×

Blades Acquire Defence Depth in Andrusiak From Red Deer After Moving up a Spot in CHL Top 10

By Les Lazaruk Dec 12, 2023 | 5:16 PM

The Saskatoon Blades made a player move Tuesday, acquiring 19-year-old defenceman and Tisdale product Nicholas Andrusiak from Red Deer for a fifth round pick in the 2026 Prospects Draft.

The Bridge City Bunch will be without blueliners Tanner Molendyk and Samuel Barcik as they attend World Junior Championship selection camps for Canada and Slovakia, respectively. Carter Herman is sidelined with an Upper Body injury and Grayden Siepmann may be out as well, leaving the Blue and Gold with three regulars on defence.

Before that deal was made, the Blades learned that they moved up a spot, from sixth to fifth, in the weekly C-H-L Top 10 rankings. Baie Comeau of the Quebec Major Junior League remains first, Prince George is the highest-rated W-H-L squad in third and Wenatchee stays in the Top 10 in ninth spot. Following are the news releases from the Blades and the C-H-L…..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Saskatoon, SK – The Saskatoon Blades are happy to announce the acquisition of 2004-born defenceman Nicholas Andrusiak from the Red Deer Rebels in exchange for a 2026 fifth-round pick.

 

“With Tanner Molendyk and Samuel Barcik away at World Junior Championship camps and some other injuries to our back end, we felt Nicholas would fit in very well adding depth to our blue line,” said Blades general manager and president Colin Priestner, “He played 12 playoff games last year and I particularly liked how he played against us in our seven-game series so we’re pleased to add him to our roster.”

 

The 5-foot-10 defender has 47 career WHL games under his belt with three points (3A). All three helpers came in 21 games with the Rebels this season while Andrusiak sits at a +2 rating.

 

The Tisdale, SK product suited up in 12 playoff games with the Rebels last season and finished with a pair of assists and two penalty minutes.

 

We’d like to welcome the Andrusiak family to the Blades organization and look forward to working with Nicholas as the club pushes for a championship banner.

 

 

CHL Top-10 Rankings: With 11 straight wins, Baie-Comeau remains No.1 for a second straight week

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2023

TORONTO, ON — The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) announced today the Week 11 edition of its CHL Top-10 Rankings for the 2023-24 season.

Riding an 11-game winning streak, the longest in the CHL this season, the Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) remain in the top spot for a second straight week. The Drakkar have now won 20 of their last 21 games since October 20 and hold a CHL-best .875 point percentage this season. Right behind them is the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), whose 23 wins during the 2023-24 campaign rank only behind the Drakkar in the CHL. Sitting third is the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League (WHL), who hold the best point percentage (.733) of any club in the WHL.

With three straight wins over the last week, along with seven victories over their last ten contests, both the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL and the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL round out the top-five for this week.

The next rankings will be released the week of December 18, following the 12th week of regular season action in all three member leagues of the CHL. Next week’s rankings will also be the last ones prior to the holiday break, which runs from December 18 to December 27.

CHL Top-10 Rankings – Week 11
1. Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)
2. Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
3. Prince George Cougars (WHL)
4. Soo Greyhounds (OHL)
5. Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
6. Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
7. Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
8. Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
9. Wenatchee Wild (WHL)
10. Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)

For information and details about each individual club ranked in the CHL’s latest Top-10 Rankings, please visit chl.ca/video/2023-24-chl-top-10-rankings-week-11.