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WHL Moose Jaw Warriors

Warriors Prepared for 2023 WHL Prospects Draft

May 9, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Moose Jaw Warriors News Release


A season of games, tournaments and meetings culminates this week as the Western Hockey League hosts its annual drafts.

The Moose Jaw Warriors' front office has been hard at work throughout the season and again this week as they prepare for Wednesday's U.S. Priority Draft and the WHL Prospects Draft on Thursday.

"We're excited," Warriors general manager Jason Ripplinger said. "We've put on a lot of miles this year, watched a lot of hockey and this is what we get rewarded for."

The Warriors will select 16th overall in the first round of both drafts.

Ripplinger said this year's crop of prospects in Western Canada is strong.

"The first two rounds are pretty deep," he said.

"We're looking at the best player available [at 16th ovearll]. The record for us is we've been picking a lot of defencemen."

Throughout the scouting process, Ripplinger said the Warriors will try to see the players available in this year's draft as much as possible.

"We start watching them in October, all the way to April, so some players you get 15-25 viewings of," he said.

"They grow a lot, some stay the same, some get worse, but some get exceptionally better."

This week has consisted of meetings between Ripplinger and the Warriors' scouting staff, which stretches across the four provinces. That includes speaking with agents, players, parents and more.

"We're trying to get as much character checks as we can," Ripplinger said.

"Unfortunately, you don't get enough time to sit down with these players, you'll have a short window to talk to the players, but now for the last week, we're phoning as many players as we can."

Last year, the Warriors selected defenceman Connor Schmidt with the 14th overall selection. The Sturgeon County, AB product suited up in six games with the Warriors this past season.

Moose Jaw heads into the draft with their own selections in the first, second, third and fourth rounds, but don't select again until the eighth round after that.

The U.S. Priority Draft will be held on Wednesday and then the WHL Prospects Draft goes on Thursday. Both start at 10 a.m.

The first round of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft, including a 30-minute pre-show, will be live-streamed FREE via WHL Live on CHL TV.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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