Moose Jaw Warriors join World Junior hopefuls in playing waiting game

The Moose Jaw Warriors are hoping the Ewing Theory will become a thing for the local Western Hockey League crew in the coming weeks.

The theory revolves around former New York Knicks star Patrick Ewing and how when he left the team, the Knicks immediately improved in the standings -- a product of overall team play compensating for missing his presence.

With three of the Warriors’ elite players currently playing the waiting game as Team Canada makes the final selections for the 2024 World Junior Hockey Championship, there’s a possibility Moose Jaw will need to put the Ewing Theory into practice for the next seven games -- and ideally see some success in the process.

“I like the sound of that, but certainly a big part of it will be how our guys step up in the line-up,” Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary said after a recent practice. “The good thing is we’ve been seeing consistency from up and down the line-up. Atley’s line has been really playing well, we’ve been getting offence from Schuurman’s line and our fourth line the last few games has been really good. So the fact we’re going along with our depth in scoring is really promising.”

The Warriors got their first test without the trio on Tuesday night and looked like they did enough to win, only for a late unlucky goal to lead to a 2-1 victory for the Kelowna Rockets.

Meanwhile, team captain Denton Mateychuk, forward Jagger Firkus and forward Brayden Yager were on the ice this afternoon for the second of two exhibition games against the USports All Stars, dropping a 6-1 decision after taking a 4-2 win in their first meeting Tuesday.

Seeing the trio taking their shot at Team Canada is naturally heartening for their head coach, especially given their long and fruitful time in Moose Jaw.

“I think it’s a proud moment for the organization and we’re certainly proud of all three,” O’Leary said. “The first thing that comes to mind is all three of them have been here a long time, they were here in the tough times when we weren’t winning a lot of games and they deserve this opportunity. They’re a big part of our organization and I think they’d be a real great addition to Team Canada.”

Even with their pedigree and notoriety -- all three players have been projected as cracking Canada’s line-up, with Firkus even featured in a TSN interview prior to camp -- there’s always the feeling of the unknown. But getting that foot in the door is the important first step, and when the roster is announced later Wednesday, the hope is all three will be playing for Team Canada.

“You see every season there are really good players who don’t even get invited and that’s a testament to these guys and their versatility,” O’Leary said. “ At the end of the day, as much as they’re our best players here, you go into that camp and there are a lot of best players, so the more boxes you can check in terms of how you play, the better opportunity you’ll have.”

The major drawback, of course, is if the trio make it, they’ll be gone for a lengthy stretch as they take their shot at gold in Gothenburg, Sweden.

That’s something the Warriors have been preparing for since day one of the campaign and are now ready to deal with.

“You have to look at it as nothing but a positive,” O’Leary said. “At the end of the day, it’s a privilege to coach three guys who are going to the World Junior camp, and the other glass half full way to look at it is it’s a real opportunity for other guys.

“We’ve been carrying seven or eight defencemen all year and 15 forwards and it’s hard to get any consistency with some players and real minutes and consistent minutes. This is their chance, you can show you have developed and that you have progressed.”

Canada’s National Junior Team will travel to Malmo, Sweden on Dec. 14 for a pre-tournament camp ahead of the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship. As part of its preparations, Canada will open its pre-tournament schedule against a U25 team from Denmark on Dec. 19 before facing Switzerland on Dec. 22 and the United States on Dec. 23.

The 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship begins on Boxing Day when Canada takes on Finland at 7:30 a.m. Moose Jaw time.

The Warriors are back in action on Friday night when the Kamloops Blazers are in town. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.