Marc Smith/MJ Warriors

Brandon, MB — The Moose Jaw Warriors will be looking to turn the page quickly following a lopsided preseason loss in Brandon on Friday night.

Moose Jaw fell 9-1 to the Wheat Kings to kick-off their weekend home-and-home set to finish off the exhibition schedule.

We were a half step behind for the majority of the game, I thought there’s a couple of shifts here and there where the guys were forechecking hard and causing turnovers and we just couldn’t keep it consistent,” Warriors assistant coach Curtis Pereverzoff said.

Assiniboia, SK — Three goals in the third period helped power the Moose Jaw Warriors past the Swift Current Broncos in preseason action on Saturday night.

Jagger Firkus and Atley Calvert had a hat trick each and combined for11 points in the 7-4 win for the Warriors.

“I didn’t really play too much with [Jagger] last season because he always playing with [Brayden Yager], but it was fun, I enjoy playing with Firk, he’s a great player,” Calvert said after the game.

The Moose Jaw Warriors are set to welcome 75 players next week for the team’s 2023 Training Camp.

This year’s training camp will feature 44 forwards, 23 defencemen and eight goaltenders battling for spots on the team’s roster.

The biggest group of players will be in the 2008 age group with 29 players getting their first taste of a Western Hockey League camp. There will be 13 players in the 2007 age group, 16 in 2006, nine in 2005, four in 2004, and four in 2003.

Moose Jaw, SK — The Moose Jaw Warriors are excited to announce the signing of forwards Andrej Tomašec and Patrik Král to their WHL Scholarship and Development Agreements.

“Adding Andrej and Patrik brings a lot of speed to our team, which is one thing we wanted to address this year, and both players have skill and will give us more depth to our forward group,” Warriors general manager Jason Ripplinger said.

Tomašec was selected by the Warriors in the first round, 48th overall, in the 2023 CHL Import.

Brayden Yager’s first taste of the National Hockey League was everything he had hoped.

“I had a ton of fun, on the ice, with our workouts and fitness testing, it was awesome,” Yager said.

The Moose Jaw Warriors forward took part in his first Development Camp with the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this month after being selected by the team with the 14th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

Yager said going from the draft straight to Pittsburgh for his first NHL camp was a whirlwind.

Moose Jaw, SK — The Moose Jaw Warriors have traded 2004-born goaltender Justen Maric to the Portland Winterhawks in exchange for a sixth-round selection in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft.

Maric appeared in three games last season with the Warriors, posting a 0-1 record with a 3.84 goals-against average and a 0.864 save percentage.

He was originally acquired through a trade with the Red Deer Rebels in 2022.

We thank Justen for his time with the Warriors.

The Moose Jaw Warriors came away with two skilled forwards from Wednesday’s 2023 CHL Import Draft.

Moose Jaw used its first-round pick on Slovakian forward Andrej Tomasec and then picked Czechia forward Patrik Kral with the team’s second-round pick.

“We got two players that are highly skilled and skate really well,” Warriors general manager Jason Ripplinger said. “They’re going to complement our 2006 group really well.”

The Warriors identified Tomasec as a target for their 48th overall selection in the first round.

Brayden Yager became the 12th player in Moose Jaw Warriors’ franchise history to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft.

The 18-year-old forward was picked 14th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins at the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville, TN on Wednesday.

“I’m still at a loss for words right now,” Yager said shortly after being drafted. “I model my game after Sidney Crosby, so it’s pretty crazy to think I’m wearing the same jersey he is.”

Yager is the first Warrior to be selected by the Penguins.

Moose Jaw, SK — The Moose Jaw Warriors made 10 selections during the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft on Thursday.

Moose Jaw added five forwards and five defencemen to its prospects pool over the course of 12 rounds.

“It’s an exciting day for us, in our first two picks, we were able to get two players that we had rated in the first round this year,” Warriors general manager Jason Ripplinger said.

“It was a good balance this year, you usually don’t pick that many defencemen, but we went off our board and they’re quality defencemen.”

The Seattle Kraken have signed Moose Jaw Warriors forward Jagger Firkus to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Firkus was originally selected by the Kraken with the 35th overall selection in the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft.

The Irma, AB product has led the Warriors in scoring each of the past two seasons, setting a new career-high in 2022-23 with 40 goals and 88 points in 66 games.

Over 167 career games in the Western Hockey League, Firkus has 83 goals and 184 points.