The Saskatoon Blades are gearing up for an exciting season in 2025-26. The team’s core remains practically unchanged from last season; Evan Gardner will return as the Blades’ starter, Hunter Laing will remain a fixture in the top six alongside Tyler Parr, Rowan Calvert, David Lewandowski, and Hayden Harsanyi. Newcomers Dominik Petr and Tristan Doyle will help round out a young, competitive roster eager to see the city’s first Western Hockey League (WHL) championship.
However, the Blades might be without some big parts of their team to begin the season as Gardner, Laing, and Lewandowski flew out of Saskatoon earlier this week to attend various NHL rookie training camps. This is nothing new; during Gardner’s absence last season, Austin Elliott appeared in three games in Saskatoon before he was released and subsequently signed with the London Knights. But, while the Blades continue on with business as usual and await the players’ return, the three Saskatoon stars will be figuring out where they fit in their team’s futures.
Evan Gardner – Columbus Blue Jackets
Gardner is heading to his second rookie camp with the Columbus Blue Jackets as one of the organization’s top young goalies. Drafted in the second round of the 2024 Draft, he was one of the WHL’s best goalies last season. His .911 save percentage (SV%) was tied for the fifth highest in the league, and his 2.82 goals-against average (GAA) was the second lowest among drafted goalies.
After falling to the Calgary Hitmen in four games, Gardner signed an amateur tryout to play in the Cleveland Monsters’ final game of the season against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, stopping 16 out of 19 shots. Then, as the summer was drawing to a close, he was invited to join Team Canada at the World Junior Summer Showcase, where he’ll be battling with Joshua Ravensbergen and Jack Ivankovic as to who will be Canada’s number one at the 2026 World Juniors. That invite gave him a bit of pep in his step, and when he arrived at the Blades’ training camp, he was dialed in and ready to prove he’s one of the best goalies in Canada.
On top of the regular camp activities, the Blue Jackets’ rookies will play three games from Sept. 11-14 at the 2025 Prospects Challenge in Buffalo before the main camp starts on Sept. 17. While no pre-game rosters have been announced, Gardner will likely split duties with recent free-agent signing Nolan Lalonde and camp invite Mason Vaccari. Games will be streamed on both the Blue Jackets and Buffalo Sabres’ websites.
Hunter Laing – Calgary Flames
Laing is also heading to his second training camp with the Calgary Flames, although it will be his first as a member of the Blades. A sixth-round pick in 2024, Laing made a name for himself with the Prince George Cougars as a powerful supporting winger with high intelligence and some underrated offensive skills. But when he was acquired by Saskatoon at the 2024 Trade Deadline, he was thrust into a much more prominent role, and he flourished. In the final 28 games of 2024-25, he set career highs with 15 goals and 26 points.
In Calgary, though, it will be interesting to see how he’s utilized. In Saskatoon, he became a jack-of-all-trades; he could be a solid net-front presence thanks to his 6-foot-5 frame and long reach, but was also a play driver with creative puck movement and great awareness. But the Flames have a lot of big, powerful forwards, and he might need to show off his physicality to stand out. The NHL is a tough league to survive in, and Laing will want to prove that he can handle the grind of the pro leagues better than anyone at camp.
Related: 3 Saskatoon Blades to Watch in 2025-26
In previous years, the Flames travelled to Penticton to participate in the Young Stars Classic against the Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers. However, the Canucks, who hosted the event, couldn’t reach an agreement with the other participants and cancelled the event. Instead, the Flames rookies will take on the Oilers in a home-and-home series on Sept. 12 and 14. Games will be streamed on the Flames’ website.
David Lewandowski – Edmonton Oilers
After going 117th overall to the Oilers in last summer’s draft, Lewandowski is off to his first NHL training camp in Edmonton. He started the 2024-25 season in Germany, but after struggling to play regular minutes, he left to join the Blades in October. He quickly took to the North American game, finishing with the seventh-most points (39) on the team and the sixth-most goals (15) on the team. Among WHL rookies, he was 14th.
At just 18 years old, Lewandowski is hoping to make a strong first impression with the Oilers. He’s a fierce competitor who plays with an edge to his game and has thrived in international competition for the Germans. He’s also one of the biggest forwards in Edmonton; only Connor Clattenburg, camp invite Andrew O’Neill, and fellow German Josh Samanski are bigger. That could give him an edge that helps him stand above his toughest competition.
While the Oilers will stream both games on Oilers+, the service charges a subscription fee. If Blades’ fans don’t already have an account, they can always tune in through the Flames broadcast.
Although the Blades will miss their three stars, competing at an NHL camp is always exciting for junior prospects, giving them a glimpse into what it takes to be a full-time NHLer. That knowledge is sure to benefit Saskatoon when they return, as they’ll no doubt bring back some new skills they’ll be itching to try against their rivals. For Saskatoon, that will be worth the couple of weeks without them.
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