The Saskatoon Blades clipped their roster by one player to 28 in advance of this weekend’s two-game W-H-L pre-game series against Prince Albert, going the trade route to do it.

The Bridge City Bunch sent 20-year-old forward Blake Stevenson (pictured) to Red Deer for a fourth round pick in the 2021 Prospects Draft and a seventh round choice in the 2022 Draft. Defenceman Rhett Rhinehart’s return from Colorado’s training camp leaves forwards Tristen Robins and Colton Dach at N-H-L camps with San Jose and Chicago, respectively. Rhinehart, Robins, centre Evan Patrician and goaltender Nolan Maier are 20-year-olds on the Blue and Gold roster, one over the W-H-L limit per team. Import forward Moritz Elias arrived in town Sunday from Germany while forward Yegor Sidorov is expected to arrive Thursday night from Belarus. The Blades visit P-A Friday, then host the Raiders Saturday in Warman. Following is the news release from the Blades, as well as conversations Les Lazaruk had Thursday with President and G-M Colin Priestner plus head coach Brennan Sonne…..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Blades send Blake Stevenson to Rebels for picks
SASKATOON, SK — The Saskatoon Blades have traded 2001-born forward
Blake Stevenson to the Red Deer Rebels in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick
in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft and a seventh-round selection in the 2022 WHL
Prospects Draft.
Stevenson, born and raised in Calgary, joined the Blades ahead of the 2021 Hub
Season after Saskatoon dealt a conditional draft pick to the Tri-City Americans.
Dressing in all 24 games, the veteran winger tallied seven goals and seven assists
for 14 points, and held a +6 rating with six penalty minutes.
Drafted in the 4th round of the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft, the 6-foot-0, 194-pound
forward has dressed in 112 career games, most of which with the Americans,
notching 48 points (25G-23A).
The fourth-round pick in 2021 acquired by the Blades originally belonged to the
Victoria Royals.
Saskatoon would like to thank Blake for his committed effort to our hockey club
and community, and wish him well in his final season with the Red Deer Rebels.