WHL NOTEBOOK: Time flying for veteran Saunderson

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This article was published 26/12/2022 (1261 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ben Saunderson has a new appreciation for how quickly a junior hockey career passes.

The 19-year-old defenceman from Carberry is suiting up for the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades for the third season, and can’t quite believe how much time is already gone.

“I’ve heard it before I was in the league, I’ve heard it when I’m in the league that it absolutely flies by and it is 100 per cent true,” Saunderson said. “It honestly feels like yesterday when I played my first game in the league. This year we’ve been rolling and have such a good group. Christmas flew up on us. It’s definitely short so I’m just trying to enjoy every day and have fun.”

Saunderson, who was selected 89th overall by Saskatoon at the 2019 WHL draft and signed with the club on Dec. 19, 2019, debuted in the Regina hub in the spring of 2021. He posted an assist, four penalty minutes and a plus-minus of -3 in 10 games.

His first full taste of the WHL came last season when he played in 52 games, with eight assists and 22 penalty minutes.

This season, in 29 games he has three assists, eight penalty minutes, a plus-minus of 5 and his all-important first WHL goal.

It came in a 5-1 victory over the Tri-City Americans on Nov. 2 when Saunderson was the beneficiary of a terrific pass by Jayden Wiens and ripped a quick shot past Nick Avakyan 14 minutes 52 seconds into the second period to give his team a 4-0 lead.

“I’ve been pretty happy,” the six-foot-one, 189-pound Saunderson said of his season. “I’ve just been steady and focusing on my D-zone and the offence will come after that.”

While draft-eligible young defenceman Tanner Molendyk and team captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere rightfully earn a lot of the acclaim on the Blades blue-line, the gritty and reliable Saunderson quietly goes about the business of protecting his own net.

He said his confidence continues to grow as a WHL veteran and has a real impact on his play.

“I think it does absolutely,” Saunderson said. “Coming into my third year now, the coaches have trust in you and you have the confidence to let yourself do things you wouldn’t have before in previous years. It’s my third year and I’m just more confident and taking that extra step.”

The Blades might be one of the best stories in the WHL this season, mostly because very few people outside Saskatoon had a real good sense of how good they would be after graduating goaltender Nolan Maier, Clear Lake forward Tristen Robins, big overager defenceman Rhett Rhinehart or even longtime captain Chase Wouters a year earlier.

Actually, that uncertainty extended inside the organization.

“I wasn’t really sure what to think at the start, to be honest with you,” Saunderson said. “Obviously our two goalies have been unbelievable. I think they’ve both filled Maier’s spot from last year. They’ve been unbelievable. We brought in (Conner) Roulette and (Justin) Lies, and they’re unbelievable guys. I think we have a really good group. We obviously had a lot of returning guys from last year so the experience is there. We all kind of knew each other before and we have a great group going right now.”

Saunderson is right about the goaltending tandem of Austin Elliott (14gp, 1.98 gaa, .926 save percentage) and Ethan Chadwick (15gp, 2.19 gaa, .910 save percentage), who have ably picked up where Maier left off.

The Blades have also replaced the offence provided by Robins and Kyle Crnkovic, who was traded to the Seattle Thunderbirds for a package that included 18-year-old forward Roulette, who is fourth in team scoring with 14 goals and 19 assists in 25 games.

Saskatoon is also led offensively by Trevor Wong (29gp, 11g, 32a, 43p), Brandon Lisowsky (29gp, 19g, 19a, 38p), De La Gorgendiere (29gp, 8g, 27a, 35p) and Egor Sidorov (18gp, 16g, 16a, 32p).

Saunderson said the intangibles that have the team sporting a 24-5-0-0 record and tied for second in the Eastern Conference extend well beyond what they do during games.

“Our chemistry is on and off the ice,” Saunderson said. “We’re always together as a group bonding and everyone is getting along with everyone. There is nothing wrong there. I think we’re a very responsible group. Our schedule is very tight and we’re holding each other accountable. We’re there to get to work and we get stuff done when we’re there, and we’ll have fun later. We’re a very mature team.”

That’s also raised expectations. The Blades are just four points back of the league-leading Winnipeg Ice, and Saunderson said the team has a strong belief that it can play with anybody.

“We’re looking at an end goal of hanging a banner,” Saunderson said. “We talk about it a lot, the path to hanging a banner. I think we have the group to do it, and even talking to Conner Roulette who we just brought in — he was a part of Seattle’s club last year that went pretty deep in the playoffs — and he’s been saying we have a good group and he thinks we can do it.

“We’ll just stick to it and try to keep going after the first half.”

The second half will include Saunderson’s first chance for a West Coast road trip when the Blades head out to visit the B.C. Division rinks in February. He’s looking forward to enjoying a new experience.

“I always like the new atmosphere and new fans,” Saunderson said. “With different places in the league, their fans are different and that’s one thing I always notice, the fans. I think it’s kind of cool.”

Saunderson, who spends his summers training at Brandon’s Western Canada Hockey Academy at J&G Homes Arena, will make one more regular season trip to Westoba Place, visiting on Jan. 31.

While he was once a Wheat Kings season ticket holder, the games now offer a chance to visit with some people he doesn’t often see, but beyond that, it’s just another night at the office.

He said his personal goal is inextricably tied to the team’s success. He simply wants to win.

With the passage of time — and the departures of Wouters, Maier, Robins and the others — that’s a Saunderson who will be counted on to share with the youngsters.

“It definitely is a bit different,” Saunderson said. “You’re starting to feel like one of the older guys now that those 20-year-olds and 19-year-olds when you first got into the league are gone. They kind of take you in and show you the ropes, and now it’s that transition to I’m starting to help out the younger guys make that transition.”

THIS AND THAT

• QUIZ — This is a tough one. How many times has a Wheat King won the team points title two years in a row in the WHL era, and how many of them can you name?

• ALUMNI GLANCE — In 21 games with EC Kassel Huskies in Germany’s second division, Tim McGauley has six goals and 14 assists. After four seasons spent mostly in the ECHL, McGauley began his European career during the 2020-21 season, skating with Stjernen Hockey in Norway (24gp, 11g, 23a, 34p). He split last season between HC Innsbruck (47gp, 19g, 31a, 50p) and ERC Ingolstadt (15gp, 1g, 1a, 2p) in Germany’s first division. He played with Brandon for four full seasons between 2012 and 2016 — and also skated in 11 games as a 16-year-old — compiling 309 points in 326 regular season and playoff games. McGauley was part of the haul Brandon received in the Brayden Schenn trade with Saskatoon on Jan. 10, 2011.

• ANSWER — The team scoring race has been won twice in a row by the same player 12 times since the 1967-68 season. Mark Stone was the last to do it (in 2010-11 and 2011-12). Brayden Schenn set a team record by doing it three times, although he tied with Matt Calvert in 2009-10 after winning it the two previous years. Prior to that it was: Codey Burki (2005-06, 2006-07), Eric Fehr (2003-04, 2004-05), Jordin Tootoo (2001-02, tied with Ryan Craig in 2002-03), Marty Murray (1993-94, 1994-95), Bobby House (1991-92, 1992-93), Terry Yake (1986-87, 1987-88), Byron Lomow (1984-85, 1985-86), Kelly Glowa (1981-82, 1982-83), Brian Propp (1977-78, 1978-79) and Ron Chipperfield (1972-73, 1973-74).

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