MOOSE JAW -- With the way things went for the Moose Jaw Warriors during the 2024-25 season, there’s little question the team wants to see plenty of improvement compared to how things turned out in that rather difficult campaign.
And while it’s a small sample size with all sorts of changes and adjustments throughout, the preseason showed some promising signs that things are trending toward the positive.
The Warriors came out of the exhibition campaign with a 3-2 record, including a split in the final two games against the Saskatoon Blades when players were making their final auditions as to their place on the club. So while there’s room for improvement, general manager Jason Ripplinger feels things are going in the direction they want to see as they head into their home-and-home series beginning Friday night in Brandon against the Wheat Kings.
“Everybody's a year older and a year better, so our goal this year is to take another step, and that goal is to obviously make the playoffs,” Ripplinger said. “That's what we want, that's our goal, and it doesn't matter where we finish in the standings. Our goal is to make the playoffs this year and to know that we made a step from last year.”
The Warriors roster is largely set, but there are still a handful of final decisions to be made. The team currently has eight defencemen and 16 forwards when six and 14 are a more conventional number, meaning Ripplinger will have what he admits will be some hard decisions to make with some players who might be as close as can be to WHL ready.
“That’s part of the business, and if we want to get better, those are the kinds of hard decisions we’ll have to make,” he said.
One of those came earlier this week, when the team sent fan-favourite goaltender Josh Banini to the Kelowna Rockets for a seventh-round pick in 2026 and fourth-round pick in 2026.
Given Banini’s popularity and the fact he’s currently in training camp with the Edmonton Oilers, some onlookers questioned the deal, but Ripplinger pointed out it was just a matter of practicality.
“I didn't want to carry three goalies for very long and talked to a few teams that had some interest in Banini and just thought this is the route we wanted to go down,” he said. “I feel confidence in (Matthew) Hutchison and I feel confident in (Kyle) Jones as a great tandem and we’ll see where it goes… I got questions on Jackson Unger [last season], so people can question me on this one, but I’m going with my gut and this is what I felt was the best for the organization.”
Part of the trade was making sure the Warriors received compensation when they cut down to their final goaltending tandem, and Banini’s stature as an NHL-camp invite played into that.
“Josh is a good goalie, I thought he might have the most value because he did go to an NHL camp, and for what we got, I'm happy with it,” Ripplinger said. “I didn't want to get stuck with having an extra goalie and then eventually everybody having their goalies and I'm releasing this player and not getting anything for him. So as to whether I got enough for him or not, I think I got enough for him. People are always going to judge you and that's fine.”
As for how things are with the rest of the club, Ripplinger is happy with what he’s seen so far, especially with how the different personalities in the room are beginning to mesh.
“I think all our players are confident and we cleaned up some character issues in our dressing room, so the guys that we have are gluing together and sticking together,” Ripplinger said. “These guys, they all want to take a step, and last year wasn't by choice. We would have made the playoffs last year if I would have kept everybody, but then the Warriors would be in trouble for the next four or five years, because they would have had nothing.”
As has been well documented, the Warriors made a host of deals as last season progressed, sending many remaining members of the 2024 championship squad around the WHL for draft picks. To that end, the team has now completely restocked and then some in that regard, setting things right for the foreseeable future.
“I didn't want to have that as my legacy, being a guy that won the championship and then took off,” Ripplinger said. “So I wanted to make sure that [if things change], the team is in good shape and I think that’s now the case.”
As for how things shape up with the opening-night line-up, the Warriors will be without captain Lynden Lakovic as he takes part in his first NHL training camp with the Washington Capitals. Forwards Ethan Semeniuk and Pavel McKenzie will join defenceman Aiden Ziprick in leading the team as overagers, with off-season acquisition Steven Steranka having led the Warriors in pre-season scoring with three goals. Connor Schmidt -- who had a pair of preseason goals -- will join Brady Ness and Ziprick in leading the defensive corps.
Ripplinger also pointed to Moose Jaw product Gage Nagel and fellow rookie Mathieu Lajoie as having solid showings through camp and the pre-season and evolving into players to watch.
“So we’re happy with where things are at right now and we’ll see how it goes this weekend,” Ripplinger said.
The Warriors open the WHL campaign Friday night in Brandon, with puck drop at 6 p.m. The teams will then make the trip west for the Warriors home opener on Saturday night, with a pre-game tailgate party running from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., followed by puck drop at 6 p.m. at Temple Gardens Centre.
