WHL Saskatoon Blades

Niemi highest ranked Blade

Published on April 24, 2008 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


The NHL's Central Scouting has released the final rankings amongst North American skaters prior to the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and Jyri Niemi is the highest ranked Blades prospect coming in at #25.

Other Blades to make the list were Travis Toomey (129) and Teigan Zahn (151) while Braden Holtby is ranked 4th amongst North American goaltenders.

Niemi, a product of Hameenkyro, Finland, finished his first season with the Blades in 2007/08 where he recorded 14 goals and 20 assists for 34 points in just 49 games, finishing 6th on the team in scoring and 4th in points per game average. The 6'3" import defenseman won the Hardest Shot competition at the Home Hardware NHL/CHL Top Prospects game (97mph) and was also awarded with the Saskatoon Blades Diamond in the Rough Award at the 2008 Awards Banquet.

Toomey, from Leduc, AB, had a very strong second half of the season where he recorded 6 goals and 5 assists in the final 11 games. At 6'4", Toomey is one of the Blades tallest forwards and discovered tremendous chemistry after being paired with Chris Langkow and Curtis Hamilton. Toomey played in all situations for the Blades and proved himself worthy as one of the team's strongest penalty killers and finished the season with 12 goals and 12 assists after appearing in all 72 Blades games. He was also named the Saskatoon Blades Hardest Working Player in 2007/08.

Zahn, the Bethune, SK product, was named one of the team's Assistant Captains midway through the season thanks to his strong leadership both on and off the ice. The 6'1", 217lbs. defenseman scored 4 times and added 15 helpers for 19 points in 69 games. Zahn also established himself as a physical threat, accumulating 104 penalty minutes.

Holtby, from Marshall, SK, was the Blades #1 goaltender in 2007/08 and appeared in a total of 64 games. Picking up 25 of the teams 29 wins he recorded a .908 save percentage and a 2.84 goals against average while facing 1,845 shots against, the 2nd highest of any WHL goaltender. His 3,632 minutes between the pipes were the 3rd most in the league, putting Holtby in position to shatter most Saskatoon Blades goaltender records in 2008/09. He also picked up the team's 3 Star and Most Dedicated Player awards.

The 2008 NHL Entry Draft, the 46th in NHL history, will take place at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa from June 20-21. To view the complete list of North American and European ranked skaters, visit nhl.com.

Check out the Saskatoon Blades Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from April 24, 2008


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