Pubdate: Thu, 08 Dec 2011 Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN) Copyright: 2011 The StarPhoenix Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400 Author: Daniel Nugent-Bowman 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. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D