Larry Sacharuk

Sacharuk began his career as a 14 year old with his hometown team, the Saskatoon Blades in 1967. The Blades were part of the Western Canadian Hockey League (now the Western Hockey League (WHL)) one of the three major junior leagues in Canada at the time. As a 14 year old, Sacharuk was playing with older, more experienced players from the ages of 17 to 20, many who were positioned to be drafted to the NHL. It was virtually unheard of for a 14 year old to be considered for, let alone play major junior hockey. Not to be deterred, Sacharuk was already pushing 6 feet tall, and 180 pounds as a defensive stalwart. At the Blades\' training camp at that time, his coach, George "Bus" Agar noted that Sacharuk possessed a blistering slap-shot, a much needed skill for a defenceman, particularly in the junior and NHL ranks. He made the Saskatoon Blades roster for the 1967-68 campaign and in spite of…