Blades busy, Pats quiet at WHL trade deadline

At the Western Hockey League’s trade deadline, all eyes were on the Saskatoon Blades and their chase for a championship.

While most of the heavy lifting came earlier in the year for the Blades when they acquired the likes of Fraser Minten and Alexander Suzdalev, Saskatoon stayed busy on deadline day.

Saskatoon swung a very rare three-team deal with the Kelowna Rockets and Edmonton Oil Kings that saw the Blades acquire defenceman John Babcock from Kelowna.

The price was steep, as Saskatoon coughed up three more picks in the deal, but Blades general manager Colin Priestner said he would agree to the terms again in a heartbeat.

“I felt like if we had to spend a few extra picks to not subtract players, then that was worth it,” said Prietsner.

As for Babcock, Priestner said the hard-hitting, tough-as-nails defenceman was exactly what he was hoping to add to the Blades blue line.

“We said, ‘How do we get a little more toughness, a little more edge, a little more vocal leadership on the back end?’ Not that we lacked that,” said Priestner. “And (he’s) a guy that can strike a little bit of fear into the other teams.”

Babcock is recovering from a cut on a leg, but is expected to be good to go by next week.

The other big question mark for the Blades is when Tanner Molendyk will return.

The Nashville Predators prospect made Team Canada for the world junior championship, but suffered an injury in a pre-tournament game and didn’t play in the event.

Molendyk’s absence has left a crater-like hole on the Blades’ blue line, but Priestner said he expects to get his top-line defenceman back soon.

“I don’t have an exact timeline, but I would be hopeful it would be sometime in January,” said Priestner.

Molendyk was checked out by doctors in Nashville and has since returned to the Blades and has started to practise again.

A rumour swirling around Saskatoon was the possibility of trading the WHL rights for Jake Chiasson to another team. Ultimately that didn’t happen, and Chiasson will remain in the ECHL, but Priestner did shed some light on that process.

“We talked lots with the (Edmonton) Oilers over the last four months about what they had in terms of a plan with him,” said Priestner. “We thought there was a good chance he would come back, so my job was to find a team for him.

“We did find a home for him, and the Oilers and the agency talked and they felt the best path for him was to stay pro.”

Chiasson staying pro might have actually helped the Blades acquire Babcock, Priestner explained.

“It freed up a second-round pick for us to use in the Babcock deal,” said Priestner. “We owed a second-round pick to Brandon if he came back as a 20-year-old, so that pick probably was the difference maker in getting Babcock.”

Now the focus shifts for the Blades as they eye the first WHL title in franchise history. Priestner had a simple message to share with the team.

“This is our chance at destiny. It’s our chance to make our own destiny and manifest destiny is what we can do,” said Priestner. “We have the pieces. There are no excuses. We have the coaching we want. We have the players we want … This city is counting on you guys, and they deserve it, and you guys deserve it.

“This city deserves a championship run.”

Regina Pats quiet on deadline day

With the Regina Pats busy on New Year’s Eve, Wednesday’s WHL trade deadline was an uneventful one for the club.

The team didn’t make any deadline-day deals, with the only roster move coming when the Pats reassigned goaltender Madden Mulawka to the Edmonton Jr. Oilers U18 AAA.

“We didn’t really engage in much since the three deals on New Year’s Eve. We continued to have teams reaching out on a few guys or what we may or may not do moving forward. From my end, I felt like we did enough in terms of having an eye on the future while at the same time balancing to remain competitive,” said Pats general manager Al Millar.

“I believe in this group … I’ve talked about them understanding what they are, buying into a team identity, remaining competitive and their work ethic.

“I think we have great leadership, I think we have outstanding character.”

Pats captain Tanner Howe is one of the players who could have drawn some interest from other teams around the league. Howe has 47 points (21 goals, 26 assists) in 39 games so far for Regina.

Millar wouldn’t comment on what sort of interest there was in the 18-year-old.

“I’m not going to talk about any players on the roster and anything to do with trades,” Millar said.

Millar said the recent trades helped bolster their depth when it comes to 2006-born players, including defenceman Tyson Buczkowsk and forward Zach Moore.