Warriors Set To Close Pre-Season
It’s the final chance to impress for players on the Moose Jaw Warriors roster as the team closes out the WHL Preseason this weekend with a home-and-home series against the Brandon Wheat Kings.
The Warriors hit the ice in Brandon Friday and then return home for a Sunday afternoon game to close out their preseason schedule.
“We’ve got a good team shaping up here, lots of young guys battling spots still, so far so good,” said 20-year-old forward Jaimen Yakubowski. “We’re just going to keep working hard going into the regular season and hopefully get off to a good start.”
Last Saturday’s 5-2 win over the Swift Current Broncos was the first game action that Yakubowski got in a Warriors’ uniform. He was acquired in a trade with Seattle just before training camp and after watching the first three preseason games, he suited up to end last weekend’s home-and-home with the Broncos.
“It was even a little nerve racking for me as a 20-year-old to get out there and play a game after a long summer,” said Yakubowski. “It felt great to get out there, make some hits, make some plays and get a win.”
The Warriors will be counting on Yakubowski to provide the physical punch in their forward group this season. The five-foot-ten 201-pound winger has racked up at least 100 penalty minutes in each of his three seasons in the WHL.
“I like to lead on the ice by making some good hits and making the right play, and just doing whatever I can to help the team win in all,” he said.
It will be a bit younger and less experienced lineup for the Warriors this weekend with four players – Brayden Point, Jack Rodewald, Tanner Eberle and Dallas Valentine – away at NHL camps. That will put Yakubowski more into the spotlight to lead the team against the Wheat Kings.
“I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing,” he said. “I’ve just got to keep talking to the young guys, maybe a little more because those guys obviously do a lot. I’ve got to get everyone’s energy up and get them excited for the season, there’s a lot of other guys doing that as well, so I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing and things will shape up.”
The Warriors have posted a 1-2-1-0 record so far in the preseason with three games against the Broncos and one against the Pats. They head into Brandon on Friday looking to make a statement before the season against the CHL’s third ranked team.
“As much as people say (preseason games) don’t mean anything, they still do, you can definitely send a message for the regular season,” said Yakubowski. “They’ll see what kind of team we have, the way we play a bit and hopefully get them on their toes a bit for the regular season.
“We’re not going there to lose, so we’re going there to win, have fun and just get the team ready for the regular season,” he added.
The Warriors and Wheat Kings hit the ice on Friday night at 6:30pm. You can tune into all the action on Country 100 for the inaugural broadcast of the 2014-15 season. Voice of the Warriors, James Gallo, will have all the action starting with the pre-game show at 6:25pm.
Puck drops on Sunday’s game at Mosaic Place at 4:00pm, which will also be carried live on Country 100.
