Blades Acquire Edmonton Captain Melnyk For Sophomore Rebman

Brennan Sonne will have at least one new face to work with when he returns to the Saskatoon in two weeks time.

The Blades acquired 19-year-old right winger Rhett Melnyk and a conditional sixth round pick in the 2027 Prospects Draft from Edmonton for 17-year-old forward Smyth Rebman Monday afternoon. Melnyk had five assists in 14 games with Edmonton while Rebman, who was a healthy scratch for both Saskatoon games over the weekend, was pointless in nine games. Sonne left Monday morning for Prince Edward Island to work as an assistant coach with Team Canada-White at the World Under-17 Challenge. The Blue and Gold are 8-5-0 for the season after losing all three of their games last week. The Blades visit Prince Albert Thursday with the Raiders heading to Regina on Wednesday. Saskatoon hosts Prince George on Friday. Following is the news release from the Blades…..

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Oct. 30th: Blades add veteran presence up front in swap with Oil Kings

Saskatoon, SK – The Saskatoon Blades announced on Monday the acquisition of 2004-born forward Rhett Melnyk and a conditional 2027 sixth-round pick from the Edmonton Oil Kings in exchange for 2006-born forward Smyth Rebman.

“Rhett brings skill, passion and leadership to our group,” said Blades General Manager Colin Priestner, “He’s got the ability to play anywhere in the lineup and we feel his skill set and style of play fits in well with ours. We’re very excited to have him join our group.”

Melnyk, a product of Fort Saskatchewan, AB, was selected by the Tri-City Americans in the second-round, 33rd overall in 2019. The 5-foot-10 winger’s piled up 60 points (21G, 39A) in 167 career WHL games. Melnyk was acquired by the Oil Kings ahead of the 2022-23 season and named the 15th captain in franchise history on Jan. 26th, 2023.

In 14 games this year with Edmonton, the right-handed shot owns five assists and ten penalty minutes, following a career-best season scoring 28 points (12G, 16A) in 67 games.

“Rhett was named Edmonton’s captain at 18-years-old, so we know that puts him in fairly rarified air in the WHL and that type of passion and leadership will be infectious in our room,” said Priestner.

This is the third trade the Blades have made since the season began, previously acquiring 20-year-old power-forward Easton Armstrong and 19-year-old defenceman Grayden Siepmann.

“We would like to thank Smyth for his time with our club and wish him nothing but the best in Edmonton as he continues his development as a player,” stated Priestner.

The Saskatoon Blades would like to warmly welcome the Melnyk family into the organization, and look forward to seeing Rhett out on the ice in the Blue and Gold.