Warriors Home Opener 2022

Way back when it all started…

Although hockey in Moose Jaw is known to most as our beloved Moose Jaw Warriors, the “Warriors” name has a history of dating back as far as 1926, when the Moose Jaw Warriors played for a single season as a member of the Prairie Hockey League. eir record stood at 13-12-2-3-3 and they soon became the Moose Jaw Maroons from 1927-1928, and then the Millers from 1937-1942.

e Moose Jaw Canucks, a junior ice hock ey team based in Moose Jaw, Sk. came on the scene a er evolving from the Moose Jaw Cubs

in the early 1930’s. From 1938 until 1966, the Moose Jaw Canucks were part of the Saskatch ewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) and West ern Canada Junior Hockey League (WCJHL).

e Canucks won the Abbott Cup in 1945 and 1947, making them the Junior “A” Champion for Western Canada and earning a playo against the George Richardson Memorial Trophy win ning Eastern Champion for the Memorial Cup.

e Moose Jaw Canucks became part of the WHL for just two seasons in 1966. e Canucks lost their Memorial Cup competition against the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors in both years.

In the summer of 1966, the Canucks were one of ve SJHL clubs that le the provincial league to join franchises in Calgary and Edmonton in

the new Western Canada Junior Hockey League. e league was considered a “rebel league” by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, and thus denied the right to compete for Canadian junior hockey’s top prize, the Memorial Cup. In the WCJHL’s inaugural season, the Canucks won the league championship despite nish ing 4th in the overall standings. e following year, the Canucks would lose out in the league semi- nals a er another 4th-place nish. Following the reorganization of junior hockey in 1970, which saw the Western Canada Hockey League gain Tier-I status, the Canucks attempt ed to rejoin the WCHL but were denied. e Canucks would remain in the Tier-II SJHL until the arrival of the Warriors.

Canucks

Fred Hucul

Born in Tubrose, Sk, Hucul played junior hockey with the Moose Jaw Canucks. Most of his lengthy pro-career was spent in the minors, especially the WHL. During his last amateur season in 1950/51, He was recalled for three games in Chicago. De fenceman Fred Hucul spent parts of four seasons with the Chicago Black Hawks. He was an exceptional playmaker who could be dangerous on the power play. Beginning in 1954-55, Hucul played eight of the next nine seasons with the Calgary Stampeders of the WHL. He was a top o ensive defenceman in the league and was placed on the rst all-star team four times and the second team twice. Prior to the 1967-68 season, the veteran rearguard was picked by the St. Louis Blues in the Ex pansion Dra . He provided stability on the team’s blueline in 43 games, and then re tired two games into the next season when he was with the CHL’s Kansas City Blues.

Emile “ e Cat” Francis, goalie (born 1926 in North Battleford) got his start playing hockey in Moose Jaw and went on to play with the Chicago Black Hawks (47) & New York Rangers (48-52). He n ished his career coaching and serving as GM for the New York Rangers.

Sid Hillard was the ticket taker at the Moose Jaw Arena when it was home to the Moose Jaw Canucks. Somewhere between the opening of the arena in 1922 and it burning down in 1955, kind hearted Sid Hillard turned a blind eye while many a young man cra ily sneaked in to watch the games.

SHOTS

Old time Hockey in Moose Jaw, with no goalie masks or helmets, unless you were the lucky one to a ord the leath er headgear.

Glen “Baldy” Smith, Jack McLeod, Red Mellor. Hockey hero`s of the past.

Editor’s Note

The Moose Jaw Express and MooseJawToday.com are happy to present this year’s 2022-23 Warriors magazine in support of the Moose Jaw Warriors organization.

As devoted and passionate Moose Jaw Warriors’ fans are every year, we embrace this upcoming season with optimism. According to Moose Jaw Warriors general manager Jason Rip plinger, the experienced players returning are eager to get onto the ice, optimistic for a successful season, while the new rookies are looking good with a chance to ‘strut their stuff’ and show they belong.

Moose Jaw Express.com

468 High Street West Moose Jaw, Sask S6H 1T3 306 694 1322

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jritchie@moosejawtoday.com

Special Thanks to all who contributed their time, effort and knowledge on this project and in particular to:

The Warriors are aiming for a solid run this year, but Ripplinger’s perspective seems to be a balanced approach. His desire from year-to-year is to build-off each season and see where it goes, and if changes need to be made, those will be considered at the appropriate time.

Joan Ritchie Editor

And for the rest of us, our participation in the success of the organization is in support, encouragement and in cheering-on the team during this hockey season. We are proud of you all and know that your success is already evident by your commit ment to do your best.

Writers: Randy Palmer, Joan Ritchie, Moose Jaw Warriors

Designer: Sandra Stewart

The contents of this publication are the property of Moose Jaw Express. Reproduction of any of the con tents of this publication including, but without limiting the generality of the following: photographs, artwork and graphic designs, is strictly prohibited. There shall be no reproduction without the Express written consent of the publisher. (rob@mjvexpress.com)

All ads are published in good faith without verification, and the Moose Jaw Express does not under any circum stances accept responsibility for the accuracy or other wise of any ads or messages in any of the publications editions.

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”

– Michael Jordan

Looking back on the Moose Jaw Warriors’ time in the Moose Jaw Events Centre

When the Moose Jaw Events Centre – formerly Mosa ic Place — hosted its first-ever regular-season Western Hockey League game back on Sept. 22, 2011, it marked the beginning of a new era for the Moose Jaw Warriors. An era that has seen the local team not only put together their share of wins on the ice, but just as many off it — to the point the franchise is now considered one of the top mid-market teams in the WHL. Here’s a look at the last 11 years and highs and lows since moving over to the Events Centre

2011-12

45-19-6-2, first East Division, second Eastern Confer ence

The Warriors played their first regu lar-season game in the new 4,414 arena on Thursday, Sept. 22, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Bran don Wheat Kings in front of the largest crowd to ever watch a hockey game in the Friendly City — a crowd of 4,480 took part in all the pomp and circumstance of the event, which included a red car pet leading into the main entrance of the building. As it turns out, the Warriors wouldn’t lose all that often the rest of the season.

Head coach Mike Stothers saw his team win the East Di vision title and go on to defeat the Regina Pats in five games in the first round of the playoffs — with game four featuring the breakout of an undersized 15-year-old for ward by the name of Brayden Point, who’d score 6:14 into the second overtime to give the Warriors a crucial win. Moose Jaw swept Medicine Hat in the second round be fore falling in five games to the eventual league champi on Edmonton Oil Kings in the conference final.

Quinton Howden represented Canada at the World Ju niors, winning bronze.

That summer, defenceman Morgan Rielly was selected in the first round of the NHL Draft, fifth overall, by Toron to and Travis Brown in the fifth round, 149th overall by Chicago.

The overall success of the inaugural season saw director of business operations Corey Nyhagen named the WHL

Marketing / Business Award winner.

Leading Scorers

Quinton Howden, 19 — 30-35-65 Cody Beach, 19 — 15-41-56, 229 PiM

Justin Kirsch, 19 — 17-34-51 Kenton Miller, 20 — 32-17-49

Notable: Morgan Rielly, 17 — 18 GP, 3-15-18 Goaltenders

Luke Siemens, 18 — 55 GP, 2.56 GAA, .907 SP Spencer Tremblay, 16 — 20 GP, 3.62 GAA, .896 SP

2012-13

25-36-4-7, fourth East Division, 10th Eastern Confer ence

The cycle of junior hockey began anew for the Warriors the following sea son and would see the team miss the post-season by 11 points. Moose Jaw was above .500 as late as Oct. 27, but a seven-game losing skid that included four losses in over time or shootouts set the tone for the rest of the season. The Warriors never won more than two games in a row, and endured a 10game skid that ran from Dec. 29 to Jan. 22. Morgan Rielly would play his final season with Moose Jaw and play for Canada at the World Junior champi onships; Point would play for Team Pacific at the World Hockey Challenge.

Leading scorers

Sam Fioretti, 19 — 32-43-75 Brayden Point, 16 — 24-33-57 Morgan Rielly, 18 — 12-42-54

Justin Kirsch, 20 — 23-19-42

Notable: Jayden Halbgewachs, 15 — 1 GP-0-0-0 Goaltenders

Justin Paulic, 16 — 57 GP, 3.15 GAA, .899 SP Daniel Wapple, 17 — 20 GP, 3.61 GAA, .886 SP

2013-14 21-42-3-6, fifth East Division, 10th Eastern Conference The Warriors would miss the post-season by 14 points in year two of their rebuild.

Morgan Rielly in action with the Warriors in 2011-12.

Brayden Point would go on to become one of the greatest players in Warriors history after the 201213 season.

Things started out well enough for the Warriors, as they went 4-3-0-0 through their first seven games. They’d manage only four wins in their next 19 games and would endure a nine-game losing streak from Jan. 10 through Feb. 1. The Warriors won in four of their last six to close out the campaign.

If there was any doubt as to Brayden Point’s ability to light up the WHL, it was answered and then some — he’d put up 36 goals and 91 points while playing the full 72game season. He also won gold at the Hlinka Memorial U18 championship and silver at the World U18s.

And to cap off his incredible campaign, Point was select ed in the third round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, 79th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning. The club also received a unique honour as Sam Fioretti received the WHL Humanitarian of the Year Award for his tireless work in the community.

Leading scorers

Brayden Point, 17 — 36-55-91

Jack Rodewald, 19 — 28-27-55

Sam Fioretti, 20 — 20-35-55

Tanner Eberle, 19 — 22-29-51

Notable: Brett Howden, 15 — 5 GP-1-0-1 Goaltenders

Justin Paulic, 17 — 56 GP, 3.65 GAA, .891 SP Zach Sawchenko, 16 — 26 GP, 3.63 GAA, .885 SP

2014-15

32-35-4-1, fourth East Division, ninth Eastern Confer ence

A new era dawned in the 2014-15 sea son, as the Warriors hired former Cal gary Flames captain Tim Hunter as their head coach after Mike Stothers left the team to pursue professional oppor tunities.

The season marked the turning point for the club’s for tunes, as they’d miss the playoffs by only four points. They found themselves hovering around .500 right up until mid-December but lost 10 of their next 11 games.

The Warriors never won or lost more than three in a row the rest of the season. Point went on to put up 38 goals and 87 points in 60 games, would go on to win gold with Canada at the World Junior championship and was named to the East Division’s first all-star team.

Leading scorers

Brayden Point, 18 — 38-49-87

Jack Rodewald, 20 — 35-50-85

Tanner Eberle, 20 — 33-23-56 Brett Howden, 16 — 22-24-46 Notable: Josh Brook, 15 — 1 GP-0-0-0 Goaltenders

Zach Sawchenko, 17 — 49 GP, 3.32 GAA, .896 SP Justin Paulic, 18 — 18 GP, 3.50 GAA, .895 SP Brody Willms, 16 — 13 GP, 3.97 GAA, .886 SP

2015-16

36-27-7-2, third East Division, sixth East ern Conference

The Brayden Point era came to an end and in style at that, as the team made the playoffs for the first time in his ten ure. The Warriors rolled to a 4-1 series win over the Prince Albert Raiders in the first round but couldn’t get past the eventual league champion Wheat Kings in the conference semifinal.

Dryden Hunt was the WHL Player of the Year in 2015-16.

The Warriors got off to an outstanding start, winning seven of their first 10 games. They remained four or five games above .500 much of the season and put together a five game win streak Feb. 10-19.

Point played in only 48 games due to injury and World Ju nior duties, where he’d serve as Canada’s captain. Dryden Hunt would emerge as the team’s breakout star, though, as after joining the Warriors in an off-season trade, he’d become the first in a string of Moose Jaw overagers who’d light up the WHL. Hunt put up 58 goals and 116 points to finish second in league scoring and would be named the winner of the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the WHL player of the year.

The NHL would also come calling in the off-season, as Brett Howden was selected in the first round, 27th over all by Tampa Bay and Noah Gregor in the fourth round, 111th overall by San Jose.

Leading scorers

Dryden Hunt, 20 — 58-58-116

Sam Fioretti was the WHL Humanitarian of the Year in 2013-14.

Jack Rodewald put up 85 points in 2014-15.

Brayden Point, 19 — 35-53-88

Noah Gregor, 17 — 28-45-73

Brett Howden, 17 — 24-40-64

Notable: Jett Woo, 15, 7 GP-0-1-1

Goaltenders

Zach Sawchenko, 18 — 51 GP, 3.04 GAA, .916 SP Brody Willms, 17 — 24 GP, 3.34 GAA, .906 SP

2016-17

42-21-8-1, second East Division, fourth Eastern Confer ence

With their rebuild ing years now de cidedly behind them, the Warriors emerged as one of the top teams in the WHL, and the wins piled up fast. They sat at 9-3-3-0 at the beginning of No vember, 15-6-5-0 to start December and 22-9-7-1 at the turn of the new year. Three times the Warriors put to gether four-game winning streaks, followed by a ninegame run from Feb. 14 through Mar. 5 that boosted their record to 41-19-7-1.

That all led to the playoffs, but luck wasn’t on their side, and the Warriors fell in four games to Swift Current. One of the overall highlights came in the final game of the season, as Jayden Halbgewachs scored four goals and seven points to finish with 50 goals and 101 points on the campaign.

Coach Hunter served as an assistant coach with Team Canada’s silver-winning crew at the World Juniors.

Defenceman Josh Brook was the lone Warrior selected in the NHL Draft, going in the second round, 56th overall to Montreal.

Leading scorers

Jayden Halbgewachs, 19 — 50-51-101

Brett Howden, 18 — 38-43-81

Noah Gregor, 18 — 27-34-61

Brayden Burke, 19 — 15-44-59

Tanner Jeannot, 19 — 19-33-52

Goaltenders

Zach Sawchenko, 19 — 51 GP, 2.79 GAA, .917 SP Brody Willms, 18 — 25 GP, 3.11 GAA, .907 SP

2017-18

52-15-2-3, first East Division, first Eastern Conference, Scotty Munro Trophy

Simply put, the greatest regular season in Moose Jaw

Warriors history.

In addition the team records for most wins overall, most points overall and most road wins, the Warriors won their first-ever Scotty Munro Trophy as the team with the best regular-season record in the Western Hockey League.

As one might imagine with a record like that, it was a lot of winning, right quick. Sitting at 11-4-0-0 on Nov. 2, the Warriors won nine of their next 10. A month later, a six-game winning streak. And from Dec. 28 through Jan. 26, the Warriors lost only once in 14 games, including a run of eight games that pushed their record to 39-7-1-2. They didn’t hit double digits in losses until mid February. Thing is, the entire East Division was a powerhouse that season. The Warriors went through a seven-game war in the first round with Prince Albert and but couldn’t overcome the eventual champion Swift Current Bron cos, who would prevail in seven games in the conference semifinal.

Halbgewachs enjoyed a record-tying campaign, with his 70 goals tying the single-season mark set by Mark MacK ay in the Warriors’ inaugural season. He would win the Bob Clarke Trophy as the WHL’s leading scorer.

Hunter returned as an assistant coach with Team Canada at the World Juniors and was joined by Brett Howden and trade deadline acquisition Kale Clague in winning gold. Clague would go on to be named the WHL’s Top Defenceman.

That summer, defenceman Jett Woo was selected in the second round, 37th overall by the Vancouver Canucks, and Justin Almeida in the fifth round, 129th overall by Pittsburgh.

Leading scorers

Jayden Halbgewachs, 20 — 70-59-129

Brayden Burke, 20 — 31-82-113

Justin Almeida, 19 — 43-55-98

Tanner Jeannot, 20 — 40-40-80

Brett Howden, 49 — 24-51-75

Notable: Daemon Hunt, 15 — 9 GP-1-1-2

Tanner Jeannot celebrates a goal during the 201617 season.

The Warrior gather with the Scotty Munro Trophy after the best WHL record in 2017-18.

Goaltenders

Brody Willms, 19 — 54 GP, 3.00 GAA, .898 SP

Adam Evanoff, 20 — 2.65 GAA, .906 SP

2018-19 40-20-6-2, third East Division, fifth Eastern Conference

It would have been difficult for the Warriors to repli cate their incredible campaign the season before, but they did their best to try.

Led by the high est-scoring line in the Canadian Hockey League in Tristin Langan (53-60113), Justin Almeida (33-78-111) and Brayden Tracey (43-55-98), the Warriors sat at 7-5-4-1 on Nov. as of Nov. 10, but would reel off an eight-game winning streak to get 10 games above .500. They’d win eight of nine from Jan. 15 to Feb. 1 and never lost four games in a row. That set up a first-round meeting with the Saskatoon Blades and series of one-goal battles before the Blades prevailed 4-0.

Tim Hunter served as head coach of Team Canada, with Warriors captain Josh Brook taking the ice in the tourna ment as Canada fell in the quarter-final.

Almeida would go on to win the WHL and Canadian Hockey League’s Most Sportsmanlike Player Award.

Tracey was rewarded for his stellar campaign by being selected in the first round, 29th overall by the Anaheim Ducks. He would also be named the WHL’s Rookie of the Year.

Leading scorers

Tristin Langan, 20 — 53-60-113

Justin Almeida, 20 — 33-28-111 Brayden Tracey, 17 — 36-45-81 Josh Brook, 20 — 16-59-75 Jett Woo, 18 — 12-54-66 Goaltenders

Brodan Salmond, 20 — 2.73 GAA, .906 SP Adam Evanoff, 18 — 2.62 GAA, .916 SP

2019-20 14-44-4-0, 11th in Eastern Conference, 6th East Divi sion.

The Warriors got off to a stellar 5-1-0-0 start and looked to become the surprise of the league in the early going, but a six-game losing skid immediately after indicated that it truly was a rebuilding year.

Sitting at 9-7-1-0 on Nov. 9, the War riors lost 15 of their next 16 games. Af ter snapping that skid on Jan. 4, two days later the team relieved head coach Tim Hunter of his duties and promoted long-time assistant coach Mark O’Leary to bench boss. They managed only one win in their next 20 games through Feb. 21, and after winning back-to-back games for the first time since No vember on Feb. 28-29, lost their next five contests. The Warriors wouldn’t have made the playoffs, but the campaign was cancelled in mid-March due to a sudden, rapidly spreading pandemic.

Defenceman Daemon Hunt was the lone Warrior select ed in the NHL Draft, going in the third round, 65th over all to the Minnesota Wild.

Leading scorers Ryder Korczak, 16 — 18-49-67 Brayden Tracey, 18 — 15-23-38 Owen Hardy, 20 — 22-11-33 Martin Lang, 17 — 8-16-24 Eric Alarie, 16 — 7-14-21 Notable: Jagger Firkus, 15 — 12 GP, 1-1-2 Goaltenders

Boston Bilous, 18 — 49 GP, 3.21 GAA, .887 SP Brock Gould, 18 — 31 GP, 4.29 GAA, .884 SP Adam Evanoff, 19 — 22 GP 3.85 GAA, .901 SP

2020-21 8-13-3, sixth in East Division hub

Remember that aforementioned pandemic? COVID-19 played havoc with the WHL schedule much of the fall and early winter, with several dates projected as start-up points, only to be passed over as the pandemic continued to rage. That all changed on Jan. 8 when the league announced a 24-game development season would be played, and eventually all the Saskatchewan and Manitoba-based

Tristin Langan had a stellar overage season with 113 points in 2018-19.

Daemon Hunt in action during the 2019-20 sea son.

Brayden Yager will be one to watch after a solid 2020-21 season.

teams in the WHL would gather in Regina to play in the East Division Hub. The decision was a remarkable suc cess, as the East was the only division to not see games cancelled due to COVID outbreaks. Prior to the start of those games, though, the franchise went through a huge change: general manager Alan Mil lar, who had been with the team for a decade, announced he would be joining Hockey Canada. Jason Ripplinger was later promoted to general manager by the team. Five members of the team were drafted — Ryder Korczak (third round, New York Rangers), Cole Jordan (fifth round, Calgary), Martin Rysavy (seventh round, Colum bus), Max Wanner (seventh round, Edmonton) — and Eric Alarie received an invite to Florida’s prospects camp.

Leading scorers (24-game season)

Eric Alarie, 17 — 19 GP 10-10-20

Daemon Hunt, 18 — 23 GP 8-10-18

Brayden Yager, 15 — 24 GP 7-11-18

Tate Popple, 20 — 24 GP 6-10-16

Ryder Korczak, 18 — 17 GP 3-13-16

Goaltenders

Brett Mirwald, 16 — 16 GP, 3.54 GAA, .895 SP Boston Bilous, 19 — 13 GP, 3.81 GAA, .865 SP

2021-22 37-24-4-3, fourth in Eastern Conference, second in East Division

For the first few months of the season, the Moose Jaw Warriors looked like a team that was close to making the jump to the next level, but just couldn’t quite get there –and as a result, they were a single win over .500 at 17-163-1 heading into the WHL trade deadline. But a single deal for overage forward Cordel Larson on that day would change the team’s fortunes in a dramatic way.

The Warriors would immediately string together an eight-game winning streak and would put together a 20-8-1-2 record through the remainder of the season,

Not only would they make the playoffs, the Warriors would lock down home-ice advantage in the first round on the final day of the season. Moose Jaw defeat ed the Saskatoon Blades in five games in the first round of the playoffs before falling in five games to the Winnipeg Ice in the Eastern Conference semifinal.

Warriors forward Brayden Yager set a team record for goals as a 16-year-old and was named the Canadian Hockey League Rookie of the Year and would win gold with Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup that summer alongside fellow Warrior Jackson Unger. Denton Matey chuk was a finalist for the WHL Top Defenceman award in addition to an East Division first-team all-star. Goal tender Carl Tetachuk was an East Division second-team all-star.

Mateychuk would go on to be drafted in the first round, 12th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets while forward Jagger Firkus was chosen in the second round, 35th over all by the Seattle Kraken.

Leading scorers

Jagger Firkus, 17 — 66 GP 36-44-80

Ryder Korczak, 19 — 68 GP 25-54-79 Denton Mateychuk, 17 — 65 GP 13-51-64

Brayden Yager, 16 — 63 GP 34-25-59

Eric Alarie, 18 — 68 GP 25-33-58

Atley Calvert, 18 — 65 GP 15-25-40

Goaltenders

Carl Tetachuk, 20 — 53 GP, 2.82 GAA, .913 SP Jackson Unger, 16 — 18 GP, 3.60 GAA, .891 SP

Denton Mateychuk was a finalist for the WHL De fenceman of the Year award, a first-team all-star in the East Division and was selected in the first round of the NHL Draft this past off-season.

Warriors unveil new primary logo as team looks toward new era

The Moose Jaw Warriors have officially entered a new era.

The Western Hockey League franchise unveiled a brand new primary logo and jerseys during a special press con ference at Grant Hall on July 5, marking the retirement of the headdress logo the franchise had used since the 1988-89 season.

“It’s an exciting day for the organization and the city of Moose Jaw and we’re excited for the new era,” said War riors general manager Jason Ripplinger. “I think the new logo is great and our front office and (designers) Rock and Bloom did a great job. Obviously, we’re very hon oured with our roots with the Snowbirds, the Royal Ca nadian Air Force and 15 Wing.”

The new logo is circular in design and features an inflight Snowbirds jet in front profile with Moose Jaw writ ten above and Warriors below.

The unveiling included a special video presentation highlighting the attachment between the Warriors and Snowbirds, with several members of the 431 Air Demon stration Squad on hand to check out the final design.

“It’s pretty awesome to be included in this,” said Snow birds commander Lt. Col. Denis Bandet. “We’ve had a relationship with the Warriors going on 12-plus years now, and having the Warriors as an honorary Snowbird organization as well is pretty special. Seeing the devel opment and everything come to light is pretty exciting.”

The Warriors announced a review of the primary logo in October 2020, with many discussions with regard to planning and design taking place in the lead-up to Tues day’s announcement. That included discussions with the Snowbirds themselves, who had some input into the de sign.

“It started off with some informal discussions to grow community spirit, and as the relationship grew, it evolved into this,” Bandet said. “In the discussions we’ve had some communication with the RCAF about what we wanted to do, then seeing how the Warriors included aviation and 15 Wing into the spirit of the community is pretty special.”

The design process started quickly after the Warriors made their logo review announcement, with Rock and Bloom — a Saskatchewan-based design studio — ap proaching the team soon after. “They gave us some ideas, we told them what we were looking to do and we ended up getting more ideas from them,” Ripplinger said. “It was a long process, and we were patient making sure there wasn’t anything we were rushing into.”

As both Ripplinger and Bandet touched on, the design makes sense given the close relationship between the two organizations — in addition to their annual ‘Snowbirds Night’ featuring specially designed jerseys, the War riors have a ‘home-and-home’ with the Snowbirds each season. Members of the flight team will take part in a scrimmage with the WHL crew, and in exchange, play ers spend a day at 15 Wing learning about the squadron, culminating in a handful taking to the air for a special demonstration flight.

Now, that relationship is that much closer and stronger. “The PPCLI have the Regina Pats and now the Snowbirds have the Warriors,” Bandet said with a grin.

Warriors forward and Moose Jaw Minor Hockey prod uct Atley Calvert was joined by teammates Brayden Yager and Max Wanner in modelling the new logo and the black-and-white-and-red jerseys they’ll wear in the 2022-23 season.

“I like it, it has a little bit more going on last year and I’m excited for the new jerseys and the new logo,” the 19-year-old forward said. “I think it’s a good turn and I’m excited for the new season.”

The headdress logo replaced a First Nations individual riding a skate in the 1988-89 season before undergoing a script change in 1996-97 and a colour alteration in 200202.

The Snowbirds logo will act as the primary crests on all jerseys going forward, with the snarling moose logo — now grey in colour with red eyes — serving as the sec ondary patch and main logo on alternate jerseys. You can check out a special video announcing the new logo by visiting www.takeflightmj.ca.

Moose Jaw Warriors veterans Brayden Yager, Max Wanner and Atley Calvert were on hand to model the new logo and jerseys on Tuesday morning.

Warriors general manager looks back on solid training camp for Warriors

Every training camp, the questions are the same for gen eral managers across the Western Hockey League. Which veterans have taken a jump compared to the pre vious season? Which newcomers look like they could push for a spot? And just how difficult will the decisions be when it comes to trimming down the roster?

For Moose Jaw Warriors general manager Jason Rip plinger, the overall news was as good as can be — the cadre of experienced returning players looked every bit like a crew chomping at the bit for a successful season, the rookies did all they could to unseat their older coun terparts and the decisions were going to be tough, as ex pected.

“Overall, I think everyone came into camp in shape and there’s a lot of depth here, the young guys have been pushing the older guys so it’s been a competitive camp and that’s exactly what we were hoping for,” Ripplinger said during the Black White Game to close out 2022 training camp.

“It’s important, and it’s hats off to our organization how we push these guys and the way our culture is for these players when they come in. It’s not going to be easy to just come in and play and make the hockey club, they’re going to have to be prepared and work all summer.”

One of the main goals for veterans is to make that leap from one year to the next — a 15-goal scorer becoming a 30-goal scorer, a 30-goal scorer cracking the 50-goal pla teau. Ripplinger felt a handful of players could be capable of that jump if what they showed in camp translates into the season.

“Nathan Pilling has kind of taken a jump here, he’s come into camp in great shape and has shown a lot of flash es of being a highly skilled forward, so I’m really happy with his progress,” Ripplinger said. “Then Cosmo Wil son has looked really good and Matthew Gallant has looked good, those are guys who were here last year and are competing to move higher up in the defensive end of things.”

Of course, you also want to see your elite players main tain that status, and that was the case right from the first puck drop of camp. It also showed in the Black White Game — as the clock wound down in regulation with Team Black trailing by a goal, Brayden Yager and Den ton Mateychuk turned it up another gear, with their slick puck movement on the power play setting up Ben Riche with the tying goal with 16 seconds to play.

“(Jagger) Firkus, Yager, Mateychuk and (Max) Wanner — who I think is one of the most underrated defence

Warriors defenceman Denton Mateychuk gets a shot off in front of fellow veteran defenceman Max Wanner during the Black White Game.

men in our league — all our guys like that came in and have looked great, and that’s exactly what we expected,” Ripplinger said. “They’re the skilled players we’ll be look ing to lead our team to a highly successful season.”

As for the youngsters, 2021 Bantam Draft first-round pick Marek Howell and second round pick Lyndon La kovic have come as advertised, while 2022 first-round pick Connor Schmidt, second-round pick Max Finley and third-round selection Owen Berge all turned heads throughout the week.

“A lot of the signed players who came in have looked good and there are a lot of guys I could mention, but overall we’ve been happy with all the rookies,” Ripplinger said. “Some of the young guys have come in here and pushed hard. Lakovic and Howell are two highly touted players and they’ve come in and played really well. So as good as our young guys were last year and came in and pushed, these young kids are doing the same this year and once those older guys leave [for NHL camps] hope fully the depth won’t take too much of a hit.”

The Warriors will have no less than seven players they expect to be in their line-up this season heading off to NHL training camp, nine if you include overage signed players Ryder Korczak (New York Rangers) and Daemon Hunt (Minnesota).

Wanner (Edmonton), Cole Jordan (Calgary), Martin Rysavy (Columbus), Firkus (Seattle) and Mateychuk

Ripplinger impressed with performance of team throughout week of practices and scrimmages

Atley Calvert (Buffalo) and Eric Alarie (Los

heading into camps as invitees.

gives the young guys an op portunity to show their stuff,” Rip plinger said. “This is their opportu nity to show they belong and there’s no guarantee that when players go to NHL camps that they’ll be back. You look at someone like Mateychuk, he’s signed, and you never know what happens at the next level. If he ended up staying, it hurts the organization but it also helps our organization in that we’re doing our part to develop

players.”

As for the overage situation, the Warriors appear to have things well under control — goaltender Connor Ungar has one of the slots locked down, with the Warriors hoping to see Jordan back as well. Korczak and Hunt, as signed overagers, can play in the AHL and will likely end up there if they don’t crack the big squad. That will likely leave a slot open, and a decision to be made down the road. On a whole, the Warriors are with out question aiming for a solid run this year, but Ripplnger isn’t going all-eggs-one-basket just yet.

“For me, I never look at it as this is ‘our year’,” he said. “I just try and build off of each season and see where it goes. Come trade deadline, we’ll see where our record is at and if there’s an opportuni ty to push, we’ll make the moves we need or we’ll stand pat, it’ll all depend on how things are going.”

Moose Jaw Warriors Players & Prospects

Jason Ripplinger General Manager

James Gallo Director, Hockey Administration Mark O’Leary Head Coach Scott King Assistant Coach

Gordon Burnett Assistant Coach Matt Weninger Goalie Coach Olivia Howe Coaching Assistant Brooke Kosolofski Athletic Therapist Tanner Arnold Equipment Manager business operation

Jaret Schnider Director, Business Operations Brady Shave Director, Finance Olivia Howe Manager, Sales & Marketing Hayley Rushinko-Hart Manager, Game Day & Special Events Marc Smith Manager, Web & Digital Services

Marianne Simon Administrative Assistant Cassidy Maier Retail Associate

Roster

Eric Alarie Max Finley

Atley Calvert

Owen Berge Matthew Gallant

Ethan Hughes

Robert Baco Jagger Firkus Marek Howell

Lucas Brenton Josh Hoekstra

Noah Degenstein

Roster

Cole Jordan Brady Ness

Denton Mateychuk

Harper Lolacher Nathan Pilling

Tate Schofer

Lynden Lakovic Riley Niven Connor Schmidt

Justen Maric Ben Riche

Landen McFadden

Brody Tallman

Jackson Unger

Jonah Tonhauser

Thomas Tien

Connor Ungar

Max Wanner

By Marc Smith, MJ Warriors

Daemon Hunt believes being a Moose Jaw Warrior helped prepare him to make the jump to the next level.

“Coming to the rink every single day and approaching it like it’s your last, working as hard as you can every single time you touch the ice,” Hunt said.

For Hunt, it’s been a long journey with the organization after being drafted in the first round of the 2017 WHL Draft and growing into a leader for the team.

“It’s meant everything,” Hunt said. “I was drafted when I was 15 and [I just turned] 20, so it’s pretty incredible how far I’ve come and how they develop players here, they’ve turned me from a boy into a young man.”

Hunt put up 33 goals and 94 points in 163 regular season games with the Warriors. He set career-highs in goals with 17 and points with 39 this season.

He was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft.

Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary said throughout his career in Moose Jaw, Hunt has been a great example of bringing that pro mentality to the rink.

“Daemon practiced every day like a pro and wanted to get better,” he said. “How he prepared himself, how he practiced everything, it was certainly appreciated.”

Hunt battled injuries throughout his WHL career, but he said he enjoyed every moment.

“I kind of had a tough go in the Western Hockey League with injuries, but looking back, junior hockey is the best time of your life and today’s my last day as a junior hock ey player, so it’s full of emotions,” Hunt said.

Hunt wore the ‘C’ for his final two seasons with the War riors, leading the team through the Subway WHL Hub season and then into the second round this year. He said it’s been an extremely humbling experience. “I’m so proud to wear that ‘C’ for the Moose Jaw War

riors,” Hunt said. “For me, it’s just wearing it for the whole city, every single person that comes into this building to watch, I’m the captain, this is my team, I lead this team and it’s been amazing being that guy.”

While Hunt is moving on to professional hockey, he said he will still be watching how this group continue to grow heading into the 2022-23 season.

“For the guys that come back next year, it’s just about getting better throughout the summer, getting bigger, stronger and every year your role gets that much more important and everybody has to step up and be a leader,” Hunt said.

After missing out on back-to-back chances to represent Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship due to injury, Hunt said his focus heading into the summer was to play at the tournament in August.

“Hopefully I can stay healthy and crack that squad,” he said.

The next step after that will be making the jump to pro hockey and attempting to make the Minnesota Wild.

Hunt reflects on his career with the Warriors

Mateychuk looks back on summer and toward coming campaign

By Marc Smith, MJ Warriors

Denton Mateychuk is ready to take his game to another level this season. After putting together a stellar sophomore season with the Moose Jaw War riors that saw him earn East Division Defenceman of the Year honours, Mat eychuk has been hard at work this summer.

“That’s what you work for in the summer, to take your game to that next lev el and I think I’m ready to do that this year,” he said. Mateychuk was one of the highest scoring defence men in the Western Hock ey League at 17, posting 13 goals and 64 points in 65 games.

He said he’s been focused on improving his speed going into his third season with the Warriors.

“In the gym, I’m working on getting faster, length ening my strides, things like that,” Mateychuk said. “On the ice, skating, my edges, my shot is one of the big things that I wanted to work on and just my all-

around game, I wanted to improve on everything.”

Mateychuk has his sights set on a big season with the Warriors and also impress ing the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Columbus used the 12th overall selection in the 2022 NHL Draft to take the Dominion City, MB product and promptly signed him to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Mateychuk said draft day was something he won’t soon forget.

“It was an awesome feel ing,” he said. “Really ex cited to be a part of that organization and it’s just a surreal feeling.”

Right after the draft, Mat eychuk travelled to Co lumbus to take part in the team’s development camp.

He said he took a lot away from the camp that will help him moving forward.

“It showed me what the next step is,” Mateychuk said.

Mateychuk will return to Columbus in a few weeks

for training camp and said he knows he needs to be at his best.

“Going into that being the player that I am and just to be ready for that,” he said. Mateychuk also had the opportunity to hit the ice with Canada’s best for the Hockey Canada World Ju nior Summer Camp in July. He said he felt like he had a good showing at the camp.

“I was looking forward to that and wanted to be at my best,” Mateychuk said. “I think I did really well there.”

It’s been a busy summer for

Mateychuk, but he said he wouldn’t change anything about it.

“It’s been an awesome summer, I’ve got a lot of experiences, it’s been busy, but I’ve really enjoyed it,” he said.

Matecyhuk was back on the ice at the Moose Jaw Events Centre for training camp and is looking for ward to the coming cam paign.

“Really excited,” he said. “By the end of the summer, you’re dying to get back and I’m really excited to get back to Moose Jaw.”

Denton Mateychuk in action during the Columbus Blue Jackets development camp days after being drafted by the NHL club.

Firkus looks back on first taste of NHL with Seattle Kraken

You’ll have to excuse Moose Jaw Warriors for ward Jagger Firkus if he seemed a little wide-eyed and in awe over a few weeks at the beginning of July.

There aren’t very many 18-year-olds who go through what he’s been throughout that month without being a little bit overwhelmed with the whole thing.

Every since the Irma. Alta. product was selected in the second round, 35th over all by the Seattle Kraken in the National Hockey League Draft back on July 2, it was a constant stream of meeting the NHL team’s staff, going through his first development camp and just getting immersed in the world of elite profes sional hockey.

A dream come true, and one that he continues to live through.

“It’s been a big whirlwind, and if I’m being honest, it hasn’t all sunk in complete ly,” Firkus said a couple of weeks after his selection.

“It’s still kind of a shock and I don’t really know

how to explain it, it’s really cool that it happened and I’m super-excited for the future.”

It all started on Day 1 of the Draft, which took place at the Bell Centre in Mon treal. Firkus was right there in the stands when future teammate Shane Wright slipped to fourth, current teammate Denton Mat eychuk was selected 12th overall and all 32 teams passed on him in the first round.

All that meant was having to put on the suit, go back to the arena the next day and spend all of 15 min utes waiting before Seattle called his name.

“I wasn’t too worried, it wasn’t the fact that I didn’t go in the first round, it was more about going to a team that believed in me and I really feel that Seat tle believes in me,” Firkus said. “That’s all I really care about and for me person ally, it’s just part of what happens. Not everything is going to go your way and it’s going to push me a bit harder going into the fu ture. And just from what

I’ve seen so far, it’s going to be awesome being in Seat tle.”

That’s not to say that hear ing his name called still wasn’t an absolutely surre al experience.

“There’s a lot of emotions that go through your head, but for me, I just kind of blacked out, it just didn’t seem real to me,” Firkus admitted. “It’s something you always dream about as a kid and now that it’s really happened, it’s a lot cooler than I expected as a kid, too.

“Then I had my whole fam ily that came down and lots of buddies who were there, so we got to celebrate with them and that was great, they’ve been a big part of where I am and what I’m going to be doing.”

Odds are that unless some

thing very interesting hap pens, Firkus will be back in a Warriors uniform this fall. He’ll find himself in a far, far different role com pared to the previous two seasons, though, as is the case with any player select ed as high as he was in the Draft.

“I’m super pumped,” he said. “This year I know I’m going to be a big part of the leadership group and I’m super excited about that. I have lots of good teammates and unbeliev able guys in the room that I can lean on if I want to ask questions or how we’re going to do things, and Moose Jaw’s culture in the room, it’s next to none. There’s nothing like it and it’s a special group to be around. I love it in Moose Jaw.”

Moose Jaw Warriors forward Jagger Firkus sporting the Seattle Kraken colours after being drafted by the NHL club at the beginning of July.

Warriors honour team standouts with annual awards

Goaltender Carl Tetachuk receives Player of the Year award after

season

Carl Tetachuk accepts the Player of the Year award from Warriors president Chad Taylor.

Brayden Yager accepts the Rookie of the Year award.

Eric Alarie accepts the C&E Mechanical Most Sports manlike award.

Mosaic donated $250 for every point Ry der Korcak put on the scoresheet this season.

Carl Tetachuk accepts the Yara Belle Plaine Fan’s Choice award.

Doug Hunt, father of Warriors defenceman Daemon Hunt, accepts the Top Defensive Player award.

Jackson Unger and Thomas Tien accept the Vanier Collegiate Scholastic Achievement award.

Yara donated $1,000 for each home win this season, leading to a do nation of $23,000.

Atley Calvert accepts the Cody Smuk Unsung Hero award.

Max Wanner accepts the Andy’s Transmission and Automotive Most Improved Player award.

The Warriors education fund was bolstered by $60,000 by the inaugural Warriors Horseshoe Tournament on opening day.

Brayden Yager’s rookie sea son for the history books just never seemed to stop getting better, culminat ing at the 2022 Canadian Hockey League Awards at the beginning of June in Saint John, N.B.

The Moose Jaw Warriors forward was named CHL Rookie of the Year at the event, capping a breakout season that will now have him on scouts’ radar throughout the 2022-23 campaign.

“It’s a huge honour for sure,” Yager told CHL.ca. “You look at the class of the rookies among the WHL, and even the the CFL as well, so to be a part of that group, it’s an honour.”

During a season when he

set the Warriors’ franchise record for most goals by a 16-year-old, Yager did something else that no other player in Warrior history has done by being named the CHL’s top rook ie. He’s also the first player from the Western Hockey League to win the award since Brett Connolly of the Prince George Cougars in 2008-09.

Yager edged out Cam Al len from the OHL’s Guelph Storm and Jakub Brabenec of the QMJHL’s Charlotte town Islanders.

Yager posted 59 points, fourth among 2005-born WHL rookies, and his 34 goals were the most among 2005-born WHL rookies.

“To be recognized among

all of Canada is huge,” he said. “To do it against such a good class of of rookies is it’s huge.” Yager said there’s a lot of people who have helped him along the way to make Tuesday’s award win possi ble.

“Obviously my family, my mom, dad and my brother Connor, they sacrifice so much and they continue to do that and it means the world to me,” he said. “My trainer Blaine White, he’s the best in the busi ness, I train with him every day in the summer. Shane Endicott, we used to skate

twice a week, we do once a week now because he’s got kids, but we skate at 5:30 in the morning, so for him to come out means a lot be cause he wants to make us better.”

Yager and the Warriors put together a stellar season in his first full year in the Western Hockey League. He said the focus is to con tinue to build off what they accomplished.

“We’re building for next year,” Yager said. “We’re looking to do big things next year, we’ve got a young core and have a really good chance.”

Moose Jaw Warriors forward Brayden Yager was named the CHL Rookie of the Year.

Warriors excited for upcoming season after taking huge step forward in 2021-22 campaign

Heading into the 2021-22 Western Hockey League trade deadline, the Moose Jaw Warriors were quite pos sibly the most average team in the league.

Sitting at a single game over .500 and having flirted with that mark much of the season, the Warriors were an gling to at least crack the playoffs and let the chips fall where they may once they got there.

But once the trade deadline passed, things changed dramatically.

Warriors general manager Jason Ripplinger made a single deal — ac quiring forward Cordel Larson from the Spokane Chiefs in exchange for Cade Hayes — but that proved to be the catalyst for an utterly epic run for head coach Mark O’Leary and his crew.

An eight-game winning streak to start, 13-2-0-0 mark over the first 15 games post-deadline and by the time the Warriors had played their final regular-season game, they’d strung together 20 wins and picked up points in 23 of their last 31 games. In the end, they weren’t just on the cusp of the playoffs. At one point, they were even in striking distance of third-place Red Deer and sec ond-place Edmonton before eventu ally clinching fourth in the Eastern Conference and home-ice advantage in the playoffs.

The rapid rise of high-scoring for ward Jagger Firkus (66 games played, 36 goals, 44 assists, 80 points) and defenceman Denton Mateychuk (6513-51-64) played a role in that, with the duo both expected to be firstround draft picks when the NHL En try Draft takes place this July.

Team captain and Minnesota Wild draft pick Daemon Hunt (46-1722-39) provided steady leadership

on the blueline when he was able to avoid and recover from injury, and New York Rangers prospect Ryder Korczak (68-25-54-79) also put to gether a solid campaign.

Overage goaltender Carl Tetachuk was a prime factor, though, and would end up being named the War riors’ Most Outstanding Player after playing 53 games and putting togeth er a 2.82 goals against average and .913 save percentage while providing impressive netminding night in and night out.

Then there’s Brayden Yager (63-3425-59). The 16-year-old standout ended up breaking Theoren Fleury’s record for most goals by a 16-yearold in Warriors history and passing Brayden Point for most points in his first full season with Moose Jaw. The news wasn’t all good for the local franchise, though.

The Warriors lost one of their great est supporters in long-time board of director’s member Bob Calvert, who passed away in December.

Calvert played a large role in the team’s formative years as they grew into the high mid-market franchise that they’re known as today. With more than a decade on the team’s board, Calvert was instrumental in helping many initiatives get off the ground and played a large role in en suring the team’s financial security with his efforts in sales heading into Mosaic Place in the 2011 season.

Bob was able to enjoy watching grandson Atley Calvert (65-15-2540) play this season, with the Moose Jaw Minor Hockey product also serving as an assistant captain with the team.

The off-season gave some indication as to what the team would be in for in 2021-22 — a total of four play ers were selected in the NHL Entry Draft in July, with Korczak going to the Rangers (third round, 75th), de fenceman Cole Jordan selected by the Calgary Flames (fifth round, 141), forward Martin Rysavy by the Co lumbus Blue Jackets (seventh round, 197th overall) and defenceman Max Wanner by the Edmonton Oilers (seventh round, 212nd overall).

For more information on the Moose Jaw Warriors, including season tick et info, be sure to visit www.mjwar riors.ca.

Return to Western Hockey League’s upper echelon has Moose Jaw looking to take serious run this season

Moose Jaw Minor Hockey product Atley Calvert cel ebrates a goal against the Winnipeg Ice

Moose Jaw Warriors forward Atley Calvert with grandfather Bob Calvert after scoring his first WHL two seasons ago. Bob, a longtime Warriors board member and team supporter, passed away in Decem ber.

Coach O’Leary impressed with effort from veterans and rookies alike throughout 2022 training camp

It should come as no surprise that with the kind of the line-up the Moose Jaw Warriors have heading into the 2022-23 Western Hockey League season, training camp was an exceptionally high-level and com petitive one.

That translated into an entertain ing Black-White intrasquad game Sept. 3, as Marek Howell scored 2:33 into overtime on a slick feed from the blueline by Atley Calvert to give Team White a 5-4 victory. That goal — and many of the mark ers throughout the contest at the Moose Jaw Events Centre — was a microcosm of camp in general. Upand-coming rookies like Howell working alongside rugged veterans like Calvert with a single objective in mind: prepare for one of the most promising seasons in recent history for the local WHL squad.

Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary was one of many who were impressed with what they saw right from the get-go, especially from the players who have been through many a war the past few seasons.

“First and foremost I’m really proud of how our returning guys have come to camp,” O’Leary said during the first intermission of Sunday’s con

test. “The challenge was to take an other step ahead here and continue this year where we left off last year and I think they’ve done that. There’s been an excitement around camp with guys knowing that expectations are a little bit higher, they came to camp in great shape and the intensity was there.”

The Warriors have 20 players return ing from last season’s 37-win crew that finished second in the East Di vision after a torrid second-half run. With that much experience and that much success already under their belts, the off-season message was clear when last season wrapped up back in mid-May — the potential for this year’s team is through the roof, and the team expects veterans and rookies alike to be ready for it.

“That’s what we’ve been talking about, we’re not young and developing any

Action from the Moose Jaw Warriors Black / White intrasquad game to close out training camp on Sun day afternoon.

more and it starts now, the time is now,” O’Leary said. “That’s been the mindset all summer long, the play ers know it and we look at the group that we have, a lot of them have been here since the league was shut down in 2020, back then we were losing games by six and seven goals. Now that group has gotten older, they’ve put in the time to develop and take advantage of the moment.”

Seeing players return looking like they were a year older as well as a year better — in other words, having taken the message to heart -- wasn’t a surprise in any way to the Warriors’ staff.

“We know what kind of group we have character-wise,” O’Leary said. “They’re a tight-knit group of play ers, they get along great in the room and they play for each other and I think at the end of the day they don’t want to let each other down and that goes a long way. We’re seeing it again earlier along.”

Of course, there are still positions to

play for and youngsters who would love nothing more than to unseat one of those veterans. That led to a camp that was exceptionally compet itive, leading into a theme the team has carried throughout O’Leary’s tenure.

“We talk about compete all the time and that’s the separator between wins and losses and what separates a good player from a great player,” he said.

“The skill level from the first year players right through the veteran returning guys has been exception al and that’s a testament to (general manager) Jason (Ripplinger) and his scouting staff, bringing in good play ers and skilled players that coaches like to work with.”

That was seen in the Black-White Game, which saw Team White get a goal and two assists from Calvert and a goal from fellow veteran Riley Niven, wilth 2021 first round Ban tam Draft pick Howell picking up a pair of goals and prospect Jake Brit lz scoring their other marker. Max

Wanner had a pair of assists. Team Black had a pair of goals from 2020 second-round pick Riche — in cluding the tying marker on a slick one-timer from Denton Mateycuk with 16 seconds remaining to tie the game 4-4 — along with single goal from veterans Eric Alarie and Josh Hoekstra.

The focus turned toward the first ex hibition game of the season that took place on Friday, Sept. 9 against the Swift Current Broncos at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

“I know the players are for sure [ex cited for the new season], and for us as coaches, it’s another step toward getting that consistency in terms of the work habits and playing to our standard,” O’Leary said. “I know the players are chomping at the bit for an exciting year and this is just step one.”

Calvert plays in Buffalo Sabres Prospect Showcase,

hockey career, Moose Jaw Warriors forward Atley Calvert has been the model of a hard-nosed, grind ing forward who wasn’t afraid to go into the difficult areas.

his time with Moose Jaw Minor Hockey to his run

the Prairie Hockey Acade

and stellar season with the AAA Warriors, it’s been the same: use maximum effort to generate scoring opportuni ties, often out of sheer will.

translated into a solid season in 2021-22 with the Warriors, as Calvert put up 15 goals and 40 points in 65 games while also generating tons of chances he couldn’t quite finish. All that hard work is the kind of thing that attracts at tention from National Hockey League teams. And it all

ended up with Calvert getting his shot.

The 19-year-old third-year Western Hockey League veter an played in the Buffalo Sabres Prospect Showcase, which be gan on Sept. 15 in Buffalo.

“I was really excited when I heard,” said Calvert, who re ceived the news back in July. “I was a little disappointed I didn’t get an invite to a de velopment camp over the summer, but then I got the call that I was going to play in their rookie tournament and I’m pretty happy about it. I’m excited for the opportunity, I’m really prepared for this and I’m really looking forward to it.”

The event will offer Calvert and a host of up-and-com

Moose Jaw Warriors forward Atley Calvert celebrates a goal against the Sas katoon Blades during the WHL Playoffs last spring.

prospects from six NHL teams

show their stuff in front of NHL scouts, general managers and coach es, all with the goal of attracting at tention for coming campaigns.

just going to try and soak up as much as I can,” Calvert said. “Being there for a week for sure, we’ll see, but I’m just looking forward to the opportunity to showcase myself.”

news was a highlight of what Calvert felt was a very successful off-season, which included plenty of time out in Caronport at PHA’s out standing training facilities working to hone his game.

included many an hour on and off the ice with trainer Dustin Friesen and Warriors assistant coach Scott King, with a major focus on improving his overall strength.

was trying to get more power ful. I think I had the body last year, I just needed a little more power so I worked with my trainer on that,” Calvert said. “I was looking forward to bringing that into camp and now

into the season and obviously I’m excited to get back at it, especially when the boys came back to town last week.”

It’s a different look compared to what Calvert is used to with the team over the past three seasons with the War riors. He’s a WHL up-and-comer no longer, and will serve as an assistant captain with the team in the 2022-23 season.

That’s not a surprise, especially giv en his leadership bona fides with his teams in the past.

“I think I’ve always thought of myself as a leader, I’ve worn a letter before, but at the end of the day it doesn’t change anything,” Calvert said. “If you’re a leader, they give you a let ter for a reason and the boys look at you for what you do and how you go about your day, nothing like that changes.

“I just want to lead by example, espe cially for these kids out here where it’s their first camp and they’re here for the pre-season. I just want to take

it day-by-day and not look too far ahead.”

And make no mistake, there’s a con crete goal at the end of the line for this year’s team.

“We want to win this year,” Calvert said matter-of-factly. “We have a lot of older guys this year, and we’re a pretty tight group. Our team has been together for a couple years now, since the bubble there are still a lot of guys around. We’re an older group now and we’re looking to be one of the top teams in our division again.” As for himself, using the Buffalo camp to launch into his most pro ductive WHL campaign yet will be the ultimate goal.

“I just want to have a good year, work on my game every night and play ing consistent,” Calvert said. “Last year I struggled right out of the gate so this year I’ll be looking to get off to a much better start, so hopefully that happens and it continues right through the season.”

Warriors’ Wanner looking to take next step as veteran defenceman with WHL squad

In the old days, taking a month or so off and just cruising into Western Hockey League training camp would be a normal occasion for the vast majority of players. Camp was for getting into shape for the season, right? So why bother with the extra work? No longer. And Warriors defenceman Max Wanner can tell you all about it.

The 19-year-old Estevan product and current Moose Jaw resident was among a host of elite players who took the ice in Caronport at Prairie Hockey Academy throughout the summer, putting in a ton of training and ice time in order to prepare for the upcoming campaign.

All that effort has paid dividends, as Wanner was one of several veterans who caught general manager Jason Rip plinger’s eye as showing wholesale improvement. That was all part of Wanner’s off-season goals as he looked to take his game to the next level.

“I obviously wanted to put on a couple pounds because I felt it would compliment my game if I could be more of a physical defenceman,” Wanner said shortly after a pre-season practice. “But other than that, getting faster and quicker is a big thing for me, because if you have a big guy who can move quick, he’s pretty dangerous out there. So if I can keep working on that it’ll be beneficial.” The work began not long after the Warriors’ season end ed. After a few weeks off to recover from the rigors of a 68-game WHL season, Wanner was back at it five days a week in the gym and on the ice.

“It’s a full-time gig, there’s a bit of time off but when you get to training it has to be 100 per cent,” Wanner said.

Warriors defenceman Max Wanner is looking forward to a solid season after a summer of hard work preparing for the 2022-23 campaign.

“Then just coming back, you feel bigger and stronger and that naturally comes with age, but I feel like I’ve im proved and I’m looking forward to a good season.”

Of course, Wanner has something other than the War riors on his mind. A seventh-round selection by the Ed monton Oilers in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, he was also preparing for his second NHL training camp while aim ing to turn some heads this time around.

“I made an impression last year, now I’m huntin’,” Wan ner said with a grin. “I’m trying to go out there and make a name for myself, so I’m just hoping to have a good camp, see where it takes me into the season and hopeful ly have a good year.”

The experience at main camp against the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl last fall was an eye-open er for Wanner, and left him clamouring for more at the highest level of the game.

“They say you learn at twice the rate when you’re at NHL camp compared to junior and that’s true,” he said. “ You have to become a sponge and absorb as much as you can and learn what you can when you’re there and that’s what I’m planning to do.”

Odds are Wanner will be back in Moose Jaw once the NHL situation has been settled, and he’ll be a major cog in one of the most promising Warrior teams in recent history.

“It’s kind of crazy, obviously,” Wanner said. “I remember being a 15-year-old kid just out of PHA looking up to Jett Woo and [Josh] Brook and all those guys and now I am one of those guys. It’s very exciting, but at the end of the day you have to go out and perform and do your best to be a leader.”

Putting together a winning campaign and ideally a deep playoff run with naturally be one of the main goals this season, and Wanner feels the team has the horses to do it.

“Last year, nobody really knew what to expect from us and the year before we were rebuilding still, but this is a year where it’s fun and you’re going to be on a winning hockey team,” he said. “Everyone has high hopes for this season, everyone in Moose Jaw wants us to do well and I think we should do that, give everyone something to rally around.”

Wanner is coming off a campaign where he put up six goals and 23 points in 55 games and will be looking to increase those numbers this time around.

“I’m just going to play to my strengths, which is not get ting scored on, being hard to play against, play the PK, play the power play, do a bit of everything,” he said. “I’m just looking to play a consistent game and hopefully have a good season, and I’ll fill in whatever role they need me to fill and hopefully we go deep this year.”

lineup of

After solid training camp, Warriors Jordan looking forward to overage season

Flames training camp up first, and after healthy start to campaign, 20-year-old aiming for solid end to junior career

Before Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman Cole Jordan even took the ice for his first skate at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, things were already vastly different com pared to last season. The most important being he was at full strength and completely healthy, a far cry from how he felt heading into camp in 2021 when a viral infection had dramatical ly sapped his strength and eventually led to the 20-yearold rearguard missing half the campaign. This time around, it’s been all systems go, all summer and right into training camp. And to say the least, the Brandon product has been happy to get the hard work and preparation in without anything else to worry about. “It was a really good off-season,” Jordan said after prac tice leading up to the Warriors’ first pre-season game. “I spent most of my summer in Calgary training and was able to make some big strides in my game. Now I’m look ing forward to the start of the pre-season here and get ting into the regular season as well.”

A fifth-round pick by Calgary in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, Jordan was able to work with the Flames hockey staff and skating coaches throughout the off-season, and feels that special level of instruction has paid dividends. “I think it helped a ton,” Jordan said. “It’s always great when you have that type of help with your game, and it’s definitely the best summer training-wise I’ve ever had.”

Warriors defenceman Cole Jordan, here in action against the Swift Current Bron cos last season, will be a major component of the Warriors defence this year.

It all led into Jordan taking the ice at Warriors camp last week and going 100 per cent from the get go, leading to what he felt was his best showing in camp in his four seasons with the team.

“It felt amazing,” he said. “I haven’t really had the best of luck with injuries and stuff throughout my time here so I’m looking forward to a fresh season. We have a really good group here and I’m excited to see what we can do.” That all comes with a rather large caveat -- there’s always the chance Jordan has played his last regular season game in a Warriors uniform. As an overage player, the Flames could sign Jordan out of camp and immediately assign him to the American Hockey League or ECHL, ending his junior career with one stroke of a pen.

“I’m not really thinking about that right now, I just want to go in there and have a good showing and basically do the best I can,” said Jordan, who skated in Flames rookie camp last year but was nowhere near full strength. “If that ends up happening, obviously that’s the big goal right now, but I’m just looking forward to going out there and showing what I can do.”

Should he return to the Warriors, Jordan will be a major leader on what could potentially be the best defensive corps the team has had in recent seasons.

“It almost feels like last year was my rookie year, but it’s been a long time and I’m really excited to be on this team and help some young guys improve and show them the way of the room,” Jordan said, adding that he’s done his best to help out the up-and-coming defencemen with whatever questions they have. “I just try and give some tips and pointers to the younger guys, share my knowl edge from the past years like the older guys who helped me.”

That all leads into what the Warriors and the vast ma jority of onlookers expect is going to be an enjoyable campaign for the local squad, ultimately culminating in a deep playoff run.

“It’s really exciting, the buzz around town and around the league is that we’re supposed to be a top team in the Division and in the whole league,” Jordan said. “Being an older guy with the team and having been part of the struggles with the rebuilding team the first two years I was here, it’s great to be coming into this and living up to these expectations.

“The fans should be looking forward to watching us ev ery night, we’re going to be a fun team to watch and we’re looking forward to winning a lot of games and being a top team in this league.”

Warriors’ Yager celebrates gold medal with Canada at Hlinka Gretzky U18 world championship

By Marc Smith, MJ Warriors

Brayden Yager did what he does best against the best players in the world.

The Moose Jaw Warriors forward scored five goals in five games as he helped lead Team Canada to a gold medal win at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup last week in Red Deer.

“We had a great group of guys, so it was a super fun tournament, and obvious ly, winning makes it out that much better,” Yager said, who was joined on the team by Warriors goal ie Jackson Unger.

Canada opened the tour nament with a 14-0 win over Switzerland and nev er let off the gas pedal af

ter that, going 3-0 in the round robin with a 9-1 vic tory against Slovakia and topping Sweden 3-0. Yager was dominant in the round robin, posting a goal and two points in the win over Switzerland.

He turned it on with two goals and four points against Slovakia and then added another goal and two points against Sweden.

The Canadians would keep the momentum going into the medal round with a 4-1 win over Finland in the semifinals and then anoth er 4-1 win over Sweden in the gold medal game.

Yager picked up his fifth goal, and ninth point, of

the tournament in the gold medal win, capping off a strong tournament for the CHL Rookie of the Year.

“Once I got the first one, it kind of opened the door a little bit,” Yager said. “I just wanted to get the puck on net, they were going in for me, so I just wanted to keep getting it on net.”

Yager centred Canada’s top line with Zach Ben son of the Winnipeg Ice and Ethan Gauthier from the QMJHL’s Sherbrooke Phoenix.

He said the team was so deep and to be trusted with that role was an honour. “Our fourth line could have been the first line as well, it

was a really talented group and I was happy with my role,” he said. “Getting the chance to play with Benny and Goats was pretty cool, they’re two unbelievable players and I thought we had a really good tourna ment.”

Unger didn’t get the op portunity to play in any of Canada’s games but Yag er said that didn’t stop his Warriors’ teammate from contributing to the team. “He was unbelievable, just the kind of teammate he was, supporting every body,” he said. “The kind of teammate he is was pretty cool.”

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Michelle Ellis

Remembering Bob: Longtime Warriors and community supporter Bob Calvert passed away in December, 2021

For the better part of the last four decades or so, it wasn’t too difficult to track down Bob Calvert during the winter months in Moose Jaw.

Odds are you’d find him at one of the local hockey rinks, watching son Jeff play goal or grandsons Atley and Row an put puck-after-puck in the net, standing along the glass in the old Civic Centre or in a seat in the northeast corner of Mosaic Place.

His dedication to his family and love of the sport might have meant many cold night in rinks all over western Canada, but chat with Bob about any of it, and you could tell it all meant the world to him.

Countless hours of volunteer work with the Moose Jaw Warriors and in the community in general, on top of his 50-plus year career as a leader with various media orga nizations, saw to it Bob’s legacy is one that will not soon be forgotten.

Moose Jaw lost Robert ‘Bob’ Gerald Calvert on Wednes day, Dec. 22,2021 after a long battle with cancer. He was 74 years old.

Shortly after his family announced his passing, messag es began to flood social media offering condolences and expressing just how much Bob meant to the community.

“We’ve had a lot of messages and calls from people, and I haven’t gone online a bunch to see but I hear there’s quite a bit and we really appreciate it,” son Jeff Calvert said. “I’m happy that he meant that much to other people because he meant that much to all of us.”

In addition to his time working for a host of high-pro file media organizations — including Glacier Media and the Moose Jaw Express in recent years — Bob was well known for his support of the Warriors. And not just as a fan.

A member of the team’s board of directors for decades, Bob had a major hand in the growth of the franchise into the high mid-market club it has become today. Name a major venture the team has undertaken since its incep tion, and odds are he had a hand in its development.

“I was lucky enough to get to know Bob before his board days, and he was always very passionate about the club, about how the club presented itself in the communi ty and what it stood for,” said Warriors president Chad Taylor. “That at the end of the day, it competed and our players and our team had all the benefits that the bigger teams had, even though our budgets weren’t the same.”

And once a good idea came to the forefront, Bob wasn’t about to let it fall by the wayside.

“There was a good reason he had nickname ‘Badger’,” Taylor said with a chuckle. “If he wanted something

or to get his point across, he was adamant. So he was a great board member in that regard. He was tough, he was tough on myself as the chairman, he was tough on our board members, but his heart was always in the right spot. He had so much passion for the club and it showed in everything he did for the team.”

That includes the development of Mosaic Place, the 4,400-seat jewel of a major-junior arena located in down town Moose Jaw. Bob spent countless hours fundraising for the project, in addition to spending time on planning that would lead to financial windfalls in the future.

“Bob was very instrumental going into the building,” Taylor said. “He was in charge of the suites and how they were going to be laid out and getting them filled. And he was a huge contributor helping out on the fundraising side of the building and for the club on the club side… I mean, Bob was Bob, he was anywhere you needed him to be.”

Part of that stemmed from just how much Bob cared for Moose Jaw in general — even to the point that he made it his business to be a part of the community as much as he could.

“Yeah, he loved it,” Jeff said of his dad’s dedication to the city. “He was a huge proponent of local, everything local. He didn’t like having to go somewhere else to get some thing; he enjoyed buzzing around town and seeing peo ple. He put the most miles on a car that I’ve ever seen… he was always driving around visiting people that he dealt with on a day-to-day basis.”

Bob was also an avid golfer — with two hole-in-ones to his credit — and served as a board member with the Hillcrest Golf Club over the years. He and wife Jackie — to whom he was married for 52 years — even took the occasional winter break to head down to Florida for a

Bob Calvert — pictured here with son Jeff Calvert and Todd Johnson, both former Moose Jaw Warriors — was a constant supporter of the Warriors Alumni Golf Tournament.

taking advantage of the year-round

State.

in the

In more recent years, Bob has had an extra reason to hit the rink. Oldest grandson Atley, 19 has been a member of the Warriors the past three seasons, while Rowan, 17, is a Saskatoon Blades prospect who scored his first WHL goal on Dec. 27, 2021.

loved watching them play,” Jeff said. “And then there was (Jeff’s daughter Lilah’s) dance stuff and (sister Rob in’s) dance stuff and their shows and he’d go to all of those, too. They just weren’t as often as hockey, where there is 60, 70 games a year, but he loved watching them and he was just as proud of them.”

One thing that’s for certain, Bob Calvert will be missed in Moose Jaw, both for his volunteer work and efforts to simply make the city a better place.

just basically worked until he couldn’t work any more,” Jeff said, “and in the industry that he loved and in the town that he loved.”

Taylor felt much the same way.

will be missed from an organization side but as a person as well,” he said. “We loved seeing the passion he had for the game and for the team. He cared about the club and the community and he’s going to be missed.”

Bellamy

in

Lye Helland was a sportsman at heart with a huge love of hockey. From the onset of junior hockey in Moose Jaw, he invested countless hours en couraging the young men that made Moose Jaw home while they were here.

After the fire of August 27th, 1955 when the 35 year old Moose Jaw are na burnt to the ground, there was a brief time of uncertainty for hockey in Moose Jaw.

With a band of deprieved hockey en thusiasts, plans were set to establish a new arena professionally fashioned by architect Joseph Pettick and the sod was turned in February of 1958. Because of some minor setbacks, the roof blowing off during a New Year’s Eve wind storm and delayed ship ments of steel, the project was stalled. Finally on September 19, 1959, the Civic Centre was declared officially

open by Premier T. C. Douglas. Helland, along with key man Lorne Humphries and a group of devoted activists made positive steps to get a WHL team to Moose Jaw in 1983. Although Moose Jaw had a tier 1 hockey team in the 50’s, sliding to a tier 2 team for a few years until 1983, they decided they needed a team of an exceptional caliber, Warrior style. Lyle admitted it was a real struggle to get a Junior WHL team to Moose Jaw and after “a bunch of guys put up promissory notes of $20,000 each to get the team here,” including himself, he said he really put his life on the line for the venture. At one point, the notes were called and thankfully, Maurice McCaig came through and covered the cheque. Another instrumental man in the process was Sid Stinson, a re tired mailman who delivered letters

door to door promoting the team be cause there wasn’t enough money for stamps. Until his passing last October, Hel land nurtured the roots of hockey in this town as a committed fan and continued to support and encour age the Moose Jaw Warriors every chance he got.

Lyle Helland

Lyle Helland Always Involved

Remembering Warriors Hall of Famer Lyle Helland

The Moose Jaw Warriors said good bye to one of their key builders. Lyle Helland, a member of the War riors and Legends Hall Fame, passed away on October 23, 2018 after a short illness. He was 84. Helland’s dedication to the Tribe was crucial to their existence — his work included physically transport ing team infrastructure during the move from Winnipeg in 1954, finan cial support that included mortgag ing his home for the team, years of

time on the board of directors and a season-ticket holder for more than 30 years.

He was also a prominent member of the Moose Jaw fastball community, acting as caretaker at Memorial Field for decades.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside Lyle Odelein and Darryl Laplante in 2013.

The Warriors held a special pre-game on-ice tribute to Helland shortly fol lowing his passing, honouring him for his dedication to the team and community over the years.

Lyle Helland coached the Mossbank girls team in the

First Sask Team at Quebec Pee Wee Tournament in 1986

Warriors Hall of Fame Builder: Doug Hetherington

most people think of the Conexus Warriors and Legends Hall of Fame they remember the contribu tions of former players like Theoren Fleury and Mike Keane. The War riors celebrated their 30th anniversa ry in 2014, but the team would not have reached that milestone without the contributions of those behind the scenes. That is the purpose of the Hall of Fame’s Builder category. Doug Hetherington was inducted in the Builder category as part of the 2014 Hall of Fame class. Hether ington sat on the team’s Board of Di rectors from 2004 to 2011, serving as the team’s Alternate Governor. Heth erington passed away on January 16, 2011 and was inducted posthumous ly.

Darin Chow served as the team’s President and Governor during Hetherington’s tenure on the board. Chow says he had met Hetherington before getting involved with the or

In fact, Hetherington was an original member of the Multiplex Builders Group and played a key role in the project. Chow says that Hetherington helped make the construction of Mosaic Place a reality.

“Doug was there throughout the process and from the very beginning. He was instrumental in bridging that gap between the team and the business community,” said Chow. “He made sure that the business leaders in the city were not only on board but actively engaged in doing what was needed to be done to make sure that the fi nances were there from the private sector, to match gov ernment funding and community funding.”

Chow says he is glad that Hetherington is getting the rec ognithion that he deserves.

“Doug is a very deserving nominee; he had as much to do with the club in its most recent phase of history as anybody,” said Chow. “He had a lasting effect, not only through the legacy of his son Mark who in now on the bord, but also in a less obvious — but just as import ant — way in terms of his business-savvy approach. He made sure the club is financially viable, looking to the future, and was doing what was needed to be done to make sure that fans were getting a good experience. His presence is still felt on the board.”

Hetherington was inducted into the Hall of Fame along side Scott Schoneck and Reed Low at a special ceremony on Friday, November 28, 2014.

Sasakamoose made an indelible mark in hockey history

“Chief Running Deer” Frederick Sa sakamoose made an indelible mark in hockey history by being the first Canadian aboriginal player in the National Hockey League and the first First Nations player with treaty Sta

Moose Jaw Canucks. At first, Freddy didn’t want to leave home again, begrudging the years spent away from the love of his fam ily at residential school but he was encouraged by his parents to go, of

Frederick “Fred” Sasakamoose C.M. - Phote coutesy of Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame

were instrumental in helping Sasaka moose excel on the ice. During his 18th and 19th year, Sasakamoose went to the Black Hawks camp and in 1953 was called up to play a twogame trial but was sent back to ju niors. The loss at junior playoffs in February of 1954 was a disappoint ment for the team and for Fred who had resigned himself to returning to his roots. Before the evening was over, adulation was in the air with the announcement that he would be immediately reporting to the Chica go Black Hawks. In his own words, Fred Sasakamoose experienced “the greatest moment of his life” playing on Hockey Night in Canada. The love for his family and culture even tually brought him back to Saskatch ewan.

In February of 2008, dignitaries and Senator’s players Frank Mahovlich and Bob Peterson visited the Ahtah kakoop First Nation in Saskatchewan to celebrate Sasakamoose’s contri

bution to his First Nation’s heritage, sports and culture. There’s no de nying that he has made a historical mark in opening up opportunities for other aboriginals in league play.

After retiring from hockey, Sasaka moose became a band councillor on his home reserve and for six years served as chief of the Ahtahkakoop First Nation.

He has also worked to develop sports programs for aboriginal youth and strongly promoted the Saskatche wan Aboriginal Summer and Win ter Games saying they were impera tive to helping young natives. After looking back at his life, he said he felt good about his career and the oppor tunity to be a good role model.

February 27th of 2011 marked the 57th Anniversary of Fred Sasaka moose’s spot in the limelight at Ma ple Leaf Gardens in Toronto and the historic pivotal-point that opened up the league for other aboriginal players; this “Chief Running Dear”

dancing on skates!

Fred Sasakamoose passed away at the age of 86 on November 24th, 2020. On the day of his passing, the Black hawks issued a statement saying, “Today we lost a luminary in the hockey world with the passing of Fred Sasakamoose.

“Fred inspired many across the sport and throughout North Amer ica after becoming one of the first Indigenous-born athletes to play in the National Hockey League when he played 11 games with the Black hawks during the 1953-54 season. Fred’s family spoke of his love for his culture, his people and his language. That lasting impact of his legacy will forever be celebrated and continue to bring people together for genera tions to come.”