photo: USA Hockey
As we ready ourselves for eleven days of thrilling action at this year’s U18 in Texas, no one is happier to be here than Blake Fiddler, truly a local boy and a product of the success of the Dallas Stars organization. By way of Edmonton and Nashville, Fiddler was raised in Frisco and is as familiar with Comerica Center as he is with his own living room.
His story starts with Edmonton because that’s where his father, Vern Fiddler, was born. Vern is a name that should be recognizable to hockey fans. He skated in 877 games over a 14-year NHL career, including stops with the Predators and Stars. Blake was born during his dad’s Nashville years but spent his formative years in Frisco after Vern signed with the Stars as a free agent in 2011. Of course, Blake didn’t just grow up in Frisco; he skated with Stars players after practise and, as he got older, worked out with them in the team’s gym.
“Being in Dallas and going skating with my dad after practise, those are some of my most vivid memories from a young age, being around the guys,” Blake recalled. “I moved here when I was pretty young. I remember playing for the McKinney North Stars, and then I finally got to play for the Dallas Stars elite, and those are kind of my core memories being in Frisco and Dallas. I’ve spent so much of my life in Valley Ranch and Frisco, doing morning skates before school. I’ve played a lot in Comerica and all these rinks.”
When you grow up playing dad’s sport with his friends, who happen to be the best in the world at what they do, it gives a kid dreams, dreams that motivate, dreams that inspire.
“It was always my goal to play in the NHL one day,” Blake continued. “I always have had the belief in myself, and I always believed I would. I think when I was around 13 or 14 and the WHL draft was happening and I was growing, that’s when I thought maybe I really do have a chance to take the next step, which for me was the WHL, and then play in the NHL one day.”
Blake’s teen years have been special and unique. He has dual citizenship and has used both passports in a hockey context to good effect. As he plotted his biggest pre-pro step, he had to decide between junior hockey in Canada or the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Michigan. He chose junior, and that meant playing in the WHL with Edmonton.
During this time he played internationally for both countries. First, he played for the U.S. and a year later he played at the Canadian U17 Challenge. And then a year later, he captained the U.S. team at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in the summer.
“It was a bit weird,” he admitted. “I played with the U.S. the summer before the U17 at a 5 Nations, but that’s a tournament [U17] they take the national team to, and I chose not to play on the NTDP. I chose to take the WHL route, and Canada offered me the opportunity to play in the U17. It felt hard to turn that down, so I played in that tournament. I feel I’m American at heart, though. I’m proud to be raised in Texas, so in the end that’s the choice I made, and I’m happy with it.”
Although he’s not wearing a letter at the U18, an honour that has been assigned to the NTDP players, he has twice captained the U.S. previously and considers himself a leader.
“I was the captain in the Czech Republic at that 5 Nations tournament, and at Hlinka I was named captain again,” he explained. “I think I’m a role model, somebody guys can look up to and guys can come to, so I think I have some natural leadership abilities. I just try to be myself.”
The connection between father and son and hockey is obvious, of course. But you couldn’t ask for two more different people or careers. Vern was on the small side. A forward. Never drafted. Blake is tall and growing. A defender. A top prospect who absolutely will be drafted.
“A lot of people are confused by our differences,” he continued, with a smile. “I get my size from my mom’s side of the family. She’s Croation, so I have a lot of tall relatives from that side of the family. My dad was a forward, and smaller, but the one thing we have in common is our compete. That’s something we’ve always talked about a lot—Fiddlers always compete. Our playing styles are definitely different, though.”
Although the draft is around the corner, Blake is not getting ahead of himself. He understands the importance of coming to the NHL when he’s ready, which is not necessarily at age 18.
“I take it day by day,” he said. “I haven’t really thought about next year; I’m just focused on the tournament here. Whatever team decides to draft me will have a plan, so that will play a big part in my decisions going forward. But I definitely want to go back to Edmonton and have another good year there and hopefully make a push for the Memorial Cup. That’s kind of what’s in my head right now.”
The U18 is a great year for these teenagers. They start at Hlinka Gretzky and finish at the IIHF U18, so they can readily measure their improvement over the course of this important year playing best-on-best internationally.
“I think I’ve taken a lot of strides since the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in every area of my game,” Blake offered, self-scouting. “I think my skating has really improved. I think that’s a strength of mine, for how big I am. I continue to get better defensively with my gaps and being harder to play against, and with that my offensive game has grown, especially from last year. Just being able to get my shots through and finding areas to join the rush is important.”
Blake started as a forward, and wore number 38, both like his dad, but he has changed things up since his early days.
“I was a centre at first. I wanted to be like my dad, until I was nine or ten. I made the transition to defence one tournament, and I stayed with it. I started to grow and thought I could see the ice better and use my skating to my advantage, so I liked that position. And I wore 38 growing up during my minor hockey days and then a little later I went with 3, take the 8 out. And I also really liked watching John Klingberg with the Stars. He was someone I looked up to for a long time. So I also wanted to wear number 3 because of him.”
Fans of this fast and skilled Team USA are going to want to keep their eye out for the big number 3 on the blue line. He comes from hockey blood, and he will get his NHL chance one day, so to be able to say you saw him at the U18 level before he made The Show is what junior hockey is all about.
His story starts with Edmonton because that’s where his father, Vern Fiddler, was born. Vern is a name that should be recognizable to hockey fans. He skated in 877 games over a 14-year NHL career, including stops with the Predators and Stars. Blake was born during his dad’s Nashville years but spent his formative years in Frisco after Vern signed with the Stars as a free agent in 2011. Of course, Blake didn’t just grow up in Frisco; he skated with Stars players after practise and, as he got older, worked out with them in the team’s gym.
“Being in Dallas and going skating with my dad after practise, those are some of my most vivid memories from a young age, being around the guys,” Blake recalled. “I moved here when I was pretty young. I remember playing for the McKinney North Stars, and then I finally got to play for the Dallas Stars elite, and those are kind of my core memories being in Frisco and Dallas. I’ve spent so much of my life in Valley Ranch and Frisco, doing morning skates before school. I’ve played a lot in Comerica and all these rinks.”
When you grow up playing dad’s sport with his friends, who happen to be the best in the world at what they do, it gives a kid dreams, dreams that motivate, dreams that inspire.
“It was always my goal to play in the NHL one day,” Blake continued. “I always have had the belief in myself, and I always believed I would. I think when I was around 13 or 14 and the WHL draft was happening and I was growing, that’s when I thought maybe I really do have a chance to take the next step, which for me was the WHL, and then play in the NHL one day.”
Blake’s teen years have been special and unique. He has dual citizenship and has used both passports in a hockey context to good effect. As he plotted his biggest pre-pro step, he had to decide between junior hockey in Canada or the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Michigan. He chose junior, and that meant playing in the WHL with Edmonton.
During this time he played internationally for both countries. First, he played for the U.S. and a year later he played at the Canadian U17 Challenge. And then a year later, he captained the U.S. team at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in the summer.
“It was a bit weird,” he admitted. “I played with the U.S. the summer before the U17 at a 5 Nations, but that’s a tournament [U17] they take the national team to, and I chose not to play on the NTDP. I chose to take the WHL route, and Canada offered me the opportunity to play in the U17. It felt hard to turn that down, so I played in that tournament. I feel I’m American at heart, though. I’m proud to be raised in Texas, so in the end that’s the choice I made, and I’m happy with it.”
Although he’s not wearing a letter at the U18, an honour that has been assigned to the NTDP players, he has twice captained the U.S. previously and considers himself a leader.
“I was the captain in the Czech Republic at that 5 Nations tournament, and at Hlinka I was named captain again,” he explained. “I think I’m a role model, somebody guys can look up to and guys can come to, so I think I have some natural leadership abilities. I just try to be myself.”
The connection between father and son and hockey is obvious, of course. But you couldn’t ask for two more different people or careers. Vern was on the small side. A forward. Never drafted. Blake is tall and growing. A defender. A top prospect who absolutely will be drafted.
“A lot of people are confused by our differences,” he continued, with a smile. “I get my size from my mom’s side of the family. She’s Croation, so I have a lot of tall relatives from that side of the family. My dad was a forward, and smaller, but the one thing we have in common is our compete. That’s something we’ve always talked about a lot—Fiddlers always compete. Our playing styles are definitely different, though.”
Although the draft is around the corner, Blake is not getting ahead of himself. He understands the importance of coming to the NHL when he’s ready, which is not necessarily at age 18.
“I take it day by day,” he said. “I haven’t really thought about next year; I’m just focused on the tournament here. Whatever team decides to draft me will have a plan, so that will play a big part in my decisions going forward. But I definitely want to go back to Edmonton and have another good year there and hopefully make a push for the Memorial Cup. That’s kind of what’s in my head right now.”
The U18 is a great year for these teenagers. They start at Hlinka Gretzky and finish at the IIHF U18, so they can readily measure their improvement over the course of this important year playing best-on-best internationally.
“I think I’ve taken a lot of strides since the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in every area of my game,” Blake offered, self-scouting. “I think my skating has really improved. I think that’s a strength of mine, for how big I am. I continue to get better defensively with my gaps and being harder to play against, and with that my offensive game has grown, especially from last year. Just being able to get my shots through and finding areas to join the rush is important.”
Blake started as a forward, and wore number 38, both like his dad, but he has changed things up since his early days.
“I was a centre at first. I wanted to be like my dad, until I was nine or ten. I made the transition to defence one tournament, and I stayed with it. I started to grow and thought I could see the ice better and use my skating to my advantage, so I liked that position. And I wore 38 growing up during my minor hockey days and then a little later I went with 3, take the 8 out. And I also really liked watching John Klingberg with the Stars. He was someone I looked up to for a long time. So I also wanted to wear number 3 because of him.”
Fans of this fast and skilled Team USA are going to want to keep their eye out for the big number 3 on the blue line. He comes from hockey blood, and he will get his NHL chance one day, so to be able to say you saw him at the U18 level before he made The Show is what junior hockey is all about.