WHL Notebook: Saunderson thrilled with chance to play

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This article was published 07/05/2021 (1791 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Saskatoon Blades rookie Ben Saunderson didn’t get the complete Western Hockey League experience this season, but he’s grateful he got one at all.

The five-foot-11, 196-pound defenceman from Carberry skated in 10 games in the East Division’s Regina hub, with an assist and four penalty minutes.

“As players and coaches and staff, we were all fortunate that they let us play, because honestly I didn’t anything was going to go this year,” Saunderson said. “People were saying ‘Oh, you only get to play 24 games’ but that’s 24 more games than I thought we were going to play in the first place.

“I thought we were going to be in our rooms at home in isolation still. When we get to play in a bubble like that and play 24 games and practice and be on the ice, it was pretty cool. We’re thankful our governments let us do that.”

It’s been an interesting path to the WHL for the 16-year-old, who won’t turn 17 until September.

Saunderson’s family moved from the town of Carberry north of the Trans-Canada Highway several years ago, which put him into Yellowhead Chiefs territory. As a result, he played against his local buddies at the AAA level in the under-15 and U18 divisions, who all remained in Southwest Cougars country.

“I played against all of my buddies who lived 10 minutes away from me,” Saunderson said. “It was definitely weird.”

Like most friends who compete against each other, that meant they went even harder on the ice against each other for bragging rights the next day at school and then laughed about it after.

Saunderson said his game grew a lot at the U15 and U18 levels under Yellowhead’s coaches, who included Craig Geekie, Mark Wotton and Chad Facey.

“All three of those guys know what they’re talking about,” Saunderson said. “(Craig and Mark) played good hockey and they’re willing to go out of their way to help develop you.”

The Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League postponed play in November after the province tightened its pandemic restrictions, and the waiting game began for Saunderson, who is in Grade 11. At the time, the Chiefs were 4-3-1-0 and the defenceman had eight points in eight games.

Saunderson, who was selected 89th overall by Saskatoon at the 2019 WHL draft and signed with the club on Dec. 19, 2019, received a call from the Blades around Christmas. They invited him to Saskatoon to train and he headed out for a week. He was there when the Regina hub was announced in February, and stuck around in quarantine until the team bused its players down to Regina on Feb. 27.

Suddenly, a guy who wasn’t sure he would get to play another game at any level in the 2020-21 season was part of the most unique experience in WHL history.

“It was honestly really cool to be part of something like that,” Saunderson said. “After seeing the NHL (bubbles), I went into thinking it was going to be pretty cool and it absolutely was. You play your games there, you eat your meals there, you live with your buddies. I got really close with all my teammates because we were living together and eating meals together.

“I thought we would have a lot of down time but between video and meetings and eating and going for a walk outside as a team and stuff like that, you keep busy.”

On days the team wasn’t playing, he also dedicated a couple of hours to his schoolwork.

The Blades lived in Wapka Tower, with four bedrooms connected by two bathrooms and a common area that included a kitchen and living room. Saunderson roomed with Sammy May, Spencer Shugrue and Marek Schneider, the younger brother of Brandon Wheat Kings captain Braden Schneider.

None of the four rookies knew each other, but after they were restricted to their room for the first week until their initial COVID tests were negative, they quickly got close.

“It was really good,” Saunderson said. “My roommates were awesome actually. We all had the same interests and we all got along well. They were cleaning up after themselves — we were all pretty clean — and we had a lot of fun. Movie nights were a big hit in our room.”

Saunderson said it took a while to get comfortable on the ice, especially with just 45 minutes allotted for practices. The five practices they had before the season started included some scrimmages, which he said helped a lot.

He said practising against guys like Brandon’s Tristen Robins were also huge for his development.

“All our forwards were super talented, so being a young guy like me I think it pushed me to better myself,” Saunderson said. “Trying to face guys like Tristen Robins, who is a fantastic hockey player, going against him in practice was cool.”

He said the team’s veterans were all very helpful, including captain Chase Wouters and veteran defenceman Rhett Rhinehart.

The Blades brought nine defencemen to the hub, including five rookies, so he didn’t make his debut until March 26 in a 7-3 victory over the Regina Pats.

Saunderson certainly had some surprises waiting for him on the ice.

“You’re playing against 19- and 20-year-old guys, guys who are four years older than you who have man strength who are six-foot-two, big guys,” Saunderson said. “They’re not afraid out there. Battles in the corners are way different, battling a 20-year-old versus a 15-year-old in midget. I’d say size and strength were definitely an adjustment.”

It’s not an easy league to play in at 16 so building some confidence in a daunting situation was key. Saunderson said it didn’t take too long.

“In my first game, my first couple of shifts were getting the nerves out,” he said. “I was a little shaky the first couple of shifts but after that you just don’t overthink it. You get out there and you play hockey and I think it all just comes together after that.”

Saunderson played twice in Saskatoon’s four games against the Brandon Wheat Kings, something he admits felt a little odd. Saunderson and his family had season tickets in Brandon when he was growing up.

“I don’t think I missed a game since I was six so it was definitely cool to play the Wheat Kings,” Saunderson said. “Once you get out there, you kind of forget about it. Before the game you think about it, but once you get out there you kind of just play hockey.”

He also had some very familiar faces to play against, since his Yellowhead teammates Colby Wotton of the Regina Pats and Brandt Young of the Winnipeg Ice were almost making their WHL debuts.

“I think it was pretty cool to be playing with those guys and then meet them on different clubs in the Western League,” Saunderson said. “I got pictures with Brandt Young in warmup the first game we played them, which was pretty cool and something I’ll remember. Playing those guys was something special. It makes you realize not to take those friendships for granted after midget because you’re going to meet them again somewhere in the future.”

He said playing in front of an empty building wasn’t a big deal for him because he has never experienced what a WHL game feels like in front of thousands of fans.

Overall, he thought he played OK.

“I was pretty happy,” Saunderson said. “Being a guy who wasn’t sure he was even going to be there this year, I went in there and got some games and I thought I played pretty well. I was happy with that, being a rookie.”

His game does contain a blend of offensive skill and grit that could bring him success at the WHL level. In 48 games in his rookie U18 season with the Chiefs, Saunderson scored once and added 31 assists with 80 penalty minutes.

A year earlier, in major bantam with the AAA Chiefs, he had seven goals, 28 assists and 36 penalty minutes in 35 games.

“I think I’m a solid defender,” Saunderson said. “I like to focus on making a good first pass out of the D-zone but I’m also willing to jump up into the rush and try to generate a little bit of offence if it’s there. I’m a bit of a bigger kid so I like to play a physical game definitely.

“Something I’m working on is my shot.”

Now he’ll have a few months to get better.

With the unique experience behind him, Saunderson is now looking ahead to next season. With the benefit of what he learned in the hub, he’ll be ready whenever camp begins for the 2021-22 season.

“Being here with these guys, and getting to practice and play a couple of games at the next level I think is going to help me lots next year,” Saunderson said. “I’ll do a lot of off-season training and go into camp in my best shape.”

ICINGS: The WHL announced Thursday that the final standings this year will be determined via winning percentage. With teams in the four divisions playing varying numbers of games, it was the only equitable way to solve the problem … The league handed out a pair of one-game suspensions earlier this week. Cade McNelly of the Seattle Thunderbirds was flagged for an accumulation of checking to the head and elbowing penalties this season, and Victoria Royals defenceman Luke Shipley was penalized for a boarding major and game misconduct he received against the Kamloops Blazers on May 3.

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