It should come as no surprise that with the kind of the line-up the Moose Jaw Warriors have heading into the 2022-23 Western Hockey League season, training camp this past week was an exceptionally high-level and competitive one.
That translated into an entertaining Black-White intrasquad game on Sunday afternoon, as Marek Howell scored 2:33 into overtime on a slick feed from the blueline by Atley Calvert to give Team White a 5-4 victory.
That goal -- and many of the markers throughout the contest at the Moose Jaw Events Centre -- was a microcosm of camp in general. Up-and-coming rookies like Howell working alongside rugged veterans like Calvert with a single objective in mind: prepare for one of the most promising seasons in recent history for the local WHL squad.
Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary was one of many who were impressed with what they saw right from the get-go, especially from the players who have been through many a war the past few seasons.
“First and foremost I’m really proud of how our returning guys have come to camp,” O’Leary said during the first intermission of Sunday’s contest. “The challenge was to take another step ahead here and continue this year where we left off last year and I think they’ve done that. There’s been an excitement around camp with guys knowing that expectations are a little bit higher, they came to camp in great shape and the intensity was there.”
The Warriors have 20 players returning from last season’s 37-win crew that finished second in the East Division after a torrid second-half run. With that much experience and that much success already under their belts, the off-season message was clear when last season wrapped up back in mid-May -- the potential for this year’s team is through the roof, and the team expects veterans and rookies alike to be ready for it.
“That’s what we’ve been talking about, we’re not young and developing anymore and it starts now, the time is now,” O’Leary said. “That’s been the mindset all summer long, the players know it and we look at the group that we have, a lot of them have been here since the league was shut down in 2020, back then we were losing games by six and seven goals. Now that group has gotten older, they’ve put in the time to develop and take advantage of the moment.”
Seeing players return looking like they were a year older as well as a year better -- in other words, having taken the message to heart -- wasn’t a surprise in any way to the Warriors’ staff.
“We know what kind of group we have character-wise,” O’Leary said. “They’re a tight-knit group of players, they get along great in the room and they play for each other and I think at the end of the day they don’t want to let each other down and that goes a long way. We’re seeing it again earlier along.”
Of course, there are still positions to play for and youngsters who would love nothing more than to unseat one of those veterans. That led to a exceptionally competitive camp, leading into a theme the team has carried throughout O’Leary’s tenure.
“We talk about compete all the time and that’s the separator between wins and losses and what separates a good player from a great player,” he said. “The skill level from the first year players right through the veteran returning guys has been exceptional and that’s a testament to (general manager) Jason (Ripplinger) and his scouting staff, bringing in good players and skilled players that coaches like to work with.”
That was seen in the Black-White Game, which saw Team White get a goal and two assists from Calvert and a goal from fellow veteran Riley Niven, wilth 2021 first-round Bantam Draft pick Howell picking up a pair of goals and prospect Jake Britlz scoring their other marker. Max Wanner had a pair of assists.
Team Black had a pair of goals from 2020 second-round pick Riche -- including the tying marker on a slick one-timer from Denton Mateycuk with 16 seconds remaining to tie the game 4-4 -- along with single goal from veterans Eric Alarie and Josh Hoekstra.
The focus will now turn toward the first exhibition game of the season on Friday, Sept. 9 against the Swift Current Broncos at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, with game time at 7 p.m. Needless to say, the team is looking forward to taking the ice against someone other than themselves.
“I know the players are for sure, and for us as coaches, it’s another step toward getting that consistency in terms of the work habits and playing to our standard,” O’Leary said. “I know the players are chomping at the bit for an exciting year and this is just step one.”
