The Moose Jaw Warriors selected defenceman Aaron Sawatzky with the 16th overall pick in the first round of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.

“It’s very exciting to get a quality player in Aaron,” Warriors general manager Jason Ripplinger said. “We’re always looking for a good defenceman who can make a good first pass and he’s a bit dynamic.”

Sawatzky, a five-foot-11 defenceman, posted 10 goals and 38 points in 33 games this past season with the Airdrie Xtreme U15 AAA team.

This is the third straight year that the Warriors have selected a defenceman in the first round after taking Marek Howell with the 16th overall pick in 2021 and Connor Schmidt with 14th overall selection in 2022.

“He fits in our mold with Marek Howell and Schmidt and the rest of the young defencemen coming up, so we should be pretty good on the back end for years,” Ripplinger said.