WHL NOTEBOOK: McCallum builds on goalie bond

When Ethan McCallum discusses his close relationship with his Saskatoon Blades goaltending partner Evan Gardner, it simply makes sense to him.

The 19-year-old Brandonite, who is in his third season in the Western Hockey League and second in Saskatoon, can’t imagine it any other way.

“I think it’s a deep connection,” McCallum said. “If you’re thinking positively for someone else, I think it correlates to you as well. You never wish bad upon your teammates, you always wish for the best for them.

“That’s good karma. When there are two positives like that, two guys who get along well, it just makes everything more enjoyable. When you’re having fun, you’re going to play your better version of hockey.”

Gardner is a 19-year-old product of Fort St. John, B.C., who was grabbed in the second round of the 2024 National Hockey League draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

“We already started a bond early on,” McCallum said. “We’re pretty easy to get along with. I think we both support each other pretty well. It just blends in together. We have that good bond and another year has just tightened it up more.”

The six-foot-four, 202-pound McCallum was selected 39th overall by the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2021 and appeared in 23 games as a 17-year-old rookie with the Tigers, posting a 3.19 goals-against average and a .886 save percentage.

In five appearances with the Tigers last season, McCallum was 1-1-0-0 with a 4.09 goals-against average and a .835 save percentage, but after asking for a change of scenery, was traded to Saskatoon on Oct. 28, 2024 for a fourth-round pick in 2027 and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2028.

In 25 appearances with Saskatoon last season, he posted a 3.26 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage.

This season, he has a 3.55 goals-against average, an .884 save percentage and a record of 4-5-0-0 in 12 appearances.

The thoughtful teenager pauses for a moment when asked how happy he’s been with his season so far.

“It’s difficult to talk about,” McCallum said. “With me, there is a lot of regret. With me, as well as the team, there is an inconsistency barrier there but I feel like I’ve patched that since our recent U.S., road trip. I just haven’t gotten any starts to prove that just yet.

“I’ve had even just inconsistent periods. There have been games where I’ll have zero goals going in through two periods, and in the last period, I just fall apart a little bit.

“That’s on me working some things out. I don’t think the numbers reflect how I feel about it. My play is getting stronger and is stronger than what my numbers are. Hopefully over time there will be a little bit of a climb to get them back in a proper spot.”

The Blades were one of the hotter teams in the WHL to start the season but have fallen back to earth in recent weeks, going 4-5-1-0 in their last 10 and posting an overall record of 14-11-2-0 through 27 games.

“Coming into the season, we had that confidence, and for sure at the start we knew we could be contenders,” McCallum said. “We had some guys who showed great promise last year and we had a great start to the year too. We’re not quite as young a team as last year but I do think mentally we still have to work on a few things.

“There is a lot of inconsistency with us right now and we’re trying to fix some kinks, but once those get patched, I truly believe we have a very strong hockey team. Once we figure out the consistency and maturity within our squad, it’s going to be a good year.”

“You can’t be too process driven, but I think at the end of the day when we get back to our team and build that consistent layer and slowly climb that mountain, we’ll find some good luck here and get more wins,” he added.

One new face in the Saskatoon dressing room is Czech overage forward Dominik Petr, who the Brandon Wheat Kings sent to the Blades during the draft in May for a pick used to select promising young netminder Joffrey Chan. Petr, who has a relaxed and friendly personality, has quickly fit into the Blades room.

“He’s doing great,” McCallum said. “He’s a great guy, he jokes around with the guys. He’s huge into sewer ball so I never get to the end of that with him, he always wants to play. He fits in well, and is really fitting well on the ice too with our power play and offence. He’s helped out a lot.”

McCallum has also grown accustomed to Saskatoon. He is back with the same billets, but in the busy city — the metro population is now estimated at 320,000 — getting to the rink can be a handful. McCallum said his commute is about 40 minutes in the winter.

He had a little taste of home recently when he played against the Wheat Kings on Nov. 22 at Sasktel Centre, with the visitors pulling out a 3-2 victory as McCallum made 23 saves.

It was his seventh appearance against Brandon: He sports a record of 3-3-0-0 with the other game in relief of Gardner.

“When it’s a game in Saskatoon, it’s just another game,” McCallum said. “Especially that game, we were battling some sickness with our team and myself. That game truly was it didn’t matter who we were playing, it was just ‘Let’s try our best to get two points.”

That will be different on Wednesday evening, with the Blades set to visit the Wheat Kings at Assiniboine Credit Union Place for the second time this season. McCallum loves the chance to get home during the busy season and see father Darren, mother Dana, brother Chase and sister Cassie.

“It’s fun,” said McCallum, whose team also visits on Jan. 1 and Feb. 16. “I get to reconnect with all my family members. It was a little unfortunate I didn’t get to see them on the last road trip here so hopefully that changes this Wednesday.

“It’s always nice coming home, especially when we get in the day before and I can get together with my parents and see my dog, since I don’t get to see him too often anymore and have that reconnection, and to play in Westoba.”

THIS AND THAT

• QUIZ — We’ve all heard about the wild offensive years of the 1970s and 1980s. How many Wheat Kings players have scored more than 50 goals in a season since the 1990-91 season? How many can you name? Has anyone done it twice?

• WEEKLY AWARDS — The player of the week is 19-year-old Everett Silvertips defenceman and Anaheim Ducks prospect Tarin Smith of Porcupine Plain, Sask., who had two goals and five assists in three games last week.

The goaltender of the week is 19-year-old Prince George Cougars netminder Joshua Ravensbergen of North Vancouver, who stopped 29 shots in a 3-0 victory over the Wenatchee Wild in his lone appearance last week.

The rookie of the week is 17-year-old Kamloops Blazers forward JP Hurlbert of Allen, Texas, who had two goals and two assists in two games as he continues to lead the WHL in scoring. It’s the second time he’s won the award.

• FAST COMPANY — Vancouver Giants forward Cameron Schmidt tied a 38-year-old WHL record when he scored five seconds into a game against the Penticton Vees at the South Okanagan Events Centre on Friday. He equalled a mark set by Seattle Thunderbirds forward Dean Sexsmith on Jan. 30, 1987 against the Victoria Cougars. If you’re curious about Brandon’s record, Bill Derlago set it on Nov. 5, 1977, also against the Victoria Cougars, when he scored six seconds into a 7-7 tie.

• TRADE FRONT — There have been no deals since Nov. 14.

• SIN BIN — There had been no player discipline since Nov. 8 but on Monday, Lethbridge Hurricanes overage defenceman Matteo Fabrizi earned a one-game suspension for a crosschecking major and game misconduct against the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday.

• UPDATES GONE AWRY — The WHL’s once outstanding website continues to go downhill since the Canadian Hockey League forced it and the other two major junior leagues to switch everything to a platform on chl.ca.

Stats no longer update in real time, the standings can vary wildly depending where you’re at on the website, the back end can be wonky for teams and now the schedule has been “updated” and is often impossible to navigate and less user friendly.

Many businesses update their website to improve things and make it easier for visitors. I guess congratulations are in order to the CHL for successfully bucking that trend and heading off in their own direction. If they were smart, they would scrap the project entirely and let the three leagues operate their own sites again.

• ALUMNI GLANCE — Eric Fehr, 40, is serving as director of player development and assistant coach for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Winkler Flyers. Fehr played 339 regular season and playoffs games with the Wheat Kings after being selected fifth overall in the 2000 WHL draft. He was taken 18th overall by the Washington Capitals in 2003 and went on to play 722 regular season and playoffs games in the NHL during his 17-year pro career.

• THE WEEK AHEAD — The Wheat Kings host the Blades on Wednesday at 7 p.m., visit the Regina Pats on Friday at 7 p.m., and then host the Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday at 6 p.m.

• ANSWER — Since 1990-91, a Wheat Kings player has scored 50 or more goals in a season six times, with one player doing it twice. They are:

— Darren Ritchie, 62 in 1994-1995.

— Eric Fehr, 59 in 2004-2005.

— Mike Leclerc, 58 in 1995-1996.

— Bobby House, 57 in 1992-1993.

— Mike Maneluk, 50 in 1993-1994.

— Eric Fehr, 50 in 2003-2004.