Hockey season is just around the corner, which means training camps are starting to get underway. For the NHL veterans, it’s a time to get back into a regular rhythm, but for the dozens of prospects attending development, rookie, and full training camps, it’s a chance to prove to an NHL team that they deserve a spot on a team. This season, over 133 players from the Western Hockey League (WHL) will populate 29 of the 32 NHL teams across the country, with every club across the WHL sending at least two players from their active rosters. The Saskatoon Blades will see eight members of their 2023-24 first-place team attend various camps, and with several of them fighting for an NHL job, this could be one of the strongest cohorts from Saskatoon ever.
Tanner Molendyk & Easton Armstrong – Nashville Predators
Tanner Molendyk, the Nashville Predators’ first-round pick in 2023, is entering his second NHL training camp with a lot of hype surrounding him. Last season, he put up an impressive 10 goals and 56 points in just 50 games, leading Saskatoon’s defence in scoring. It’s the highest point-per-game total from a defenceman who appeared in at least 10 games since Stefan Elliott in 2010-11. Yet, as impressive as his offensive totals are, his skating continuously blows people away.
“I think there are two ways to look at skating,” said Predators’ pro conditioning coach Mark Borowiecki. “There are some guys who are quick in small spaces and some guys who have a bit of a separation gear and can really cover ice and separate. I think he’s got both, which is fantastic to see. On top of that, he can handle the puck at speed. It’s great to have a set of wheels, but can your brain and your hands keep up? I think you can see that with him that it is there.”
Given his high-end set of skills, it’s no wonder that Molendyk is expected to be one of the most impressive defencemen at the Predators’ prospect showcase and the team’s main camp. However, never fear, Blades’ fans – unless he makes the Predators’ opening night roster, he’ll be back in Toon Town. Due to his age, he’s ineligible to play in the American Hockey League (AHL), and Nashville currently has six defencemen signed for the 2024-25 season, limiting opportunities for up-and-comers. While he could play a few games to start the year, he’ll almost certainly be back in Saskatoon before the end of October.
Joining Molendyk at the Predators’ camp is Easton Armstrong, who was invited to stick around after being invited to the team’s development camp in July. Acquired from the Wenatchee Wild in October 2023, Armstrong became a top producer for the Blades, finishing the season with 28 goals and 47 points in 58 games, plus six goals and 14 points in 11 playoff games. It was a strong final season for the 20-year-old, and while he couldn’t cap it off with a WHL championship, he might be close to an NHL contract. He already signed a deal with the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators but impressed the Predators enough to get a call to come back.
Brandon Lisowsky & Fraser Minten – Toronto Maple Leafs
When the Toronto Maple Leafs chose not to sign Brandon Lisowsky to an entry-level deal, it seemed like his chances with the team were all but gone. Yet the undersized Blade is back in Ontario’s capital for his third NHL training camp. The Maple Leafs’ seventh-round pick in 2022 has been a model of consistency, putting up back-to-back-to-back 30-goal seasons for the Blades, with last season seeing him hit a new career-high with 42. He was just one of 14 players to cross the 40-goal mark last season along with teammate Yegor Sidorov, who scored 50. However, his size has been an issue for him in the past; at just 5-foot-9, he’s well below the NHL standard. But if he can impress at training camp, he could convince the Maple Leafs to give him another chance.
Related: Saskatoon Blades Training Camp Tournament Standouts
Lisowksy will be joined by Fraser Minten, who’s become one of Toronto’s top prospects after earning a spot on the Maple Leafs’ opening night roster last season. This season, however, he’s not looking for just another cup of coffee. After putting up 38 points in 36 games with the Blades last season, he and fellow top prospect Easton Cowan will be fighting to secure a middle-six spot in the NHL to start 2024-25. Both were dominant in July’s development camp, but given Minten’s experience and maturity, he may have the leg up if only one spot remains.
Evan Gardner – Columbus Blue Jackets
Attending his first NHL camp, Evan Gardner will seek to prove that his surprising second-round selection in 2024 was well worth it. He had one of the best rookie seasons from a goalie in years, posting a league-leading .927 save percentage and a 1.91 goals-against average over 30 appearances, both single-season franchise records. Only Sergei Ivanov had better numbers across the Columbus Blue Jackets’ system last season, but with the Russian currently playing in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), Gardner could steal the show in Columbus. Like Molendyk, his age prevents him from playing in the minors if he doesn’t make the team, and with Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov under contract, he’ll return to Saskatoon to build on his rookie campaign.
Ben Saunderson also earned some NHL attention earlier this summer with a call to the Blue Jackets development camp, but at 19 years old and with 192 WHL games under his belt, he’s ineligible to sign a pro deal, so he was returned to Saskatoon to play his final season in junior. But the NHL is watching the steady defenseman, and as one of the Blades’ top defenders heading into 2024-25, he’ll be a prime free-agent candidate to sign a contract in the offseason.
Yegor Sidorov – Anaheim Ducks
No Blade had a bigger season than Sidorov in 2024-25. After getting selected in the third round by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2023 NHL Draft, the Belarussian capped off his WHL career with a 50-goal performance, making him the highest scorer in franchise history since Frank Banham scored 83 in 1995-96 and was just one of 10 players to cross the 50-goal plateau. Then, in the playoffs, he led the WHL with another 15 goals in 16 games, which was also the second-highest total ever from a Blade.
Sidorov is a gifted sniper which could give him an advantage heading into Ducks’ training camp, as the team put up the third-lowest goal total in the NHL last season. Only Frank Vatrano and Troy Terry put up 20 or more goals despite the immense amount of talent on the roster. He likely will need to spend a season in the AHL before making his NHL debut, but given the Ducks’ weaknesses, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him make the team out of camp. It took him a little bit to adjust to the North American game, but he’s now making up for some lost time.
Alexander Suzdalev – Washington Capitals
After a fantastic 2022-23 with the Regina Pats, Alexander Suzdalev hasn’t had the easiest journey to making his NHL debut. He was assigned to the AHL’s Hershey Bears for 2023-24, but by November, he still hadn’t played a single game for the team, so he was re-assigned to Mora IK of Sweden’s second-tier Allsvenskan league. But that didn’t go well either; after 13 games with limited minutes, he had just two goals and three points. So, he was re-assigned again, this time to the Blades, where he gelled with Saskatoon’s talented core and became a big-time producer for them. In 30 games, he had nine goals and 25 points and scored another 13 points in 16 playoff games.
After their disappointing defeat at the hands of the Moose Jaw Warriors, Suzdalev was sent back to the Bears to finish up the season, but once again, he was pushed to the sidelines when the team began gearing up for the playoffs. Adding strength was a common criticism after he was drafted, but he looked like a much more complete player in Saskatoon last season. While he is still eligible to play one more season in the WHL, it’s unlikely to be with the Blades as the team is already struggling to figure out which three 20-year-olds they’ll keep in 2024-25. But that shouldn’t be too much of a concern; despite the heavy competition with the Washington Capitals prospects, he has a solid shot at securing a spot with the Bears this season.
Grayden Siepmann – Utah Hockey Club
The final player invited to an NHL camp this week was defenceman Grayden Siepmann, who was also acquired during the 2023-24 season. A smooth-skating right-shot defender, it took the 19-year-old some time to adjust to Saskatoon’s system, and by the end of the season, he had just 17 assists in 53 games. But alongside Charlie Wright, the two were one of the toughest defensive pairings in the league. Then, in the playoffs, something finally clicked and he not only scored his first goal that season against the Warriors in the conference final but finished the postseason with nine points in 16 games, tying Saunderson for the third-highest total among Blades’ defencemen. That earned the 5-foot-11 blueliner an invite to the Utah Hockey Club’s rookie camp, which could lead to a main camp appearance. If so, he may be on his way to an NHL deal, as he has the skill and speed to compete.
Speaking of Wright, he was invited to the Seattle Kraken’s development camp in July but wasn’t asked back for the rookie or training camp. However, the 20-year-old inked an AHL deal with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, where he’ll remain on the Kraken’s radar this season as he plays alongside top prospects Ty Nelson, David Goyette, and Jagger Firkus, as well as brand-new coach Brennan Sonne, who spent the past three seasons in Saskatoon.
Seeing the talent that’s off to NHL camps, it’s no wonder the Blades finished at the top of the WHL last season. It will be difficult to repeat that feat following the departure of Armstrong, Minten, Sidorov, Suzdalev, and Wright, among others, but the team will still bring back a lot of their core players for 2024-25, and after playing alongside some of the best young players in the world, they’ll have a wealth of experience to share with the rest of the team. The Blades still need to cut four more players before their season opener on Friday, Sept. 20, but they’ll once again be a team to watch out for in the WHL.
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