It’s been three years since the last induction ceremony, but the Moose Jaw Warriors will once again see a pair of names enshrined in the Warriors and Legends Hall of Fame next month.
The team recently announced that high-scoring defenceman Kevin Masters and MJHL coaching legend Paul Dyck will be honoured as the 2023 honourees during the induction banquet on Feb. 16 at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
The ceremony will be the first for the WHL squad since 2019, with the previous events cancelled due to the pandemic.
The Warriors and Legends Hall of Fame annually selects an elite player from their time with the team and a player who has excelled since leaving the Warriors for enshrinement on the north wall of the concourse in the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
Masters played for the Warriors from the 1988-89 season through the 1991-92 campaign and is the sixth-highest-scoring defenceman in team history.
After putting up a goal and three points in 32 games in his rookie season, Masters found his stride in the WHL and became one of the league’s ironmen, too boot -- he’d miss only two games over the next three campaigns and would play all 72 contests in both 1990-91 and 1991-92.
Masters’ offensive production was just as consistent -- he had 13 goals and 41 points in 1989-90, 13 goals and 51 points in 1990-91 and 11 goals and 51 points in 1991-92.
Masters played his final WHL season in Red Deer before joining the University of Calgary Dinos, where he played two seasons and graduated with a degree in Kinesiology. He’s currently a strength and conditioning coach in Edmonton.
Kevin and his wife Katherine have two sons, Kyle and Lucas, with Kyle a member of the Kamloops Blazers and a fourth-round pick by the Minnesota Wild in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Lukas is currently an assistant captain with OHA Edmonton in the U18 Prep division of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League.
Dyck suited up with the Warriors from 1989-90 through the 1990-91 campaign and like Masters was a consistent rock on the blueline. Playing all 72 games both seasons, Dyck had five goals and 15 points in his rookie season and broke out with 12 goals and 53 points the following campaign.
That resulted in Dyck being drafted in the 11th round by the Pittsburgh Penguins, which turned into a decade-long career in the IHL followed by five seasons in the German Elite League.
Even with all that, Dyck is much better known for what he’s accomplished in the coaching ranks.
Dyck joined the Steinbach Pistons of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League in 2010 and has become one of the most revered coaches in the Junior A league. He holds the record for the fastest MJHL coach to 250 wins and this past November won his 400th game.
With Dyck as head coach and general manager, the Pistons won the MJHL championship in 2013 and 2018, with Dyck being named the MJHL coach of the year in both 2017 and 2018. Dyck was also an assistant coach for Canada West’s gold-medal team at the 2015 World Junior A Championship.
Paul and his wife Candice have three children, Annikah, Nate and Lucas, and they made their home in Steinbach.
Tickets for the 2022 Conexus Warriors and Legends Hall of Fame ceremony are available at the Moose Jaw Warriors office on the north side of the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
