Saskatoon Blades
| Saskatoon Blades | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan |
| League | Western Hockey League |
| Conference | Eastern |
| Division | East |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Home arena | SaskTel Centre |
| Colours | Navy blue, royal blue, silver and white |
| Owner(s) | Mike Priestner |
| General manager | Colin Priestner |
| Head coach | Dean Brockman |
| Website | www.saskatoonblades.com |
The Saskatoon Blades are a junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Division of the Western Hockey League, formerly the Western Canadian Hockey League (WCHL). They are based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, playing at the 15,195 seat SaskTel Centre.
The Saskatoon Blades were founded in 1964 as part of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) and transferred leagues in 1966–67 with the foundation of the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, which included the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The WCHL renamed itself the Western Hockey League in 1978 with the inclusion of some US based teams. Of the seven original WCHL franchises, the Blades are the only team to have never relocated or left the league (the Regina Pats returned to the SJHL from 1968 to 1970). Players ages range from 16 to 20 years old, many of them still attending high school, and most come from other parts of Canada, the US, and Europe, to develop into potential professional National Hockey League prospects.
The Blades spent a number of seasons at the original Saskatoon Arena and there, developed many of the top professional players of their day, such as Bernie Federko, Wendel Clark and Pat Price. In the early 90s, the team was one of the strongest in the league and made it to the league finals twice, losing to the Kamloops Blazers in both 1992 and 1994. The Blades have not returned to the final round of the playoffs since despite several successful regular seasons, including winning the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy in 2010-11 as the regular season champions. Since then playoff success has been rare, and as of 2016 the Blades have the longest playoff drought in the CHL, having not made the playoffs since 2013. The Blades also hold the dubious distinction of having the longest championship drought in the Canadian Hockey League, having never won the WHL Championship or Memorial Cup in their entire history.
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