There’s an old story from the glory days of the Edmonton Oilers where after their Stanley Cup win in the 1986-87 season, 40 or so players gathered for the first ice session at the following training camp and were hit with a straightforward message from head coach Glen Sather.
“Well boys, there’s one or two spots open right now, good luck.”
With the number of veterans and highly touted prospects returning to the team from the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign and the East Division Hub, it would be easy for the Moose Jaw Warriors to take the same approach.
They most definitely aren’t.
A total of 46 players -- including 20 from last year’s crew -- will descend on Mosaic Place beginning Tuesday, and general manager Jason Ripplinger is expecting a battle from start to finish.
“I think we have a competitive roster, it gives our coaches a chance to play with four lines and we have some younger guys coming in to compete for spots,” Ripplinger said. “I don’t want to say there are going to be two or three open spots, I think there are a lot of spots. Veterans need to come in and push and the rookies are going to come in and push… at the end of the day, there are going to be some guys on the bubble.”
To get an idea of how things stand, almost the entire Warriors defensive core -- including captain Daemon Hunt, 2021 Calgary Flames draft pick Cole Jordan and Edmonton Oilers draft pick Max Wanner -- is set to return. They’ll also have 14 forwards back from last year, including New York Rangers draft pick Ryder Korczak, Florida Panthers invitee Eric Alarie and highly touted second-years Brayden Yager and Jagger Firkus.
All told, the Warriors will have four goaltenders -- including overager Carl Tetachuk and Brett Mirwald, who played in the Hub last season -- 14 defencemen and 28 forwards in camp.
While that’s far, far smaller than the close to 100 players the team has taken a look at in the past, the more compact format will offer everyone a chance to have an impact.
“We decided this year after not being able to see our list players that they deserve an opportunity to get a good look,” Ripplinger said. “When you have a camp this size, everyone is going to have an opportunity to show their stuff. There will be lots of ice time for this amount of kids, and it’s not going to be an easy camp. We want to get this team into the playoffs and that’s going to take hard work.”
The Warriors will see two players arrive a little later than normal: Czech forward Martin Rysavy will attend Columbus Blue Jackets prospect camp before joining the Warriors later in September, and Slovakian Robert Baco will arrive in Moose Jaw Sept. 10.
After parent and player meetings on Tuesday, things get going in earnest on Wednesday at 8 a.m. with fitness testing at YaraCentre, followed by Team White practice at 2 p.m. and Team Black practice at 3:15 p.m. Practices and scrimmages will take place throughout the week until Sunday, when the annual Black and White game takes place at 4 p.m.
The Warriors open their pre-season schedule -- and play the first WHL game at Mosaic Place since spring of 2020 -- on Tuesday, Sept. 14 against the Brandon Wheat Kings.
The best news of all? All practices and scrimmages are open to the public. Admission to the Black White Game by donation, with proceeds going to the Canadian Mental Health Association in the memory of Ethan Williams.
“It’s been a long two years and we’re excited to get this going,” Ripplinger said. “I’ve talked to a lot of the players over the summer and they’re excited to get this going, too, so it’s an exciting time here in Moose Jaw.”
For a look at the full camp schedule, you can click right here.
