Saskatoon Blades: Opportunity knocks for youngsters like Zach Olsen

The time is now for Saskatoon Blades youngsters like Zach Olsen.

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A youth movement at the Western Hockey League trade deadline, together with a recent spate of injuries, are giving the 16-year-old rookie ample opportunity to step up into a bigger role.

“With less bodies, guys are trying to step up and prove themselves to the coaching staff so it’s been good,” said Olsen, a 6-foot-1, 188-pound forward from Calgary who was taken in the second round, 29th overall, of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.

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“It’s been nice just getting more ice time and stuff like that.”

Olsen, who scored in Sunday’s win over the Moose Jaw Warriors, now has seven goals and nine assists for 16 points in 42 games.

“There are opportunities for other guys to step up (due to injury) so we’ll see where we’re at Friday when the puck drops, as far as guys coming back,” said Blades head coach Dan DaSilva, adding that a young player like Olsen can be used in different roles.

“Zach is a guy where he can play fourth-line right wing or first-line right wing. He goes out there and plays the same way every single night. He’s gotten a fair amount of ice time during the course of the year and he’s come on and really developed.

“Zach’s role on the team is to provide energy every single night, use his speed, use his power, his strength. He’s a power forward in our eyes. He’s done a great job on the wing and he’s very consistent.”

The Blades are now 25-16-3-3 with 56 points. That puts them second in the East Division, two points back of the Prince Albert Raiders, and fifth overall in the Eastern Conference.

“I think we’re starting to build some chemistry within our team now,” points out Olsen. “We’ve got a bunch of new guys. It’s nice getting the wins for sure and building up some confidence.”

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As a rookie, Olsen is left trying to build chemistry on a new team for a second time after a big roster shakeup at the trade deadline.

“It’s a little hard, but it’s pretty easy because we just go through all the systems again and stuff like that,” he said.

“It has been a little challenging. I have hit the wall, but now I’m starting to get the juice back … I think we’re going to be a resilient group moving on here. We’ve just got to stick to the systems and everything will come. You just need chemistry within the lineup. You need to be able to play with different guys.”

The Blades have 21 games remaining in the regular-season schedule, including 10 games on home ice.

“We’ll have to see where we stack up against these teams that are playoff teams,” admitted DaSilva.

“For us, it’s all about the work, the compete and getting effort and having everyone — 20 guys — pulling the rope for 60 minutes.”

They’ll visit the Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday before hosting the Regina Pats on Saturday night (7 p.m.) at SaskTel Centre.

“The games are obviously huge this time of year, as they have been all year,” DaSilva said. “We’re always focused on the process of getting better every day. We took a good step last weekend, I thought.

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“Obviously the results (two wins) were there, finally, after the disappointing P.A. weekend where we thought we played pretty well and deserved better, but didn’t get the results. The guys are feeling pretty good to get four points, but the process is still the same. We’re trying to get better every single day as a team here.

“It’s going to be a tough test with Brandon and coming back to our rink Saturday after a tough travel (day).”

DaSilva continues to see more and more chemistry each week from the new-look Blades, who have added six newcomers to the lineup and said goodbye to some key veterans.

“I am, not only on the ice but off as well. This group is gelling, they’re coming together,” DaSilva said. “They’ve gotten to know each other for the past month after the post-trade deadline and so they’re really coming together. We’re starting to see the systems on the ice kind of come into play here and they’ve definitely done a better job in that area.”

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