The Saskatoon Blades are gearing up for an exciting season in 2025-26. The team’s core remains practically unchanged from last season; Evan Gardner will return as the Blades’ starter, Hunter Laing will remain a fixture in the top six alongside Tyler Parr, Rowan Calvert, David Lewandowski, and Hayden Harsanyi. Newcomers Dominik Petr and Tristan Doyle will help round out a young, competitive roster eager to see the city’s first Western Hockey League (WHL) championship.
However, the Blades might be without some big parts of their team to begin the season as Gardner, Laing, and Lewandowski flew out of Saskatoon earlier this week to attend various NHL rookie training camps. This is nothing new; during Gardner’s absence last season, Austin Elliott appeared in three games in Saskatoon before he was released and subsequently signed with the London Knights. But, while the Blades continue on with business as usual and await the players’ return, the three Saskatoon stars will be figuring out where they fit in their team’s futures.
Evan Gardner – Columbus Blue Jackets
Gardner is heading to his second rookie camp with the Columbus Blue Jackets as one of the organization’s top young goalies. Drafted in the second round of the 2024 Draft, he was one of the WHL’s best goalies last season. His .911 save percentage (SV%) was tied for the fifth highest in the league, and his 2.82 goals-against average (GAA) was the second lowest among drafted goalies.
After falling to the Calgary Hitmen in four games, Gardner signed an amateur tryout to play in the Cleveland Monsters’ final game of the season against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, stopping 16 out of 19 shots. Then, as the summer was drawing to a close, he was invited to join Team Canada at the World Junior Summer Showcase, where he’ll be battling with Joshua Ravensbergen and Jack Ivankovic as to who will be Canada’s number one at the 2026 World Juniors. That invite gave him a bit of pep in his step, and when he arrived at the Blades’ training camp, he was dialed in and ready to prove he’s one of the best goalies in Canada.
On top of the regular camp activities, the Blue Jackets’ rookies will play three games from Sept. 11-14 at the 2025 Prospects Challenge in Buffalo before the main camp starts on Sept. 17. While no pre-game rosters have been announced, Gardner will likely split duties with recent free-agent signing Nolan Lalonde and camp invite Mason…
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