Moose Jaw, SK — Two players known for their hard-nosed play and dedication to the game were honoured on Friday night.
Troy Brouwer and Deryk Engelland were inducted into the Conexus Warriors and Legends Hall of Fame, joining a long list of Warriors’ legends on the wall at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
“I had no idea that it was going to be this big and amazing and to be one of the players selected for it, it’s an honour,” Brouwer said.
Brouwer, a former Warriors captain, and Engelland, an assistant captain during his time in Moose Jaw, were honoured for their stellar careers with the Warriors and in the National Hockey League.
“It’s almost surreal,” Engelland said. “To be back here 21 years later, getting honoured like this, it’s truly amazing, just a great honour to be here in such a great community, organization and it’s been far too long since I’ve been back here.”
Brouwer played five seasons with the Warriors, finishing his career by helping lead the team to its only WHL Championship Series appearance in 2005-06.
The Vancouver, B.C. product also led the league in scoring in his 20-year-old season with 49 goals and 102 points. He finished his WHL career with 103 goals and 219 points in 287 games.
Brouwer would go on to play 851 games in the NHL with Chicago, Washington, St. Louis, Calgary and Florida, posting 182 goals and 363 points. He won the Stanley Cup in 2010 with the Blackhawks.
“It’s so much fun to be able to get back with the guys, share some stories, have some fun, have some laughs because we don’t get together enough, life just takes you in too many different directions,” he said.
Engelland also played five seasons with the Warriors, finishing with 14 goals, 48 points and 520 penalty minutes in 243 career games.
The Leduc, AB product would then have a lengthy professional career that included 671 games in the NHL, 338 in the AHL and 148 in the ECHL.
He finished with 30 goals and 127 points in his NHL career with Pittsburgh, Calgary and Vegas.
“It was a shock,” Engelland said on getting the call that he was being inducted. “For me, how I came up through my career, I never thought that I’d be involved in something like this, so it’s just an honour to be here.”
Engelland helped lead the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final in their first season in Vegas and won the 2018 Mark Messier Leadership Award for his work in the community during that season.
Both players were part of the Warriors during the Civic Centre era and said it was incredible to see the growth of the organization in its 40th season in Moose Jaw.
“I do miss not seeing the dip in the roof here,” Engelland said. “Lots of good memories in the Crushed Can, but it’s great to see this building, can’t wait to see a game here tomorrow night and 40 years, it’s amazing, a community-based team, small-town, blue collar town that support the team, I have nothing but great memories of playing here.”
As the Warriors look to build towards another deep playoff run this season, Brouwer’s message to this year’s players was to enjoy the journey.
“You might only have one chance at it, whether it’s junior career, pro career, to be able to win a championship is a very special thing and you’re going to be a very small class of players,” he said.
“If they’re able to pull it off this year, they’re going to be remembered in Moose Jaw forever, our team [in 2005-06] is going to get pushed aside, which would be great.”
Brouwer and Engelland will be honoured again on Saturday night before the Hall of Fame Game when the Warriors take on the Vancouver Giants at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.