Alright friends, I realise I haven't blogged since AUGUST :( But I've just been so busy! Plus, I have to wait to see if the Moose Jaw Express newspaper will publish my articles before I publish them here. So here it is, for the first time in a long time! The Moose Jaw Warriors Training Camp. More to come :).
It was one busy weekend for the
Moose Jaw Warriors and their prospects! Though the season hasn’t officially
begun, a lot is going on behind the scenes at Mosaic Place. Training camp for
the Warriors begun Thursday (August 23rd) at 8am with fitness
testing at the Fieldhouse and then moved to Mosaic Place for the rest of the
weekend. Rookies and prospects endured tests and multiple practices as well as
inter-squad games and training sessions. Then on Friday afternoon, the rookies
joined the vets for main camp, which consisted of more practices and scrimmages
and ended with the Hamonic Cup, an inter-squad game which took place on Sunday
evening at 6pm and ended with a score of 10-2 in favor of the black team. The
rookies then got a chance to battle the rookies of the Swift Current Broncos
Tuesday night at 7pm. They were victorious with a final score of 3-1. So far so
good!
When asked who to watch for this
season, James Gallo, manager of communications and broadcasting, listed a few
names “…. Brayden Point, after what
he did last year in the playoffs I'm sure everyone is interested to see what he
can do over the next four years. Miles Warkentine and Josh Uhrich were
first and second round bantam picks in 2011. Brandon Potomak, he was a
late cut from last year and played last season back in BC, has tons of speed
and could be an interesting guy to watch. The goalies, Justin Paulic,
Daniel Wapple, and Spencer Tremblay, it's great competition for the two spots
available.”
When asked about the competition between 3 goalies for 2 spots, Daniel
Wapple sounded fairly confident. After mentioning that he’s been playing hockey
since he was a little kid and telling us that he gains his motivation by seeing
the lives of NHL players off the ice, Wapple added in regards to the competition
that he’s holding up pretty good.
Miles Warkentine, a 16 year old from Prince Albert, also had an
interesting game at the Hamonic Cup. With a fight and a goal, he has already
proven himself as an intense player. Motivated
by “that feeling you can have when you get to that high level where you get to
play hockey every day. You just get to go to the rink and that’s all you’re
doing basically, that’s your life. You’re getting paid to play hockey.”, Miles
feels that he can “bring a hard work ethic, put the puck in the net, play
physical, and work as hard as I can.”
When asked about the fight and the goal, Miles says he hasn’t really
fought before but felt he needed to stick up for the team since they were down
by a lot so “why not drop the mitts” and that the goal was a nice set up and he
just put it in the net.
Brayden Point, a rookie who made
a huge impression during the playoffs last season, did not fail to impress at
the Hamonic Cup. With a hat trick and two assists, he maintains that he won’t put
too much pressure on himself. He plans to play his hardest and fill whichever
role is needed on the team. Right now he is just focused on making the team and
he’ll figure the rest out later. Although he isn’t any bigger than he was last
season, he’s been working all summer on his speed and strength and hopes to
have continued success this season.
With training camp over and a
busy weekend behind them, the Moose Jaw Warriors continue their start to the
season with 2 pre-season home games on Sunday, September 9th at 2pm
and Saturday, September 15th at 7pm. The real fun begins with the
home opener on Friday, September 21st at 7:00pm Mosaic Place. Bring
the noise!
Profile on James Gallo:
Position: Manager of communications and broadcasting
What is the best part about being the voice of the Moose Jaw Warriors?:
The relationships is probably the
part I enjoy the most. I've had the opportunity to meet and get to know a
number of players over the last decade. I've seen them grow from teenagers to
young men, and I've been able to see them excel on the ice and off the
ice. As well, I've had the priviledge of working with some great
individuals like Alan Millar, the entire coaching staff, training staff, and
business staff, the Warriors have outstanding people in every office and it's
an honour to get to know them personally and professionally.
Tell me how you feel about
Mosaic Place. How do you think it has changed the game:
Not sure if Mosaic Place changed the game but it's changed hockey in
MJ. Allows the Warriors to do so much more than the days of the Civic
Centre, Robbie Snooks does a great job orchestrating a show with his staff,
which makes it entertaining off the ice. The amenities of the facility
make it easier to enjoy a game, there is still some tweaks that I'm sure fans
would like to see, but for the most part from what I've heard everyone enjoys
what goes on here.
What do you think the
Warriors’ chances are of making it to the play-offs and beyond this year?
Everyone is at 0 points right now and everyone has a shot at making
the playoffs, only time will tell where they end up.
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