The Moose Jaw Warriors had their captain back on the ice for practice on Tuesday at Mosaic Place.

Brett Howden rejoined the Warriors after attending training camp with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“It’s exciting to be back, the team we’ve got here is very exciting, all the fans know it and we know it, and I’m really excited for a big year coming up,” said Howden after practice.

The 19-year-old forward played in two preseason games with the Lightning during his second training camp with the team. Howden showed well, picking up an assist in the first game before being held off the scoresheet in the second game.

With no World Cup this year, Howden was able to hit the ice with players like Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov during camp and he said he learned a lot that he’ll be able to bring back to the Warriors.

“Everyday stuff, the way they carry themselves, the way they handle themselves in the media, obviously all the on and off ice stuff like training and practice and stuff that’s all with it, but just everyday stuff that you learn from them,” said Howden.

In the first preseason game, Howden also had the chance to hit the life with Warriors alum Brayden Point, who is entering his second season with the Lightning.

Howden said it was great to be on the ice with Point again for the last two weeks.

““In one of the first practices we had together, there was a drill going on and we linked up and were going together and as soon as we figured out that we were going together, we looked at each other and were smiling,” he said.

“It was a lot of fun playing in the game with him, just being on the same ice and bench with one of my best buddies in the NHL was a lot of fun for sure.”

The Lightning have a loaded forward group heading into the season and a deep group of prospects which led to Howden being re-assigned. The six-foot-three, 191-pound centre felt coming back to Moose Jaw was the best option for his development.

“I’ve still got a lot of work to do, it’s right for me to be back here, it’s going to be good for me to develop this year, keep getting stronger and keep getting better and we’ll see where things take us,” said Howden.

Howden has continually pushed his offensive totals higher each season with the Warriors, setting new career-highs last season with 38 goals and 81 points in 58 games.

Heading into his final season with the Warriors, Howden is excited about what this season could hold for himself and the team.

“Talent is one thing, but the work ethic that we have in our room is awesome,” said Howden. “It’s all very exciting, it’s the beginning of the year and you can’t look too far ahead, but we know we’ve got a special group here and we’re really excited to see what we can do.”

Howden will jump right back into the battle with the Warriors on Friday when they host the Regina Pats at Mosaic Place, which is a match-up that he’s looking forward to.

“I’m sure it’s going to be packed here and no better way to kick off my season than with a rivalry match-up,” he said.

Petruic Released… With the return of Howden, the Warriors needed to trim another forward from their roster and decided to released Moose Jaw product Chantz Petruic.

The 18-year-old forward appeared in 55 games last season with the Warriors, finishing with four assists.

The Warriors roster now sits at 24 players with 14 forwards, eight defencemen and two goalies.