Sonne Departs Blades For A-H-L, Da Silva Promoted to Head Coach

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 are the news releases from the Blades, as well as various bits of audio with Da Silva, Sonne plus Blades’ President and G-M Colin Priestner plus pictures from a news conference/media availability Monday afternoon…..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 15th: Dan 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 19th 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.

“It’s very special. I don’t even know if I can put into words, honestly. It’s a privilege and it’s an honour to be the Head Coach of the Blades, a team that I grew up watching coming to this arena,” said DaSilva. “As a young kid sitting up in the rafters and watching some of my early hockey idols, such as Frank Banham, whose number went to the rafters last year, Norm Miracle, and to be sitting here is truly special. I want to make the city proud being a Saskatoon boy born and raised. I want to make the community proud and I’m going to do my best to do that.”

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.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 15th: Sonne named Assistant Coach with the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the AHL

Saskatoon, SK – The Saskatoon Blades will have a new head coach for the 2024-25 season as Brennan Sonne has accepted an Assistant Coach position with the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League (AHL). Coachella is the AHL affiliate of the Seattle Kraken.

“It’s always bittersweet to lose a fantastic coach but we couldn’t be happier for Brennan and his family getting the opportunity to coach in the American Hockey League after three fantastic years with us,” said Blades general manager Colin Priestner. “He will go down as one of the best coaches in Blades history with all he accomplished here but also the impact he leaves on our culture, staff, and our players will continue to pay dividends in the coming years.”

The 37-year-old from Maple Ridge, BC got his first WHL head coaching position with the Blades in July 2021. Saskatoon went 131-54-14 under Sonne’s guidance throughout three seasons, resulting in a .701 winning percentage. The former Everett Silvertips player and assistant coach guided the Blades to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns.

Sonne’s playoff record with the Blades is 20-16, including four series wins and the historic reverse sweep over Red Deer in 2023. Sonne also led the Blades to the franchise’s fifth Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s top regular season team in 2023-24.

“My time in Saskatoon is something I am very proud of, we accomplished a lot, won a lot of games, but most importantly we put some incredible human beings into the world,” said Sonne on his time with the Blades. “I’d like to first thank the Priestner family for giving me the opportunity. I would also like to thank Steve “Hilty” Hildebrand, Dan Tencer, and all the great hockey operations staff we had.”

Sonne’s unique style combined with his success on the ice endeared him to fans in Saskatoon, something he was especially grateful for.

“Lastly, I would like to thank the fans. There have been some amazing nights standing behind that bench. I wish the Blades nothing but success and will be cheering for them,” added Sonne.

Sonne Departs Blades For A-H-L, Da Silva Promoted to Head Coach

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