Six straight seasons of the “Everett Connection” leading the fortunes of the Saskatoon Blades from behind the bench has come to an end.
Brennan Sonne is leaving the Bridge City Bunch for the pro ranks, having accepted an assistant coach position with the American League’s Coachella Valley Firebirds, who are affiliated with the N-H-L’s Seattle Kraken. Three-year assistant or associate coach with the Blue and Gold, Saskatoon product Dan Da Silva (pictured), replaces Sonne as head coach.
Sonne joins newly-named head coach Derek Laxdal in Coachella Valley. Laxdal is a former champion head coach in the W-H-L with Edmonton. With the Bridge City Bunch as head coach for three seasons, Sonne had a record of 136-54-14, including three consecutive W-H-L playoff runs and two Eastern Conference Final appearances. This past season, Sonne led the Blue and Gold to a 105-point season, 50-13-5, earning the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as the W-H-L team with the best regular-season record.
This will be Da Silva’s first head coaching post at the major junior level, although he did fill in while Sonne was away at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. Following is the news release from the Blades…..
DaSilva Promoted to Head Coach of the Saskatoon Blades
Saskatoon, SK. – The Saskatoon Blades are pleased to announce Dan DaSilva has been promoted to become the 18th head coach in franchise history. This move comes after Brennan Sonne accepted a position with Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League.
DaSilva, a 39-year-old native of Saskatoon, joined the Blades coaching staff prior to the 2021-22 season as an assistant coach. After two seasons, DaSilva earned the designation of associate coach alongside Brennan Sonne, where he helped lead the Blades to their fifth Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as the Western Hockey League’s top team in the regular season.
“When we got the news about Brennan taking a job in the AHL it was obvious to us that Dan was more than ready for this opportunity,” said general manager Colin Priestner. “It was a quick and easy decision for me to offer him the job as head coach. He has learned from one of the best coaches I’ve ever seen over the last three years and his respect and love from the players is universally shared.”
Prior to his coaching career, DaSilva was busy stacking up an impressive resume as a player. The Blades new bench boss spent three seasons with the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL where he collected 151 points in 200 regular season games. DaSilva then began a lengthy professional career lasting 15 seasons with stops in the American Hockey League, Germany, Russia, and Switzerland.
While his playing days were spent as a dynamic offensive forward, DaSilva’s past three seasons with the Blades saw him managing the defensive end of the bench and penalty kill. Both of which were among the top in the entire WHL under his watch.
“It was very important to us to keep the culture and family of the Blades intact and while Dan will institute his own ideas, in general the day to day identity and vibe within our group will remain the same,” said Priestner. “Dan is extremely bright, creative and detail oriented and his approach to life is one of positivity, caring for others and helping everyone around him achieve their goals. His vast experience as a pro hockey player has been huge to our players in his first three years with us and will continue to be going forward with our next wave of talent coming in”.
DaSilva is excited at the opportunity to lead the next wave of the Saskatoon Blades in his hometown and will lean on his existing relationships with veterans on the team and the staff throughout the organization.
The Saskatoon Blades are thrilled to have Dan and his wife Chelsey, along with their two sons Dawson and Lukas, as part of the organization for years to come.
The Blades will open the 2024-25 regular season on the road in Swift Current on Friday, September 20th, and then welcome the Broncos back to SaskTel Centre on Saturday, September 21st.
