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As he walked the halls of SaskTel Centre for one final time as a Saskatoon Blade, Rowan Calvert couldn’t help but be reflective on Thursday afternoon.
Less than 24 hours after his junior hockey career come to a close in a 5-3 loss to the Prince Albert Raiders in Game 4 of Eastern Conference semi-finals, Calvert met with media on locker clean-out day for the Blades.
The Moose Jaw product is now prepared to turn the page after five years representing the blue and gold on the ice.
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“It’s been everything for me,” Calvert said. “It’s been my life, I don’t really remember too much about life before being a Blade. It’s going to be definitely difficult to move on, but everyone has their time and looking back definitely no regrets.”
The Blades concluded their 2025-26 Western Hockey League season following a four-game sweep at the hands of the Raiders on Wednesday night, a series that Prince Albert dominated from the start.
While Saskatoon saved their best performance in Game 4, the 110-point Raiders solidified themselves as a threat to win their third WHL championship by outscoring the Blades 15-4 over the course of the series.
Despite coming off a thrilling Game 7 overtime upset against the Edmonton Oil Kings in the opening round, Blades president and general manager, Colin Priestner, said the odds were slim of getting past their Highway 11 rivals.
“I didn’t really go into that series thinking we were going to win,” Priestner said.
“I hoped we would and I was like of like, ‘Hey, after Edmonton, who knows what this team could do?’ I think reality was fairly clear on the Friday night in the Art Hauser (Centre) when they came out and what a flawless series they played.”
Following a lightning quick start by the Raiders with three goals in under seven minutes, the Blades snapped a goalless drought of nearly 135 consecutive minutes on Wednesday night thanks to a David Lewandowski marker.
Saskatoon closed the gap to 4-3 in the second period with a power play goal from captain Tyler Parr, but a late Raiders goal before the second intermission by Max Heise proved to be the insurance they needed to close out the series.
It was a crushing loss for Blades sophomore defenceman Brayden Klimpke, but it’s a season he looks back on fondly given where expectations began for the team.
“Anytime your season ends, it’s obviously sad,” Klimpke said. “I’m super proud of this group. I think we turned a lot of heads in the playoffs, we proved a lot of people wrong.”
Next chapter for Calvert, Parr
In the late summer of 2021, Parr and Calvert arrived at Blades training camp looking to crack the WHL roster as teenagers. They didn’t know it at the time, but that meeting would chart the next five years for the duo from role players to crucial leaders in Saskatoon’s forward core.
Now, the pair exit the Blades organization as the program’s two graduating overage players.
“He’s a brother for life,” Parr said.“I remember our first camp, (Calvert) didn’t have a car here and he stayed a little longer than he thought. I didn’t know him at all, but we were driving to the rink together in the morning. Now I’ve got to know him pretty well over the years.
“He’s an unbelievable guy, unbelievable leader.”
According to Calvert, that initial connection has grown into one of his strongest friendships.
“I didn’t know anyone at all when I first got here,” Calvert said. “(Parr) was kind of the first guy who I really got to know and kept in touch with as I went home that year before I came back. It’s just been really special and it’s going to be really different next year not seeing him every day.”
Both Parr and Calvert will be headed to the NCAA level next season, with Parr set to attend Union College in New York while Calvert will hit the ice with the University of Maine Black Bears.
‘Gard’ duty over in Saskatoon
No player sparked more conversation heading into the Saskatoon-Prince Albert second round series than Blades star goaltender Evan Gardner.
Speaking prior to Game 1 last week, the Blades’ third-year netminder set off a firestorm in both communities, stating, “I genuinely hate the Raiders.”
Peppered with chirps on the ice and signs in the crowd at the Art Hauser Centre, Gardner joked his reputation in Prince Albert likely will stick around longer than the four games he suited up in.
“I think I had a little bit of fun with it obviously,” Gardner said. “I think I was the most hated man in (Prince Albert). Might still be for a while, who knows?”
Gardner is still eligible to return to Saskatoon as an overage veteran, however that likely won’t be the case for the Blades in 2026-27 with the pro ranks calling on the Columbus Blue Jackets goaltending prospect.
“We’ll certainly need to figure out who our starting goalie is,” Priestner said.
“That’s a big plan. Whether that’s addressed externally, internally, import draft or anything. We have lots of options on that.”
Gardner will be flying out Friday to join the American Hockey League’s Cleveland Monsters for their playoff run and is nearly a lock to jump to the professional level full-time next fall.
That near certainty brought a lot of emotions for Gardner on Wednesday, likely stopping his final shot after 156 career regular season and playoff games in Saskatoon.
“It’s a little sad for sure,” Gardner said.
“I’ve been here for three years now and (Saskatoon) felt like a second home. There’s a lot of stuff I’m going to miss about being here, but I’m really looking forward to what’s ahead of me.”
Concluding his career as one of the top statistical goaltenders in franchise history, Gardner holds the best single-season save percentage (.927) and goals against average (1.91) marks ever for a Blades goaltender and is second only to Andrey Makarov in career shutouts.
Gardner’s work in the community is just as illustrious, giving back to diabetes and autism awareness foundations through goalie mask donation fundraisers and being nominated for the WHL’s Humanitarian of the Year award in three consecutive seasons.
“It’s really special getting to donate that mask, it was up there,” Gardner said. “Even last year’s mask, just getting to raise money and donate it to a cause that I like was really special to me.”
Unfinished business for NCAA commits
Cooper Williams’ answer about his hockey future was only four words long on Thursday, but they were four words Blades fans had hoped to hear: “I’ll be back here.”
The 18-year-old dynamic Blades centreman announced he’ll be returning to Saskatoon in the fall for his third year in the WHL after much speculation on where he’d suit up next.
Williams – who was ranked 50th among North American skaters for this summer’s NHL Draft by NHL Central Scouting – is committed to the University of North Dakota.
Coming off a season in which he tallied 57 points in 66 games and another six points in the playoffs, Williams believes he can hit another gear compared to his sophomore performance with the Blades.
“I think it could have been a lot better,” Williams said. “I didn’t really play up to my standards. I think going into spring and summer, just focusing on that and trying to get a lot better for next year.”
Williams wasn’t the only North Dakota commit to announce his return to the Blades next season, as alternate captain Brayden Klimpke did the same at locker clean-out.
Leading all Blades defencemen in scoring with 47 points in 68 games, Klimpke took on a role as a top-pairing blueliner and said there’s more work to be done with this core.
“I’ll be back next year as well,” Klimpke said. “I think we kind of have some unfinished business here. I love this city and I want to win here.”
Klimpke was listed at 74th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, while Blades winger Zach Olsen was the highest climber in the final rankings settling in at 36th overall.
Changing landscape for WHL
As the Blades aim to open their contention window again next season, the WHL is reportedly making a handful of changes to their scheduling and travel allowances.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported last weekend the league will be extending its regular season by a week in 2026-27 with the same 68-game schedule to allow for more games being played on weekends.
As well, the WHL is reportedly allowing teams to access air travel for their yearly cross-conference road trip, which requires travel over the Rocky Mountains.
Priestner said the Blades are in support of the changes, which he believes will keep the WHL competitive with other leagues like the NCAA in attracting and retaining top-end players.
“We’re looking to make any kind of accommodations now that we can,” Priestner said.
“We’re re-thinking everything now with (NCAA), it’s just the way it is. We have to, we can’t sit around and watch another league devour us. We have to take action to show that this is the best place for players to play.”
Rumours of a potential best-of-five opening round playoff series in 2026-27 has also been floated as a compromise for the extra week of regular season play.
While Priestner did not confirm if that change is indeed happening, he would be in favour if officially proposed to the league’s governors.
“(First round series) are often sweeps anyways,” Priestner said. “I think every team getting an extra two weekend dates would be beneficial than the one Game 7 that we might lose in the first round.”
A handful of impact rookies will have the opportunity to crack the Blades lineup next season, the most notable being 2025 first round pick Kain Martinuik and Noah Fowler who was an affiliate call-up during playoffs.
Despite longtime veterans like Parr, Calvert and Gardner departing the organization, Priestner is optimistic next year could be a big one for the Blades in their hopes of finally bringing a WHL championship to Saskatoon.
“I do believe we have the bones of a championship team,” Priestner said.
