By Peter Watts /

It has been a summer of mixed blessings for Saskatoon Blades captain Derek Hulak.
He led the Saskatoon Blades in scoring last season with 30 goals and 76 points as the Blades won 49 regular-season games.
But then came a heartbreaking seven-game loss to Lethbridge in the first round of 
the playoffs.
And then, word that 10 of his Blades teammates are headed to NHL training camps — but no such invitation for the captain.
“It’s frustrating,” he said during the first weekend of the Blades training camp in Aberdeen Sask., about 20 km northeast of Saskatoon.
“But what can I do? I just have to keep battling, come to camp and keep trying to get better and maybe someone will notice and give me a chance.
“I’m in my 20-year-old year, so this is the last kick at the can for me, unless I can convince somebody to give me a pro shot.”
He’s pleased with the fact so many of his teammates have been drafted or signed as 
free agents.
“I think it’s a reflection of the success we had last season,” says Hulak.
“It actually began about halfway through the season, before we finished with one of the best records in the league.
“We were a little slow out of the gate at the start of last season. But then we sat down as a group and said, ‘look, we’re a really good team if we want to be.’ ”
It appeared they wanted to be. And the hard lessons learned during the playoff series against Lethbridge, coupled with the confidence gained for their overall play and the fact 16 players are returning this fall, has both the team and its fans talking optimistically about a long run this season.
“It’s pretty exciting in Saskatoon right now,” says Hulak, a Saskatoon native. “We’ve got the world junior tournament in town at 
Christmas time.
“Credit Union Arena has been expanded to about 14,000 seats. And we think we’ve got a good chance to come out of the Eastern conference this season.
“I know Brandon will be loading up because the Wheat Kings are hosting the Memorial Cup next May. But we think we’ve got as good a chance as anybody.”
Adam Morrison is likely to be the starting goaltender.  “He was great for us whenever he played last season,” says Hulak. “He beat the Hitmen in Calgary and the Rockets in Kelowna and those two clubs went to the WHL final 
last spring.
“We’re really good on defense and we had two of the best 16-year-olds in the league last year in Duncan Siemens and Dalton Thrower. They should be even better this season.
“And up front, we’ve got a fair bit of scoring. Everybody’s worked hard in the off-season and it’s been a fun camp because we can see progress. The bar has been raised and we’ve got some positives to build upon heading into a new season.
“And the first-round playoff loss last spring has been motivation for all of us who were a part of that team and who want to come back and improve on our record this season.”
All in all, it’s a good time to be a hockey fan in Saskatoon.