davies and Alalouf for a while

Trav
09-03-2012, 11:44 PM
Well don't get some of the cuts but whatever. Least they kept Gomerich for now. Liked that kid in the scrimmages I saw.

codyevans
09-04-2012, 11:56 AM
What does everyone think of the right wing situation? Are some of the top forwards versatile enough to move around so the best 9 guys are on the top three lines?

Western Elite
09-04-2012, 12:26 PM
2012-2013 Opening game option?!

LW - Nicholls C - McColgan RW - Stransky
- Nicholls has played LW with Stranksy for the better part of the year in 11-12. McColgan does have experience at Center and is a hard worker down low and a good set-up man for the shooters on that line.

LW - Astles C - Sutter RW - Walker
- A line that will be very tough to play against for other teams in this league. Could be one of the grittiest, pesky lines in the WHL. Don't forget that both Sutter and Walker can score 30 goals or so and put up near 80 points. Astles would be a nice compliment here.

LW - Collins/Zajac C - Benson RW - Stovin
- This is where it gets a bit fuzzy but these are the next best players on the depth chart. Benson is a good 2-way player and when collins is "on", he can be effective (see 10-11) before injury. It isn't known yet if Collins will stick as the 3rd 20 yr old and if Cox draws in, look for Nick Zajac to play here.

LW - Zajac/Graham/Bodie C - McEvoy RW -Stockl/Penner
- A line mostly made up of the youngsters. McEvoy looks ready to be a "shoe in" for 4th line Center. Stockl/Zajac/Graham look to be the favourites to fill the other spots.

Top Pairings - potentially
Siemens - Dietz
Thrower - Cox/Stipancik
Pufahl - Schmidt
Lernout
Nogier
Hnidy

wango tango
09-04-2012, 01:52 PM
2012-2013 Opening game option?!

LW - Nicholls C - McColgan RW - Stransky
- Nicholls has played LW with Stranksy for the better part of the year in 11-12. McColgan does have experience at Center and is a hard worker down low and a good set-up man for the shooters on that line.

LW - Astles C - Sutter RW - Walker
- A line that will be very tough to play against for other teams in this league. Could be one of the grittiest, pesky lines in the WHL. Don't forget that both Sutter and Walker can score 30 goals or so and put up near 80 points. Astles would be a nice compliment here.

LW - Collins/Zajac C - Benson RW - Stovin
- This is where it gets a bit fuzzy but these are the next best players on the depth chart. Benson is a good 2-way player and when collins is "on", he can be effective (see 10-11) before injury. It isn't known yet if Collins will stick as the 3rd 20 yr old and if Cox draws in, look for Nick Zajac to play here.

LW - Zajac/Graham/Bodie C - McEvoy RW -Stockl/Penner
- A line mostly made up of the youngsters. McEvoy looks ready to be a "shoe in" for 4th line Center. Stockl/Zajac/Graham look to be the favourites to fill the other spots.

Top Pairings - potentially
Siemens - Dietz
Thrower - Cox/Stipancik
Pufahl - Schmidt
Lernout
Nogier
Hnidy

minus nicholls who has not shown the ability to dig deeper when the going gets tough, that's a pretty decent top two lines. the bottom two lines need upgrading. and I'll say at least two of, probably three of, cox, stipancik, pufahl, and schmidt won't be with the team past the trade deadline.

i get a feeling we're underestimating how much work is left to bring this team up to the calibre needed to contend, and how much of a price molleken is willing to pay to get it there.

don't discount the whl's drought at the memorial cup. it's been four years since the spokane chiefs, the last team from the dub, won the memorial cup. that's the longest winless streak for the whl since the current format was adopted in 1983. that might help to even out the trade prices some are speculating it'll take to acquire players.

twentyone
09-04-2012, 03:26 PM
2012-2013 Opening game option?!

LW - Nicholls C - McColgan RW - Stransky
- Nicholls has played LW with Stranksy for the better part of the year in 11-12. McColgan does have experience at Center and is a hard worker down low and a good set-up man for the shooters on that line.

LW - Astles C - Sutter RW - Walker
- A line that will be very tough to play against for other teams in this league. Could be one of the grittiest, pesky lines in the WHL. Don't forget that both Sutter and Walker can score 30 goals or so and put up near 80 points. Astles would be a nice compliment here.

LW - Collins/Zajac C - Benson RW - Stovin
- This is where it gets a bit fuzzy but these are the next best players on the depth chart. Benson is a good 2-way player and when collins is "on", he can be effective (see 10-11) before injury. It isn't known yet if Collins will stick as the 3rd 20 yr old and if Cox draws in, look for Nick Zajac to play here.

LW - Zajac/Graham/Bodie C - McEvoy RW -Stockl/Penner
- A line mostly made up of the youngsters. McEvoy looks ready to be a "shoe in" for 4th line Center. Stockl/Zajac/Graham look to be the favourites to fill the other spots.

Top Pairings - potentially
Siemens - Dietz
Thrower - Cox/Stipancik
Pufahl - Schmidt
Lernout
Nogier
Hnidy

For the most part I like this lineup.

Forwards,
Top 2 lines I think are solid. They may not be elite but I think the Blades 3rd line depth will more than make up for that. I will take depth any day. The Sutter/Astles/walker line will be a great shut down line that can also put the puck in the net. I would give Collins every chance to stick with this team. I think he could be very useful on the 3rd line with Benson and Stovin. That is a pretty good third line. He has the experience and has shown great speed. Hopefully Benson is in better shape this year and doesn’t look like he is skating in sand. Stovin to me has shown he can play on this team.

The 4th line however I would like to see a little more toughness to it. No sense putting 16 and 17 yr olds into a 4th line. Zajac has shown he can play gritty and Penner has the size but its not time for developing 16 yr olds. That has been a downfall with the Blades the last few years come playoff time is having a young 4th line. We need some Men on that line.

Defense
I think an upgrade on Cox is necessary. Nothing against Cox as I think he is a really good defensemen (his plus minus speaks for itself) but I think his trade value is pretty decent and he could be upgraded for a bigger bodied 19 yr old D-man. This team could use a Teighan Zahn type 4th defensemen someone who is not fun to play against.

Goalie
I am worried about Makorov’s consistency. He didn’t look very good in the Canada Russia challenge. Moodie will be able to provide some necessary relief and provide some insurance in case Makarov poops the bed. However if Makarov shoes his form from the first half of last year I would be willing to put Moodie on the trading block come deadline. He could bring bigtime value.

All in all, this season can’t come fast enough. I think the Blades are closer than people think.

curwie
09-04-2012, 03:45 PM
minus nicholls who has not shown the ability to dig deeper when the going gets tough, that's a pretty decent top two lines. the bottom two lines need upgrading. and I'll say at least two of, probably three of, cox, stipancik, pufahl, and schmidt won't be with the team past the trade deadline.

i get a feeling we're underestimating how much work is left to bring this team up to the calibre needed to contend, and how much of a price molleken is willing to pay to get it there.

don't discount the whl's drought at the memorial cup. it's been four years since the spokane chiefs, the last team from the dub, won the memorial cup. that's the longest winless streak for the whl since the current format was adopted in 1983. that might help to even out the trade prices some are speculating it'll take to acquire players.

Yep. If Les for lack of a better word leaked the kind of information that he did in his latest blog, you can bet he had Mollekens blessing to do so.

Trav
09-04-2012, 04:32 PM
To no surprise, Todd and Stimpancik released

codyevans
09-04-2012, 05:43 PM
With Todd and Stipancik gone, all that needs to happen now is to get rid of all the 16 year olds (plus Johnson and Collins) and there is the team to start the season. It still needs a lot of work as everyone has mentioned. It will be good enough to get off to a strong start then Lorne can start making the necessary moves as the needs arise. There isn't a 16 year old left that is better than any of the 17 year olds. Keep them for a week or two for the experience then we can get on with it.

codyevans
09-04-2012, 05:56 PM
Just looking at Shawinigans playoff and Mem Cup roster. No 16's (not many 17's for that matter). Due to some significant moves from the past few years, we don't have the luxury of a standout 16 like Lazar to help complete the roster. We are going to have to make some moves to get it ready for the big run.

lordstanley
09-04-2012, 08:32 PM
Updated Roster Sep 4th
Forwards
Zajac
Collins
McColgan
Stransky
McEvoy
Walker
Nicholls
Sutter
Benson
Stovin
Astles
Graham
Bodie
Gomerich
Polei
Pruden
Stockl
Hickmott
Penner

Defense
Siemens
Thrower
Deitz
Cox
Pufahl
Schmidt
Nogier
Hnidy
Lernout


Goalies
Makarov
Moodie
Davies
Alalouf

JMoney1988
09-06-2012, 10:07 AM
glad to see mak is back in saskatoon

lordstanley
09-06-2012, 10:48 AM
glad to see mak is back in saskatoon

lordstanley likes this message

JMoney1988
09-06-2012, 10:08 PM
Anyone heard the status of Alex moodie?

lordstanley
09-09-2012, 10:29 AM
I know the Blades made cuts last night but i only know of 2 thanks to Twitter Pruden and Davies pretty sure there was more

Western Elite
09-10-2012, 09:20 AM
The Saskatoon Blades have announced their latest releases as they continue to shape their roster prior to the start of the 2012-13 WHL regular season.
The following players have been assigned to their respective midget hockey clubs:
Derek Davies - G - 1996 - 6'0 - 182
Nathan Alalouf - G - 1996 - 6'1 - 202
Nick Gomerich - C - 1996 - 5'11 - 170
Ryan Pruden - C - 1996 - 5'11 - 161
Evan Polei - LW - 1996 - 6'1 - 211
Landyn Hickmott - C - 1996 - 5'10 - 157
Linden Penner - RW - 1995 - 6'3 - 210

The Saskatoon Blades would also like to announce that they have invited forward Luke McColgan to a tryout with the club. McColgan is from Manhattan Beach, California and is the brother of Blades forward Shane McColgan.
Luke is currently 17 years old and spent last season playing with the LA Kings Under-18 program in the United States.
With these roster moves, the Blades roster is now down to 26 players including 3 goaltenders, 9 defenceman and 14 forwards.

JMoney1988
09-11-2012, 09:08 AM
Not really a camp thought or anything, but is anyone going to the Saskatoon blades tailgate party on Saturday September 22? I'm going just wondering if anyone else is going

lordstanley
09-11-2012, 10:44 AM
Not really a camp thought or anything, but is anyone going to the Saskatoon blades tailgate party on Saturday September 22? I'm going just wondering if anyone else is going

That seems like a good idea i just may i will let you know the day of we could meet for a burger and a beer

JMoney1988
09-11-2012, 10:19 PM
Well since I don't drink maybe a burger

lordstanley
09-11-2012, 10:24 PM
Well since I don't drink maybe a burger

Works for me and a lot cheaper than spending 6 bucks for a rip off draft beer lol

lordstanley
09-12-2012, 04:14 PM
The Saskatoon Blades are taking a cautious approach when it comes to managing injuries.

Defenceman Dalton Thrower, goaltender Alex Moodie and forwards Ryan Graham and Shane McColgan are all expected to miss the next week as they recover from various ailments.

Thrower (groin) and Graham (back) were hurt before training camp, while Moodie (hamstring) and McColgan (knee) sustained their injuries on Sept. 1.

The extra rest means none of the players are likely to dress for a pre-season game this year.

"We've had a bit of a situation with injuries throughout training camp," Blades head coach and general manager Lorne Molleken said.

"We expect Moodie to be 100 per cent healthy by Monday. Graham is still dealing with doctors - We want to make sure we're real careful moving forward with him."

Thrower and McColgan both skated before practice Tuesday.

Thrower said there is an outside chance he'll play one of the last two pre-season games this weekend against Regina, but won't do so if he's feeling any discomfort.

"I'm not going to rush it," said Thrower, who sustained a groin injury during an office workout. "I'm going to do what I think is right and listen to the training staff here."

McColgan said he's expecting to resume full team workouts by next Monday. The forward was hurt during a team scrimmage.

"It's going to be a long year and I don't want to have to deal with little nagging injuries," he said. "It's definitely a good idea to rest it now."

Centre Lukas Sutter and winger Matej Stransky also skipped practice Tuesday. Sutter has a shoulder injury but said he is aiming to play in one of the pre-season games against Regina, either Friday or Saturday.



Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/sports/Injuries+have+players+sitting/7227908/story.html#ixzz26IQzDZGm