Dalton Thrower and Lukas Sutter have received most of the accolades during the Saskatoon Blades' recent offensive turnaround.
Thrower was named WHL and CHL player of the week Jan. 2 and 3 after the blueliner picked up 11 points in a four-game span, while Sutter was chosen the Blades' top performer of December after tallying six goals and five assists with a plus-10 rating in 10 games.
The centre has continued that hot streak with seven points in five contests this month, entering last night's game in Regina.
But while the pair of NHL draft eligible 18-year-olds is making noise, a trio of overagers have been quietly - yet productively - going about their business.
Wingers Jesse Paradis and Michael Burns have already surpassed their career highs for points in a WHL season and forward Jake Trask is on pace to do the same.
Of the three, Paradis is the biggest surprise.
Acquired by the Blades on Sept. 21 after the Moose Jaw Warriors placed him on waivers a day before their home opener, Paradis figured his days in the league were numbered.
Instead, the Winnipeg native has been a mainstay on the power play and penalty kill, picking up three goals on each specialty team.
"When I first got here, I didn't know if I'd be here for more than a couple weeks," he said. "But it's worked out really well. I think the coaching staff has given me a lot of opportunities to play here. All I can do is thank the organization."
Those opportunities have led to the most successful offensive campaign of his WHL career.
Paradis has 35 points through 44 games - 10 more than he racked up all last season - and his 10 goals are one off his previous benchmark established two years ago.
"He's come in here and been a calming influence with our younger guys," said Blades head coach and general manager Lorne Molleken. "He's a real competitor and has done a good job."
Playing mostly with Burns and Sutter during the early portion of the season, Paradis was shuffled to a line with Matej Stransky and Brent Benson after the holiday break.
Paradis said he's had to make the necessary adjustments to jell with Stransky - the Blades' leading goal getter.
"Me, Burns and Sutter are just three guys that like to grind it out," he said. "Playing with Stransky, he's a real offensive mind. He likes having the puck and making plays. I don't care; I just like getting him the puck. He can score and he likes setting me up too every once in a while."
The move has resulted in six points in as many games since the start of the new year.
But the switch also benefitted the other top line of Burns, Trask and Sutter as the two 20-year-olds each have nine points in six January games.
Trask now has 36 points in 34 games this season - he had 61 in 61 contests in 2010-11 - while Burns has 39 points, bettering the 28 he registered with the Vancouver Giants a year ago.
"We all know what we have to do," said Burns. "We all know our roles. I think that's the biggest thing, just knowing what we have to do to put the puck in the net."
Following a swoon that saw them lose nine of 11 games, Saskatoon won its last final two contests of 2011. Since the calendar turned to 2012, the Blades have won five of six games heading into last night's matchup in Regina.
They've outscored their opponents 26-15 in the process - including an 8-6 win against the Prince Albert Raiders - even without scoring winger Josh Nicholls, who is eyeing a return later this week from a strained MCL suffered Dec. 3.
The Blades have appeared to turn a corner thanks to the offensive support of the three overagers, which forced Molleken to hold on to the trio at Tuesday's trade deadline.
"As we approached the deadline, there was a lot of interest in our guys," he said. "But they've been such a big part of this team that we really thought that we needed to move forward with them.
"They've done a tremendous job not only on the ice, but off the ice."
Ask Paradis if he saw any of this coming and he'll just smile and shake his head.
While this season has seen its share of ups and downs, count on the guy who didn't have a place to play coming into the season to identify why they're playing better.
"We're just having fun again," he said, "and that's what it's all about."
Blades 7 Pats 4
Playing in their third game in three nights, the Saskatoon Blades were supposed to show signs of fatigue Sunday night in Regina. Instead, the team exploded for four goals in the first period en route to a 7-4 victory over the Regina Pats.
Michael Burns scored 18 seconds into the game on the team's first shot on goal to take the early lead.
Nick Zajac scored his first career WHL goal at 11:05 in the first period and Jesse Paradis and Lukas Sutter added goals to take the lead into the first intermission.
The Blades were outshot 13-10 in the first but still led 4-0.
Brent Benson gave the Blades a 5-0 lead at 7:17 in the second period before Regina made its first push back.
Colton Jobke, Lyndon Martell and Martin Marincia added goals before the end of the period to cut the Blades' lead to two.
Matej Stransky added two goals in the third before Lane Scheidl added a goal late for the Pats and the Blades held on for the victory.
Alex Moody made 34 saves for the Blades, while Matt Hewitt made 18 saves in the loss.
The Blades (27-17-0-1) finished two for four on the power play, while the Pats (25-17-3-1) were one for seven with the man advantage.
Saskatoon returns to action on Wednesday when the team hosts the Brandon Wheat Kings.
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