Why the hate on Priestner? A timeline of events.
I get that Saskatoon can be an easy target for shade, a team that traded literally everything to make a run for the Memorial Cup. While the run fell short, it also left wonderful memories of some of the best Junior hockey iv'e ever seen and possibly the best Blades game iv'e seen live(Blades vs Mooseheads) Fast forward to the aftermath and there was a BIG mess to clean up. The Priestner family came in to clean that mess up, it all started the summer of 2013, immediately following the Memorial Cup.
The Priestners come in and say they want a competitive team in 5 years. That seemed like a tough task at the time, given the fact that their first, 1st round pick was just finishing his 12 year old hockey season at the time. It was a tall task but i think they did better than expected. Here is a timeline of what the Priestners did when they arrived.
2013-2014 season: 1st year of the new era. Priestners go with Struch to lead a very green team. As expected the Memorial Cup hangover hurts bad an the Blades finish with a 16-51-0-5 record. The lone positive's from this year was the emergence of European forward Nikita Scherbak and rookie standout Cameron Hebig. Revel is traded at the deadline for a 1st, Jordan Thomson, Mitch Lipon(blades also gave up a 3rd)
Summer of 2014: Priestner relieves Struch of his duties. Struch didn't get a fair shot, but Priestner wanted to get an NHL caliber coach for this team NOW. Bob Woods enters the fold with an impressive pro resume. Knowing it's time to rebuild, Priestner makes the tough decision in trading Nikita Scherbak, in return for the 2nd round Euro, the Blades recieve goalie Nik Amundrud, a 2016 2nd round pick, and most importantly a 2015 1st round pick, a crucial trade to restock the cupboards and get the rebuild rolling. Wyatt Sloboshan commits to the Blades as now they have 2 young centers(17 yrs) Perhaps and even bigger splash was the acquisition of Forsberg from PG, a former 1st overall pick who was not working out in Prince George. Saskatoon gives Hopkins(12 rounder) and a 3rd for the former blue-chip prospect.
2014-2015 season: Year 2 of rebuild. Hebig and Sloboshan have good 17 yr old seasons. Nelson Nogier is traded to RD for Mason McCarty, a 1st, and a 2nd. That 1st round pick is then flipped to Swift Current long with Jordan Thomson for Brycen Martin. Blades would also trade D-man Henry to Portland for a 2nd rounder. Saskatoon would then trade Forsberg, a 3rd and a 4th for another all important 1st round pick. AT THIS POINT THE BLADES NOW HOLD 2, 1ST ROUND PICKS IN THE 2015, 2016, AND 2017, WHL DRAFTS. Saskatoon would finish with 19-49-0-4 record. A slight improvement, but things are looking good ahead and the team is getting better.
Summer of 2015: Saskatoon FINALLY gets to draft in the 1st round. With 2 picks they go with Johnny Tychonik(D-man) and Chase Wouters(forward) Blades acquire Connor Gay from Regina for a 3rd. This year would see an unprecedented NINE players aged 16 and younger suit up for the Blades this season. A sign that they have a lot of good young talent ready to make a mark.
2015-2016 season: Year 3 of rebuild. Hebig and Sloboshan continue to improve and have solid season as 18 yr old 1 and 2 punch at center. Connor Gay becomes the teams top scorer while Mason McCarty shows he's a top 6 guy. Trade deadline day is a busy 1 as Saskatoon trades Brycen Martin to Everett in return for Jantzen Leslie, a 2nd, and Ryan Anderson. Perhaps the 1st blockbuster that was not a big win for Saskatoon as Leslie didn't pan out and Anderson mysteriously retired. Blades then acquire Dustin Perrilat for a 2nd a 5th and Stewart(who would not commit to WHL) Saskatoon also dealt Shael Higson, a 2nd, and Mitch Wheaton to Brandon for Waltz and Braylon Shmyr. Saskatoon continues to improve with a 26-42-0-4 record.
Summer of 2016: Absolute DISASTROUS summer for the Blades. Head Coach Bob Woods gets scooped into the NHL(expected, but earlier than expected) 1st round pick Johnny Tychonik commits to college. Hometown boys Dustin Perrilat AND Terrel Draude unexpectedly retire. Perhaps the worst news of it all, Blades top player Cameron Hebig is injured at NHL camp, an injury that could put him on the shelf permanently(would miss ENTIRE season) With 5 devastating announcements this summer, an improvement would seem impossible right?? Wrong. Well to foreshadow, the Blades would miss an insane amount of time due to injury. But some positives was Priestner getting a future eastern conference all Star goalie in Logan Flodell from Seattle for D-man Anthony Bishop. Priestner would then find a diamond in the rough as Jesse Shynkaruk was given a walk-on tryout with the Blades, this walk-on tryout would earn him a spot on the top line... Saskatoon trades up in the draft to take Kirby Dach(Not to brag, but i advised them to do so on Facebook)
2016-2017 season: Despite the disastrous summer and despite the 300+ man games missed due to injury(MOST of them being top 6 players) Saskatoon still improved. They made yet another splash on deadline day sending Wyatt Sloboshan, Nolan Ried, and a 2nd to Spokane for Markson Bechtold and Evan Fiala. Bechtold would only suit up for 20 games and yet more injury issues were added to this Blades team. Despite an admirable effort, the Blades fell just short of playoffs(which would have been a miracle given the injuries) Shynkaruk became a 30+ goal guy as the teams #1 centre from a walk-on tryout. Bryton Sayers emerged as a top D-man. With a 28-35-07 record, the Blades missed playoffs again but also improved on the season. Blades fans caught a glimpse of the future as Kirby Dach was granted "exceptional" like status and given permission to leave his M-AAA team to finish the year with the injury riddled Blades. Guess what happened? After doing some great things as a 15, Dach is belted from behind by Dom Schmieman and misses the remainder of the year(Bechtold would pay him back though)
Summer of 2017: Brad Goethals shows strong in the Pre-season and is given a chance to play full time. Saskatoon Drafts Aiden De La Gorgendiere(5th overall) and Kyle Crnkovic(10th overall) Crnkovic would lead his entire draft class in goals the following season.
2017-2018 season: The Blades are in the toughest division in the CHL. At a couple points in the year the East division had 3 teams in the CHL top 10 and that's not including the Memorial Cup hosts Regina who was stacking up to make a run. The east division was 1 of the strongest CHL divisions of all time. I predicted the WHL champion out of the east and to little surprise thats what happened. So come deadline day, the Blades had to build for next year and beyond. To start things off they trade Cameron Hebig(who returned after missing 555 days with a vengeance) To the Regina Pats for Lockner, a 1st, a 2nd, a 3rd, another 3rd. Saskatoon would then flip Lockner to the Tigers along with a 1st and a 2nd in exchange for Max Gerlach. Saskatoon keeps Regina's 2020 pick while trading their own. Saskatoon would then acquire top prospect speedy winger Eric Florchuk for 2, 1st round picks. A big price to pay. They then trade Libor Hajek to Regina for Dawson Davidson, Tristen Robins, and Regina's 2019 1st round pick. So the Blades lose their next 3, 1st rounders, but keep Regina's next 2(which could both be lottery picks) Saskatoon also walks away with Gerlach, Robins, and Davidson. Despite being in playoff contention till the last few days of the year, the Blades fall short, but the cupboards are stacked for next year and the future looks bright.
Summer of 2018: Saskatoon drafts Kirbys younger brother Colton Dach. Who has some skill but also plays with an edge. Mark Rubinchik signs a pro deal in Russia so the Blades take 2 in the import draft in Roykas Marthinsen and Malysjev. Kyle Crnkovic runs roughshod in camp scoring 6 goals in 2 games before going into the boards awkwardly and injuring his shoulder. He will miss the 1st month of the season.
2018-2019 season: The 1st game against PA see's Saskatoon lose 3 players.... 20 yr old Brad Goethals, 18 yr old D Bafaro and top pairing D Jackson caller. With a vacant 20 yr old spot open, Saskatoon makes the move i wanted them to, acquiring big 20 yr old D-man Brandon Schulhaus. It took FOUR games for Brandon Schuldhaus to be on the ice for an oppositions goal against, and that goal was on the powerplay on the right side(he plays left) Schuldhaus has brought a huge defensive presence and the Blades have yet to lose with him in the lineup. Dawson Davidson is the reigning WHL and CHL player of the week after a big start to the season and Max Gerlach is fresh off a hat trick which involved a tying goal with 16 seconds left and an OT winner as the Blades beat the Rebels 3-2 in OT. Saskatoon currently sits with a 7-2 record.
In closing, Priestner has built this team from the ground up. He started with nothing and no future 1st round picks. He managed to acquire players and turn them into 1sts, and turn those 1sts into studs for the teams future. The team has improve EVERY year he's been in town. They are off to their best start in many years, they have had 2 players quit because they want more ice time but the team is too strong up front to grant that wish. When the Blades are faced with a big problem, Priestner is quick to act to fix said issue. He's drafting well and improving this team each year, he also stockpiled what could end up being 2 VERY VERY high 1st round picks in the next 2 years.... He is setting the Blades up for wonderful things ahead(not to mention the only WHL team with multiple reps on the U-18 Canadian Hlinka Gretzky squad) It's amazing because i will hear people talk about the wonderful team the Blades have and in the same sentence they will say that Priestner knows nothing about hockey... Well where the hell do you think this great looking team came from!?
But yeah.... keep hating him because his dad bought the team, or because you don't like the way his hair looks. :\
The Priestners come in and say they want a competitive team in 5 years. That seemed like a tough task at the time, given the fact that their first, 1st round pick was just finishing his 12 year old hockey season at the time. It was a tall task but i think they did better than expected. Here is a timeline of what the Priestners did when they arrived.
2013-2014 season: 1st year of the new era. Priestners go with Struch to lead a very green team. As expected the Memorial Cup hangover hurts bad an the Blades finish with a 16-51-0-5 record. The lone positive's from this year was the emergence of European forward Nikita Scherbak and rookie standout Cameron Hebig. Revel is traded at the deadline for a 1st, Jordan Thomson, Mitch Lipon(blades also gave up a 3rd)
Summer of 2014: Priestner relieves Struch of his duties. Struch didn't get a fair shot, but Priestner wanted to get an NHL caliber coach for this team NOW. Bob Woods enters the fold with an impressive pro resume. Knowing it's time to rebuild, Priestner makes the tough decision in trading Nikita Scherbak, in return for the 2nd round Euro, the Blades recieve goalie Nik Amundrud, a 2016 2nd round pick, and most importantly a 2015 1st round pick, a crucial trade to restock the cupboards and get the rebuild rolling. Wyatt Sloboshan commits to the Blades as now they have 2 young centers(17 yrs) Perhaps and even bigger splash was the acquisition of Forsberg from PG, a former 1st overall pick who was not working out in Prince George. Saskatoon gives Hopkins(12 rounder) and a 3rd for the former blue-chip prospect.
2014-2015 season: Year 2 of rebuild. Hebig and Sloboshan have good 17 yr old seasons. Nelson Nogier is traded to RD for Mason McCarty, a 1st, and a 2nd. That 1st round pick is then flipped to Swift Current long with Jordan Thomson for Brycen Martin. Blades would also trade D-man Henry to Portland for a 2nd rounder. Saskatoon would then trade Forsberg, a 3rd and a 4th for another all important 1st round pick. AT THIS POINT THE BLADES NOW HOLD 2, 1ST ROUND PICKS IN THE 2015, 2016, AND 2017, WHL DRAFTS. Saskatoon would finish with 19-49-0-4 record. A slight improvement, but things are looking good ahead and the team is getting better.
Summer of 2015: Saskatoon FINALLY gets to draft in the 1st round. With 2 picks they go with Johnny Tychonik(D-man) and Chase Wouters(forward) Blades acquire Connor Gay from Regina for a 3rd. This year would see an unprecedented NINE players aged 16 and younger suit up for the Blades this season. A sign that they have a lot of good young talent ready to make a mark.
2015-2016 season: Year 3 of rebuild. Hebig and Sloboshan continue to improve and have solid season as 18 yr old 1 and 2 punch at center. Connor Gay becomes the teams top scorer while Mason McCarty shows he's a top 6 guy. Trade deadline day is a busy 1 as Saskatoon trades Brycen Martin to Everett in return for Jantzen Leslie, a 2nd, and Ryan Anderson. Perhaps the 1st blockbuster that was not a big win for Saskatoon as Leslie didn't pan out and Anderson mysteriously retired. Blades then acquire Dustin Perrilat for a 2nd a 5th and Stewart(who would not commit to WHL) Saskatoon also dealt Shael Higson, a 2nd, and Mitch Wheaton to Brandon for Waltz and Braylon Shmyr. Saskatoon continues to improve with a 26-42-0-4 record.
Summer of 2016: Absolute DISASTROUS summer for the Blades. Head Coach Bob Woods gets scooped into the NHL(expected, but earlier than expected) 1st round pick Johnny Tychonik commits to college. Hometown boys Dustin Perrilat AND Terrel Draude unexpectedly retire. Perhaps the worst news of it all, Blades top player Cameron Hebig is injured at NHL camp, an injury that could put him on the shelf permanently(would miss ENTIRE season) With 5 devastating announcements this summer, an improvement would seem impossible right?? Wrong. Well to foreshadow, the Blades would miss an insane amount of time due to injury. But some positives was Priestner getting a future eastern conference all Star goalie in Logan Flodell from Seattle for D-man Anthony Bishop. Priestner would then find a diamond in the rough as Jesse Shynkaruk was given a walk-on tryout with the Blades, this walk-on tryout would earn him a spot on the top line... Saskatoon trades up in the draft to take Kirby Dach(Not to brag, but i advised them to do so on Facebook)
2016-2017 season: Despite the disastrous summer and despite the 300+ man games missed due to injury(MOST of them being top 6 players) Saskatoon still improved. They made yet another splash on deadline day sending Wyatt Sloboshan, Nolan Ried, and a 2nd to Spokane for Markson Bechtold and Evan Fiala. Bechtold would only suit up for 20 games and yet more injury issues were added to this Blades team. Despite an admirable effort, the Blades fell just short of playoffs(which would have been a miracle given the injuries) Shynkaruk became a 30+ goal guy as the teams #1 centre from a walk-on tryout. Bryton Sayers emerged as a top D-man. With a 28-35-07 record, the Blades missed playoffs again but also improved on the season. Blades fans caught a glimpse of the future as Kirby Dach was granted "exceptional" like status and given permission to leave his M-AAA team to finish the year with the injury riddled Blades. Guess what happened? After doing some great things as a 15, Dach is belted from behind by Dom Schmieman and misses the remainder of the year(Bechtold would pay him back though)
Summer of 2017: Brad Goethals shows strong in the Pre-season and is given a chance to play full time. Saskatoon Drafts Aiden De La Gorgendiere(5th overall) and Kyle Crnkovic(10th overall) Crnkovic would lead his entire draft class in goals the following season.
2017-2018 season: The Blades are in the toughest division in the CHL. At a couple points in the year the East division had 3 teams in the CHL top 10 and that's not including the Memorial Cup hosts Regina who was stacking up to make a run. The east division was 1 of the strongest CHL divisions of all time. I predicted the WHL champion out of the east and to little surprise thats what happened. So come deadline day, the Blades had to build for next year and beyond. To start things off they trade Cameron Hebig(who returned after missing 555 days with a vengeance) To the Regina Pats for Lockner, a 1st, a 2nd, a 3rd, another 3rd. Saskatoon would then flip Lockner to the Tigers along with a 1st and a 2nd in exchange for Max Gerlach. Saskatoon keeps Regina's 2020 pick while trading their own. Saskatoon would then acquire top prospect speedy winger Eric Florchuk for 2, 1st round picks. A big price to pay. They then trade Libor Hajek to Regina for Dawson Davidson, Tristen Robins, and Regina's 2019 1st round pick. So the Blades lose their next 3, 1st rounders, but keep Regina's next 2(which could both be lottery picks) Saskatoon also walks away with Gerlach, Robins, and Davidson. Despite being in playoff contention till the last few days of the year, the Blades fall short, but the cupboards are stacked for next year and the future looks bright.
Summer of 2018: Saskatoon drafts Kirbys younger brother Colton Dach. Who has some skill but also plays with an edge. Mark Rubinchik signs a pro deal in Russia so the Blades take 2 in the import draft in Roykas Marthinsen and Malysjev. Kyle Crnkovic runs roughshod in camp scoring 6 goals in 2 games before going into the boards awkwardly and injuring his shoulder. He will miss the 1st month of the season.
2018-2019 season: The 1st game against PA see's Saskatoon lose 3 players.... 20 yr old Brad Goethals, 18 yr old D Bafaro and top pairing D Jackson caller. With a vacant 20 yr old spot open, Saskatoon makes the move i wanted them to, acquiring big 20 yr old D-man Brandon Schulhaus. It took FOUR games for Brandon Schuldhaus to be on the ice for an oppositions goal against, and that goal was on the powerplay on the right side(he plays left) Schuldhaus has brought a huge defensive presence and the Blades have yet to lose with him in the lineup. Dawson Davidson is the reigning WHL and CHL player of the week after a big start to the season and Max Gerlach is fresh off a hat trick which involved a tying goal with 16 seconds left and an OT winner as the Blades beat the Rebels 3-2 in OT. Saskatoon currently sits with a 7-2 record.
In closing, Priestner has built this team from the ground up. He started with nothing and no future 1st round picks. He managed to acquire players and turn them into 1sts, and turn those 1sts into studs for the teams future. The team has improve EVERY year he's been in town. They are off to their best start in many years, they have had 2 players quit because they want more ice time but the team is too strong up front to grant that wish. When the Blades are faced with a big problem, Priestner is quick to act to fix said issue. He's drafting well and improving this team each year, he also stockpiled what could end up being 2 VERY VERY high 1st round picks in the next 2 years.... He is setting the Blades up for wonderful things ahead(not to mention the only WHL team with multiple reps on the U-18 Canadian Hlinka Gretzky squad) It's amazing because i will hear people talk about the wonderful team the Blades have and in the same sentence they will say that Priestner knows nothing about hockey... Well where the hell do you think this great looking team came from!?
But yeah.... keep hating him because his dad bought the team, or because you don't like the way his hair looks. :\
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