The Blades — who have surprised some Western Hockey League onlookers with an impressive 10-2-1-0 record and 21 points — come in at No. 9.
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The Saskatoon Blades have quietly slipped into the CHL top 10 rankings for the first time this season.
The Blades — who have surprised some Western Hockey League onlookers with an impressive 10-2-1-0 record and 21 points, good enough for first overall in the Eastern Conference — come in at No. 9.
They are joined by No. 4 Everett Silvertips and No. 7 Prince George Cougars in the CHL’s weekly top 10.
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“Obviously it’s exciting,” Blades head coach Dan DaSilva said during the team’s media availability this week prior to a lengthy road trip to British Columbia.
“It’s something new. It’s somewhere you want to be, but we don’t put a lot of stock into it. Obviously it’s a great honour but we’re going to keep being us and keep focusing on getting better every day and that’s been our process through this whole thing.”
The Blades, who reached the WHL’s Eastern Conference final the past two years, lost some key players from last season, yet they’ve been sneaky good so far this season with a core group of returnees and newcomers who have contributed.
“Guys are buying in,” said DaSilva, whose team will not play again at home until Nov. 15, when they’ll host the Edmonton Oil Kings at SaskTel Centre. “
The guys are competitive and they want to win and they push each other every day to be the best that they can be, and that’s really been the secret so far this season to success, just guys pushing each other every single day and the culture we’ve built here over the past three to four seasons.”
BLADES ADD NEW GOALIE
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The Blades have bolstered their goalie depth in recent days, acquiring 2006-born netminder Ethan McCallum from the Medicine Hat Tigers in exchange for two WHL Prospect Draft picks. The picks include Saskatoon’s 2027 fourth-round pick and a conditional 2028 fourth-round selection.
McCallum, a towering 6-foot-4 native of Brandon, Man., is in his second WHL season. In 28 career appearances, McCallum has a 12-9-1-0 record, 3.20 goals-against-average and a .879 save-percentage.
The 18-year-old netminder is 1-1-0-0 through five appearances this season with a 4.09 GAA and a .835 save-percentage.
“Honestly, it’s a whole new fresh beginning,” said McCallum. “It just gives me a new sense of confidence, and along with that, just with the ups and downs of Medicine Hat, just get this new fresh start with no ups and downs — it just lets me play my calm style of play.”
McCallum is familiar with current Blades Ben Saunderson and (Colten) Worthington, having skated with them over the summers, but otherwise, “it’s kind of a whole new group of guys but that’s what exciting,” he said.
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He now joins the Blades for the lengthy B.C. road trip with stops in Vancouver, Victoria, Prince George, Kelowna and Kamloops.
“It’s going to be good to get to know the guys,” said McCallum. “That’s quite the long bus ride so you’ve got to find some entertainment.”
Meanwhile, the Blades dealt 2005-born goalie Logan Cunningham to the Tri-City Americans for an eighth-round pick in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft.
“Logan did everything we asked of him since coming in as a free agent training camp invite. He helped secure two big points for us against a division rival. We’re thrilled he has an opportunity with another WHL organization this season,” said Blades general manager Colin Priestner.
Cunningham won his lone regular-season appearance, stopping 27 of 30 shots in a 4-3 overtime victory over the Regina Pats. Cunningham, 19, is 6-22-2-0 in his WHL career with a 4.82 GAA and .864 save-percentage.
BLADE BITS: The Blades have welcomed back veteran forward Lukas Hansen, who has yet to play a game this season. “It’s great to have Lukas back,” said DaSilva. “He arrived (Monday night) so we’re excited to have him back and see him again. It’s been a long time … I know he’s been skating and working out back at home. It’ll kind of be a day-by-day thing with him, to see just where he’s and we’ll just monitor his progress to make sure we’re putting him in a good situation when he’s ready to come back, and we feel comfortable with him coming in and he feels comfortable being back in the lineup.”
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