The Saskatoon Blades haven’t been able to build up any momentum over the 2025-26 season. The team hasn’t been able to string more than five wins in a row this season, and in their last five, they’ve shown some of their best and worst hockey of the year. A 4-0 shutout win against the Eastern Conference-leading Prince Albert Raiders was followed by an embarrassing 7-1 loss to the Calgary Hitmen three days later.
“We gotta find a way to be more consistent,” said head coach Dan DaSilva. “What type of team do we want to be? Are we the team that can beat Prince Albert, the team that can beat Medicine Hat, or are we the team that’s losing to the teams that are below us in the standings? What kind of team is going to show up in big games? We’re trying to find our identity as a group here, and I feel confident in the direction we’re heading.”
Although consistency has been an issue, some of the team’s depth players have stepped up, pushing the team ahead while they struggle to capitalize on chances. With a young, deep roster, that might be the key to getting through this rough patch and hitting the playoffs with some steam behind them.
Blades Focused on Staying Calm Despite Struggles
In the last week, the Blades have played five games and come away with a 2-3-0 record. That’s a lot to ask of a team in such a short period, and so it’s not a terrible result given that the team looked fatigued halfway through. However, despite some small victories, the Blades are not moving up the standings. The Hitmen, who currently hold the last home-ice seed in the East, now have a nine-point lead over the Blades with three games in hand, while the Blades sit in sixth, one point behind the Brandon Wheat Kings.
“We’re just trying to stay calm,” said 19-year-old Calgary Flames prospect Hunter Laing. “Every game is huge for us, so we’re going to try and reset and be calm and go to the next game playing Blades hockey.”
Team captain Tyler Parr echoed both Laing and DaSilva after the 4-2 loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Feb. 7. “When things get tough, just winning battles and getting simple…There’s a lot of talent out there, and we trust it will get back clicking again.”
Breaking down the last five games, the Blades have scored 12 goals from nine different goalscorers. Unsurprisingly, leading the way is David Lewandowski, who has two goals, three assists, and nine shots in that span. Following him is Cooper Williams, another frequent contributor, who has had a resurgence lately after a bit of a slow start. He has two goals, two assists, and nine shots as well.
Unfortunately, Laing and Parr have not been there with them. Despite taking 13 shots on net, Laing has just one goal and no assists, while Parr has only done slightly better with a goal and an assist in seven shots. Team scoring leader Rowan Calvert has also been largely absent from the scoresheet, with just one goal in 14 shots, plus one assist. If the team’s top scorers aren’t producing, it’s going to be hard to win games.
However, the next two highest scorers in February are Dustin Willhöft, who started the season on the fourth line and has worked his way up to the first in recent games, and Kazden Mathies, who has primarily played in an energy role on the third line. Both players have four points; Mathies has two goals on nine shots, while Willhöft has one goal on four shots. Both players have been crucial during the Blades’ success this last week and should be relied on heavily during the next stretch.
Willhöft’s Speed and Tenacity Put Him on the Top Line
Expectations were high for Willhöft when he arrived in Saskatoon at the start of the season. His chemistry with Lewandowski at the 2024 and 2025 U18 World Junior Championships was impressive and could have made him an NHL prospect were he not 5-foot-7. Reuniting the two Germans was sure to be a big hit for the Blades.
However, adjusting to the North American game took longer than expected, and he was relegated to the fourth line to start the season. “It’s been hard for me to get into the systems, especially now because it’s all different, all new,” said Willhöft in October. “I hadn’t played like that before. But I think I’ll get into it and just work hard every day…I love the speed (here), and I think it’s also helping me in the future. I think this is a great place (to play).”
After returning from the 2026 U20 World Juniors, where he led the Germans with seven points, Willhöft was moved up to the Blades’ second line with Hayden Harsanyi and Laing. He shone with the bigger role, showing off his high-end speed, engagement, and intensity every shift. He drove hard into the corners despite his diminutive size and flew through defenders to create scoring opportunities. However, he still wasn’t getting points, so the Blades reunited him with Lewandowski in mid-January.
Since the two Germans were put on the same line, Willhöft has five points in his last 10 games; previously, he had seven points in 27 games. He’s shown an incredible ability to find Lewandowski no matter where he is on the ice, flashing a playmaking ability that the Blades had rarely seen this season, and has embraced a more aggressive role, regularly driving the net to create plays. He is finally hitting his stride at the perfect time as Saskatoon gears up for the playoffs.
Kazden Mathies is the Perfect Energy Line Player
Like Willhöft, Mathies has been a high-energy player whenever he steps on the ice. Acquired from the Seattle Thunderbirds last season, the 18-year-old rediscovered his career in Saskatoon. He finished his first season with the Blades with seven points in 21 games, and this season he has 15 goals and 25 points in 52 games, matching his career totals before 2025-26. However, he hasn’t moved up beyond the third line even though he’s scoring goals like the one below.
The reason is that Mathies is the perfect energy player. He is a fantastic skater and can beat most opponents in a foot race, and at 5-foot-11, he has a bit more size to challenge some of the bigger defenders throughout the Western Hockey League (WHL) than Willhöft. He is also a great defensive player and is often on the penalty kill, which has been one of the better units in the Eastern Conference.
However, what makes him special is that, when Mathies gets the puck, he arguably has one of the most accurate shots on the Blades. He can rip it from anywhere and hit his target, giving him the fourth-most goals on the team and five points in his last two appearances. There’s a reason he’s played with Saskatoon’s two 20-year-olds most of this season – he can be trusted to do whatever needs getting done.
Mathies and Willhöft Are Playing Blades Hockey
The Blades are getting plenty of great performances from throughout their lineup, but the biggest issue right now is that not everyone is clicking at the same time. “It’s the same thing we talk about when we win games,” DaSilva said. “It’s contributions from everyone, playing to our standards, playing Blades hockey for 60 minutes, and we know what that looks like inside our room.”
“That’s the part that needs to be consistent, that effort, those little things we see as big things that help you win hockey games. If we don’t get those done, it’s hard for us to get two points.”
Willhöft and Mathies have exemplified Blades hockey in recent games. They play hard, give it their all every shift, and have been getting rewarded for their efforts. Securing fourth place won’t be easy, but if the restof the team can play like those two underrated forwards, they will have an excellent chance of making that happen.
