BLADES WARN OF DANGERS OF DRUGS

Sutter, Dietz Educated In Vancouver

Darren Dietz and Lukas Sutter had a message for a group of students at
Howard Coad Public School on Wednesday and it had nothing to do with
hockey.

The two Saskatoon Blades players made a presentation to about 45
students in grades 6, 7 and 8 about the impacts of drug abuse.

The talk stemmed from a visit to Dietz and Sutter "" along with Brent
Benson and Jake Trask "" made to Vancouver's East Hastings Street
last month where they learned from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
and interviewed recovering addicts, current addicts and
prostitutes.

"oeEvery one of them had the same message," said Sutter, a Blades
centre. "oeThey weren't afraid to talk about it. They made a point
of coming up to you and said, "'Don't ever put yourself in that
situation.'

"oeEveryone said, "'Take it back to the kids. Don't let the kids
get here.' It's pretty clear they regret their decisions and they
don't want anyone to go through what they go through everyday."
The four players visited the notorious area in Vancouver as part of
Project Faceoff "" a Blades' initiative started in 2004 "" to
learn about drug abuse and then report back to children at Saskatoon
area schools.

Wednesday's talk was one of about 20 that team members will be
making until Feb. 6. Half of the schools are in Saskatoon and the
other half are outside of the city limits.

Aside from Dietz and Sutter talking about their experiences in
Vancouver and offering tips to turn down drug dealers, the
presentation featured a graphic video that showed people smoking
marijuana and using needles to inject heroin.

While the video was shot in 2004 in the same area the Blades visited,
Dietz said it depicted only a small part of what the players saw on
the streets.

"oeI think the video mellows it quite a bit," he said. "oeThere are
more people than you can count, more people wheeling and dealing drugs
than you can believe. It's really sad to see so many people on the
side of the street look like zombies."

Added Sutter: "oeYou can't put it into words. You can try but the experiences
to have, it truly is unbelievable. You get down there and you see it
firsthand. You could never have imagined that people go through that every
single day."

Even though the experience was distinct to Vancouver, the RCMP
emphasized that drug problems do exist in Saskatoon.

Devin Garner, a RCMP constable in Saskatoon's intensive drug unit
who was part of the presentation, said Vancouver's warmer climate
allows users to stay outside rather than go indoors.

"oeA lot of kids grades 6 to 8 either have been exposed to drugs
already or will be exposed in the next coming years," he said. "oeWe
want to get them thinking about saying no and about some of the other
alternatives to using drugs."

The students watched in awe during the video and seemed captivated
when the players were speaking.

Grade 6/7 teacher Neal Cantin believes the presentation accomplished
what it set out to do.

"oeAs teachers we always talk about the concepts of drugs and alcohol
and the affects it has on ourselves and our families," he said.
"oeBut it's good to get some outside people in that some of these
kids might look up to.

"oeWe can't keep hiding behind the realism of it and the effects
that it has on people. These kids know that it's in our community,
it's just not as open. They will be exposed to it. We're in a
high-risk area."

Cantin said he was very pleased to see the Blades at the school and
presenting a positive message to the students.

Dietz is just hoping that message sunk in.

"oeYou can say it till your blue in the face," Dietz said. "oeSome
of them may believe you, some of them may not. But as long as one kid
in that room, if it alters his choice or changes the way he thinks
about it ... it's worth it to us."

BLADE BITS: Drake Bodie and Ryan Graham have been recalled from midget
hockey and are expected to play in the Blades' next two games. Bodie
has 13 goals and 10 assists for the Norman Northstars of the Manitoba
Midget AAA Hockey League, while Graham has 16 goals and 25 points in
14 games with the Calgary Royals. The players were called up because
Jake Trask was issued a two-game suspension on Monday and Josh
Nicholls missed Sunday's 8-3 loss to Edmonton after taking a hit the
night before ... Despite losing five of their past six games, the
Blades (19-11-0-1) are still among Canada's best.

The Blades are ranked ninth in the BMO CHL Mastercard Top 10
Rankings.

The weekly rankings were released on Wednesday.