But that didn’t happen.
What did go down was the strangest season in Western Hockey League history as Popple and his teammates battled through 24 games playing out of the East Division Hub in Regina. Not ideal by any stretch of the imagination, but for the Brandon native and four-year veteran of the WHL wars, all in a Warriors uniform, it might as well have been perfect.
Popple recently looked back on his time in the hub and his four seasons with the Tribe, and as one might guess, the memories were nothing but exceptional.
Let’s start with the near-past first.
Life in the Hub
“I loved it, I really did, it was awesome,” Popple said of the 46 days spent isolated with teammates and staff in Regina. “The amount of hard work that got put into that I think was a little under noticed, honestly. For everything to go as smooth as it did and as well as it did is pretty incredible. We were fortunate just to even play, you look at some of the other leagues that got shut down after a while or didn’t even play, it was such a great opportunity. It was quick, the two months went by so fast, but I really enjoyed myself.”
Things were kept fairly regimented through the time at the rink and basically broken down into four days: game day at 4 p.m., game day at 8 p.m., practice day and off day.
“So it was basically wake up, go to the dining hall and have breakfast and either come back to the dorm for a little while and hang out or go skate,” Popple explained. “Then lunch, and if it wasn’t a game day it has back at the dorms, hanging out with the boys, playing cards, playing PS4 and Xbox, watching movies, basically if you weren’t at the rink you were at the dorm.”
The time away from the ice was essentially one gigantic bus trip given the amount of time spent with teammates, only without the cramped seats and a lot more space to move around.
“Truthfully, it was just nice to be able to hang out with the boys,” Popple said. “That was our getaway from hockey and after not seeing anyone for so long, it was nice to be in someone else’s presence, especially after being in quarantine and being there by yourself.
“That was a big part of it for me anyway, talking to the guys every day and being with the team.”
One Last Visit
When it came time to leave once the Warriors’ campaign wrapped on April 26, having spent so much time in such a unique environment didn’t come without it’s challenges.
“It was funny, the weirdest thing was probably driving home after not having driven for two months, it was a little weird to get back behind the wheel,” Popple said with a laugh. “But it was nice to see the family and take a deep breath once you got out of there… For me, not coming back is a little bittersweet, but it was just nice to play some hockey and get some games in.”
Popple is currently back home in Brandon and is preparing to head up north for the summer to work at his father’s golf course in Clear Lake. But before he headed back east, he had one last important stop to make in Moose Jaw.
“I was able to head in and see my billets for a couple days before heading out, that was really nice,” Popple said of his visit with Mike and Karlene Benallick, with whom he lived all four seasons while with the Warriors
“They’re my second family now, I was joking around that they can’t get rid of me now, I’m with them for life. They’re just the best people and I couldn’t have asked for better billets.”
Looking Back
Popple put together a solid campaign in the Hub, putting up six goals and 16 points through the 24 games while holding a leadership role as one of the team’s assistant captains. All told, he’d score 31 goals and 71 points through 198 games in a Moose Jaw uniform.
And he saw just about all there was to see in junior hockey in the process, from the highs of their Scotty Munro Trophy-winning season in his rookie year to the lows of the rebuilding campaign last season.
“I saw both sides of the story, when I was younger we had an unreal team with some extremely talented guys and it was so cool to see them practice and play every day and just try and soak that in and learn as much as I could from them,”’ Popple said.
“We went into a bit of a rebuild after that and that was tough, but I just tried to teach the younger guys the same way the older guys taught me and they’re going to be an unreal team here the next couple years with the talent they have.”
Interestingly enough, while Popple wasn’t an offensive juggernaut through his career, he was all over the Warriors’ annual awards for his off-ice work.
Popple won the team’s 2018 Scholastic Achievement Award, and followed up with the team Humanitarian Award in 2019 and 2020.
The final two honours were a product of giving back to the community that had given so much to the team.
“I was lucky enough to be in Moose Jaw all four years and I love the city, it’s one of the best places to play junior hockey for sure,” Popple said.
The Future
Popple will be one of many onlookers following the team with a keen eye from afar over the next few seasons, and for a good reason: when you’ve played a part in moulding what could be one of the most talent-laden teams in the league the next couple years, you’re going to want to see how things turn out.
“I was laughing about this the other day, I probably learned as much from them as they did from me,” Popple said. “They’re so, so skilled. I had a chance to live with Brayden Yager and got to know him well, he’s going to be a hell of a talent. Then they have Huntsy and Ryder as well and other guys like Jagger and Haysey and Calder Anderson, they’re just getting into the prime of their dub career and you can tell how good they’re going to be. They’re going to be unreal and it’s going to be fun to watch them.”
As for himself, things are in a bit of limbo at the moment, but Popple is aiming to land at a USports school to further his education and play hockey.
“I’ve talked to some schools in Canada, so that’s definitely the route I’ll be going with the scholarship package,” he said. “Possibly get into business, kind of test the waters and take some courses and see what interests me and go from there.”
One thing that’s for certain is Moose Jaw will always be close to his heart.
“The city cares so much about the players and the organization is first-class all the way, the coaches, the management, the team staff, it’s one of the best-run organizations in the league without a doubt,” Popple said.
