Marc Smith/MJ Warriors

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.

Moose Jaw, SK – The Moose Jaw Warriors saw their season come to an end at the hands of the Winnipeg ICE for the second straight season.

A six-goal second period helped push Winnipeg past the Warriors, 8-2, in Game 6 of their second-round series on Monday night.

“Obviously tonight it’s not the way we wanted it to go, but, lots of guys should be really proud of the way they played all season in there,” Warriors assistant coach Scott King said.

Moose Jaw, SK – The Moose Jaw Warriors put together another strong game but came up just short in Game 4 on Wednesday night.

Zack Ostapchuk scored 11:56 into overtime to lift the Winnipeg ICE to a 3-2 win, tying the best-of-seven second-round series at 2-2.

“We went out there and we played hard and we got our looks, but there’s a couple of times where maybe we could have put the puck to the net and we didn’t, sometimes you just need to get rubber around the goalie,” Warriors captain Denton Mateychuk said.

For the second consecutive spring, the Winnipeg ICE and Moose Jaw Warriors will meet in the Second Round of the WHL Playoffs.

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Lethbridge, AB — The Moose Jaw Warriors took full control of their first-round series against the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Tuesday night.

The Warriors went into the ENMAX Centre and skated to a 6-2 win in Game 3, taking a 3-0 advantage in the best-of-seven series.

“The guys did a good job of making sure that we were inside first [in the defensive zone], we did a good job in front of Connor and then obviously Connor made all the saves that we have come to expect him to make,” Warriors assistant coach Gord Burnett said.

The Moose Jaw Warriors and Lethbridge Hurricanes put together an epic battle for Game 1 of their best-of-seven series on Friday night.

The two teams combined for 105 shots and just three goals over 99 minutes of hockey at the Moose Jaw Events Centre with the Warriors pulling out the 2-1 double overtime victory.

“It showed who wanted it more by the end of that… it’s awesome to see that our team never gave up,” Warriors forward Jagger Firkus said after scoring the overtime winner.