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WHL Moose Jaw Warriors

Warriors Prepared for Busy Draft Week

December 8, 2021 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Moose Jaw Warriors News Release


The WHL Draft is normally the first sign of a new season, but that won't be the case this year.

The Moose Jaw Warriors and the 21 other Western Hockey League teams will be gathering virtually this week for two drafts, the second-ever WHL US Prospects Draft and the WHL Prospects Draft, which is normally held in May.

"It's different coming to do the draft and it's minus-30," Warriors general manager Jason Ripplinger said.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the former bantam draft to be rescheduled to allow teams time to do more scouting of the 2006 age group ahead of the draft after most minor hockey seasons were cancelled last winter.

"Trying to prepare ourselves in the middle of the year to watch these guys throughout the year, we don't get as many views as we normally would, that is what it is," Ripplinger said.

The draft week will start with the US Prospects Draft on Wednesday at 11 a.m. CST. It consists for two rounds.

The Warriors hold the 22nd overall selection in the first round and the first overall pick in the second.

"The US was hard for us," Ripplinger said. "We have to do a lot of video, we've been watching here for the last couple of days and we'll see how that falls outs."

Ripplinger said there is some high end talent available in the US Prospects Draft.

"You've got some guys that have lots of speed, good skaters, good hockey sense, so it all depends on what happens in front of us," he said.

The 2021 WHL Prospects Draft will be held on Thursday, starting at 11 a.m. CST. The Warriors will pick 16th overall in the first round.

Again, Ripplinger said there's a strong talent base to choose from, not only in the first round.

"There's some good players, good depth," he said. "It's not like the 05 draft, but there's still a lot of good players there, they're a year older [than normal]."

Ripplinger and the Warriors' scouting staff have been busy since the start of the hockey season, trying to get as many views of players as possible in order to make the right decision on draft day.

He said the team has had to use more video than it has before due to the condensed timeframe between the start of the season and the draft.

"We've never really have done that before, we've usually been able to get 12 to 15 viewings throughout the year, but this year, we have to watch some video," Ripplinger said.

"We were able to get out and talk to some players and meet them. With COVID, that's hard to actually be face-to-face with these players all the time, but we've been able to talk to guys that we really have interest in."

Ripplinger said he's confident in the work that's been done by the scouting staff.

"We've done our homework, we've got lots of experience on our staff and we've been doing this for 20-plus years, so we're confident in our ability," he said.

Players chosen during Thursday's draft could potentially be in the Warriors' lineup this season, with players eligible to play in a maximum of five games.

The WHL will be conducting both drafts virtually and fans can tune in online through WHL Live.

2021 WHL U.S. Priority Draft - Order of Selection:

1 - Seattle Thunderbirds

2 - Lethbridge Hurricanes

3 - Winnipeg ICE

4 - Prince George Cougars

5 - Saskatoon Blades

6 - Swift Current Broncos

7 - Tri-City Americans

8 - Red Deer Rebels

9 - Victoria Royals

10 - Kamloops Blazers

11 - Portland Winterhawks

12 - Regina Pats

13 - Brandon Wheat Kings

14 - Everett Silvertips

15 - Kelowna Rockets

16 - Spokane Chiefs

17 - Edmonton Oil Kings

18 - Vancouver Giants

19 - Calgary Hitmen

20 - Medicine Hat Tigers

21 - Prince Albert Raiders

22 - Moose Jaw Warriors

2021 WHL Prospects Draft - First Round Order of Selection:

1 - Spokane Chiefs

2 - Tri-City Americans

3 - Brandon Wheat Kings (from Victoria)

4 - Brandon Wheat Kings (from Moose Jaw)

5 - Red Deer Rebels

6 - Swift Current Broncos

7 - Swift Current Broncos (from Portland)

8 - Medicine Hat Tigers

9 - Seattle Thunderbirds

10 - Lethbridge Hurricanes (from Regina)

11 - Vancouver Giants

12 - Calgary Hitmen

13 - Prince Albert Raiders (from Edmonton via Kelowna)

14 - Prince Albert Raiders

15 - Prince George Cougars

16 - Moose Jaw Warriors (from Victoria via Saskatoon)

17 - Lethbridge Hurricanes

18 - Winnipeg ICE

19 - Edmonton Oil Kings

20 - Everett Silvertips

21 - Kamloops Blazers

22 - Brandon Wheat Kings

The full draft order can be found at whl.ca/draft.

Check out the Moose Jaw Warriors Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from December 8, 2021


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