The Moose Jaw Warriors are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. The Warriors play in the East Division of the Western Hockey League's Eastern Conference, hosting games at the Temple Gardens Centre. The team was founded in 1980 as the Winnipeg Warriors, and relocated to Moose Jaw in 1984. The Warriors won their first league championship in 2024.

History

The Moose Jaw Canucks were a founding franchise of the then-Western Canada Hockey League in 1966, and were the new league's first champion. However, after just two seasons and with the WCHL barred by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) from competing for the Memorial Cup, the Canucks opted to return to the revived Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in 1968. When the WCHL became recognized by CAHA in 1970, Moose Jaw was left without top-level junior hockey.

The Warriors franchise was established as the Winnipeg Warriors prior to the start of the 1980–81 WHL season, and played out of Winnipeg Arena, which they shared with the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets. In 1984, the franchise relocated to Moose Jaw, bringing major junior hockey back to the city for the first time since 1970.

The Warriors played in the Moose Jaw Civic Centre, also known as "The Crushed Can", for 26 seasons, before moving to Mosaic Place, now the Moose Jaw Events Centre, in the city centre in 2011.

The team's first few seasons in Moose Jaw saw Theoren Fleury emerge as the team's primary star—Fleury finished among the top five scorers in the WHL during his tenure with the team. Led by Fleury, Kelly Buchberger, Mike Keane, and Lyle Odelein, the Warriors made the franchise's first playoff appearance after the relocation during the 1985–86 season. The team captured its first regular season division title in 2003–04. In 2005–06, led by Troy Brouwer and Dustin Boyd, the Warriors followed their best regular season with their first ever trip to the championship series, in which they were swept by the Vancouver Giants. In 2017–18, the Warriors captured their first Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions with their first 50-win and 100-point season, before bowing out in the second round of the playoffs to the eventual champion Swift Current Broncos.

In the 2023–24 season—the Warriors' 40th in Moose Jaw—the Warriors won their first Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions. Led by Jagger Firkus, Denton Mateychuk, and Brayden Yager, the Warriors advanced to their second league final by defeating the regular-season champion Saskatoon Blades in a seven game series that featured a WHL-record six overtime games, including the seventh and deciding game. In the final, they won four straight games versus the Portland Winterhawks to secure the championship and a berth in the 2024 Memorial Cup tournament. At their first Memorial Cup, the Warriors advanced to the semi-final, where they were eliminated by the host and eventual champion Saginaw Spirit.

Logo and uniforms The Warriors' original branding, based on the founding franchise in Winnipeg, featured Indigenous imagery, including a long-used logo featuring a silhouetted side-profile of a head wearing an Indigenous headdress. In 2020, in light of the Native American mascot controversy, the Warriors announced that they were reviewing their branding. In 2022, the team unveiled a new brand and logo based on the city's aviation history and connection with the Royal Canadian Air Force and Snowbirds—the logo features a CT-114 Tutor jet emblazoned with the Snowbirds logo. The team retained its original colour scheme featuring red, black, and white.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties OTL = Overtime losses Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs 1984–85 72 21 50 1 – 320 438 43 7th East Did not qualify 1985–86 72 25 44 3 – 294 375 53 6th East Lost East Division semifinal 1986–87 72 38 31 3 – 366 321 79 4th East Lost East Division semifinal 1987–88 72 18 52 2 – 308 458 38 8th East Did not qualify 1988–89 72 27 42 3 – 318 372 57 6th East Lost East Division semifinal 1989–90 72 28 41 3 – 287 330 59 8th East Did not qualify 1990–91 72 31 39 2 – 336 369 64 6th East Lost East Division semifinal 1991–92 72 33 36 3 – 279 316 69 6th East Lost East Division quarterfinal 1992–93 72 27 42 3 – 277 346 57 8th East Did not qualify 1993–94 72 21 48 3 – 269 361 45 9th East Did not qualify 1994–95 72 39 32 1 – 315 275 79 4th East Lost East Division semifinal 1995–96 72 18 49 5 – 223 331 41 6th East Did not qualify 1996–97 72 36 29 7 – 278 240 79 4th East Lost East Division semifinal 1997–98 72 23 39 10 – 235 281 56 5th East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 1998–99 72 39 31 2 – 292 262 80 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 1999–00 72 25 34 9 4 221 259 63 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2000–01 72 34 29 4 5 287 291 77 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2001–02 72 30 34 6 2 226 239 68 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 2002–03 72 36 22 11 3 266 208 86 2nd East Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 2003–04 72 41 22 8 1 209 172 91 1st East Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 2004–05 72 14 47 10 1 182 282 39 4th East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal Season GP W L OTL SOL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs 2005–06 72 44 20 5 3 278 205 96 1st East Lost final 2006–07 72 28 41 3 0 217 271 59 5th East Did not qualify 2007–08 72 37 21 6 8 229 214 88 4th East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2008–09 72 19 50 1 2 198 352 41 6th East Did not qualify 2009–10 72 33 27 5 8 243 247 78 4th East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2010–11 72 40 26 2 4 245 240 86 2nd East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2011–12 72 45 19 6 2 258 213 98 1st East Lost Eastern Conference final 2012–13 72 25 36 4 7 182 249 61 4th East Did not qualify 2013–14 72 21 42 3 6 202 283 51 5th East Did not qualify 2014–15 72 32 35 4 1 221 266 69 4th East Did not qualify 2015–16 72 36 27 7 2 249 231 81 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 2016–17 72 42 21 8 1 255 219 93 2nd East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2017–18 72 52 15 2 3 326 216 109 1st East Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 2018–19 68 40 20 6 2 234 192 88 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2019–20 62 14 44 4 0 146 291 32 6th East Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2020–21 24 8 13 3 0 71 95 19 6th East No playoffs were held due to COVID-19 pandemic 2021–22 68 37 24 4 3 251 221 81 2nd East Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 2022–23 68 41 24 0 3 252 237 85 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 2023–24 68 44 21 0 3 297 228 91 2nd East Won Championship 2024–25 68 15 45 6 2 189 308 38 6th East Did not qualify 2025–26 68 25 36 5 2 234 296 57 5th East Did not qualify

Championship history

Ed Chynoweth Cup (1): 2023–24 Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy (1): 2017–18 Regular Season Division titles (4): 2003–04, 2005–06, 2011–12, 2017–18 Conference Championships (2): 2005–06, 2023–24

WHL Championship

2005–06: Loss, 0–4 vs Vancouver Giants 2023–24: Win, 4–0 vs Portland Winterhawks

Players NHL alumni The following Moose Jaw Warriors alumni have played in the National Hockey League (NHL).Legends of Hockey player search

Chris Armstrong Blair Atcheynum Scott Bailey Lonny Bohonos Johnny Boychuk Dustin Boyd Mike Brodeur Kyle Brodziak Troy Brouwer Curtis Brown Kelly Buchberger Frederic Chabot Joel Edmundson Deryk Engelland Tomas Fleischmann Theoren Fleury Owen Fussey Noah Gregor Travis Hamonic Matt Higgins Brett Howden Quinton Howden Daemon Hunt Tanner Jeannot Blair Jones Mike Keane Sheldon Kennedy Paul Kruse Pavel Kubina Dale Kushner Brooks Laich Darryl Laplante Reed Low Jamie Lundmark Masi Marjamaki Jim McKenzie Tomas Mojzis Lyle Odelein Nathan Paetsch Brayden Point Dale Purinton Morgan Rielly Aaron Rome Jiri Smejkal Kevin Smyth Ryan Smyth Martin Spanhel Rastislav Stana Ryan Stanton Brian Sutherby Dave Thomlinson Ryan Tobler Roman Vopat Jason Widmer

NLL alumni Warriors alumnus Kaleb Toth played thirteen seasons in the National Lacrosse League for the Calgary Roughnecks and Toronto Rock; he was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2022.

Team records

+ Team records for a single seasonStatisticTotalSeasonMost points1092017–18Most wins522017–18Most goals for3661986–87Fewest points for32 2019–20Fewest wins for142004–05/2019–20Fewest goals for1462019–20Fewest goals against1722003–04Most goals against4581987–88

+ Individual player records for a single seasonStatisticPlayerTotalSeasonMost goalsBlair Atcheynum701988–89Most assistsTheoren Fleury921987–88Most pointsTheoren Fleury1601987–88Most points, rookieMark MacKay1401984–85Most points, defencemanScott Schoneck761998–99Best GAA (goalie)Mike Brodeur2.112003–04 Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played

Awards

Bob Clarke Trophy (WHL top scorer) Theoren Fleury: 1987–88 (tied with Joe Sakic, Swift Current Broncos) Troy Brouwer: 2005–06 Jayden Halbgewachs: 2017–18 Jagger Firkus: 2023–24 Four Broncos Memorial Trophy (WHL player of the year) Dryden Hunt: 2015–16 Jagger Firkus: 2023–24 WHL Playoff MVP Denton Mateychuk: 2023–24 Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy (WHL top defenceman) Kale Clague: 2017–18 Denton Mateychuk: 2023–24 Del Wilson Trophy (WHL top goaltender) Ken Brown: 1966–67

Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy (WHL rookie of the year) Mark MacKay: 1984–85 Donovan Nunweiler: 1996–97 Brayden Tracey: 2018–19 Brayden Yager: 2021–22 Doc Seaman Trophy (WHL scholastic player of the year) Brennen Wray: 2005–06 Brad Hornung Trophy (WHL most sportsmanlike) Blair Atcheynum: 1988–89 Jason Bast: 2009–10 Justin Almeida: 2018–19 Brayden Yager: 2022–23 Brayden Yager: 2023–24

See also List of ice hockey teams in Saskatchewan CILG (broadcasts Moose Jaw Warriors games) Ice hockey in Saskatchewan

References

External links Moose Jaw Warriors website