With the kind of season the Moose Jaw Warriors have put together and the steady improvement they’ve shown through the last few years, it seems like the Moose Jaw Warriors’ most recent announcement was only a matter of time.
The Warriors revealed earlier this week that the Western Hockey League team has re-signed general manager Jason Ripplinger and head coach Mark O’Leary to multi-year extensions, solidifying the team leadership for the near future.
“Continuing to build franchise stability is vital for the Warriors board of directors and we feel we’ve done that by bringing back Jason and Mark,” said Bob Dougall, Warriors president and team governor.
Ripplinger was named the Warriors general manager in April 2021 and has since led the team to back-to-back 40-win seasons and three straight trips to the Western Hockey League playoffs, including this season.
He originally joined the Warriors as assistant general manager in 2017 and previously had spent 17 years with the Vancouver Giants as head scout and director of player personnel.
This past season, Ripplinger focused on augmenting the Warriors’ core, which was built through the draft, by acquiring key players like Matthew Savoie, Kalem Parker, Brayden Schuurman, Rilen Kovacevic and Vojtech Port.
“Jason built an exciting team for this season while at the same time keeping an eye on the future through a strong draft-and-develop model,” Dougall said. “We’re excited about where his leadership will take the organization moving forward.”
After eight seasons as an assistant coach with the team, O’Leary was named the Warriors’ head coach during the 2019-20 season.
He has posted a 148-105-12-10 record in 275 games behind the bench. He currently sits fourth all-time in franchise history in games coached and second in wins.
“Mark has been a major part keeping the culture and development, on and off the ice, in the right direction,” Ripplinger said. “As we go through a cycle next year, we felt Mark has proven to be a leader and will help us stay competitive as we build for the future.”
The Warriors have five games remaining in the 2023-24 regular season, starting this weekend with a highly-anticipated home-and-home set against the Saskatoon Blades. Game one is Friday in Saskatoon, with the return match going at 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre on Saturday.
-- with files from www.mjwarriors.ca
