Warriors get look at future with development camp
The Moose Jaw Warriors had their first chance to meet the Class of 2018 face-toface this past weekend – and just as importantly it was a chance for those Bantam Draft, newly listed players and their parents to meet the Moose Jaw Warriors. The Warriors annual Development Camp kicked off with the players and parents reception at the Heritage Inn Thursday, giving the team a chance to officially welcome their new young prospects into the fold.
That was followed with an intense Friday, featuring fitness testing sandwiched between two on-ice sessions at Barkman Arena in Caronport, followed by two more ice times on Saturday.
“This weekend is about learning and us getting to know the kids and their families and them getting to know our organization,” said Warriors general manager Alan Millar. “We’re not putting a ton of evaluation into this weekend, it’s more about giving them the tools to get better on and off the ice... it was a true development camp in terms of teaching, the coaches did a great job in planning out the weekend with video sessions and incorporating information into what kids were doing on the ice.
So I’m pretty happy with how things went.”
One of those players was Winnipeg centre Eric Alarie, who was the Warriors’ top pick, 22nd overall, in the 2018 WHL Draft.
“I was really honoured to get drafted by them and I just want to use the weekend to showcase myself and show them what I’m capable,” said Alarie shortly after he and his teammates received their first Warriors jerseys and a tote bag of team merchandise. “It’s not where you get drafted, you have to show them how you can play. It’s just hitting the reset button and going on from there, showing everyone what you can do.”
It was also the second time through the development camp wringer for defenceman Daemon Hunt. The Tribe’s first round pick in 2017 had a bit of an advantage over his compatriots, though – he played nine games in the regular season last year and was with the team through their playoff run.
“Looking back on last year, it was a big step in my career playing those games with the Warriors and then getting called up in the playoffs,” Hunt said. “Now it’s good to get back here again, I know what it was like because I was in their shoes last year so it’s good to have the experience and keep on developing.”
Even though he’s already all but slotted in as a regular defenceman with the team for next season, Hunt had no intention of taking it easy through the weekend’s ice sessions.
“Playing all those games last year was a huge bonus to me but I can’t let that go to my head,” he said. “I have to come here and work hard as I can and show everybody that I’m capable of playing at this level and hopefully a little higher.” When everything was said and done, Millar was plenty happy with what he’d seen from the team.
“I think the group looked pretty strong,” he said. “I was really impressed with how the kids played the last couple of days, yesterday was a really long day with two ice sessions and fitness testing and they really competed hard in the on-ice sessions. “I think it’s a competitive group, you have 15-year-olds here, some of these kids won’t play with us until two or three years down the road, but it looks like a good character group and hard working group and we’re pleased with what we’ve seen.” Next up for the Tribe is the annual Scholarship Fund golf tournament in early July.