Brayden Point started his Western Hockey League career in the post season with the Moose Jaw Warriors when he was 15 years old.

Now in what could be his final season in the WHL, Point is hoping to lead the Warriors back into the playoffs.

“I don’t have any personal goals, just work hard and help the Warriors get into a playoff spot, that’s the only goal right now,” said Point.

The Warriors captain returned to the ice with the Tribe on Friday for his first practice back from Tampa Bay Lightning training camp.  He played in two preseason games while with the Lightning, earning second star in one of them.

“It was a lot of fun, gained a lot of experience there,” said Point.  “The biggest thing was just how hard you have to work to get to the NHL, just that work ethic that I’m going to need all year here.

“They’re a lot faster and a lot stronger, so it a lot harder in the corners to win pucks, but I thought I did okay.  Face-offs were a lot harder too, so I had some challenges there, overall I thought I played pretty well.”

Now that he’s back in Moose Jaw, Point said he’s looking forward to being back on the ice with the Warriors and working towards that goal of returning to the playoffs.

“It’s exciting, it’s about time that I come back and get the season started, so I’m looking forward to it,” said Point.

“I watched both games (while I was in Tampa Bay) and the boys played pretty well, we have a good year ahead of us.”

Point is coming off a stellar third season with the Warriors in which he posted a career-high in goals with 38 in 60 games.  He also finished four points off his career-high in 12 fewer games than the 2013-14 season.

He skated on a line with 20-year-old Dryden Hunt and import rookie Nikita Popugaev during Friday’s practice.

“They’re obviously new guys, but they’re skilled,” said Point on his new linemates.  “Hunt’s a great player and Popugaev’s got a lot of skill, so we should work well together.”

Point will make his return to game action at Mosaic Place on Saturday night when the Warriors host the Calgary Hitmen.  Point doesn’t expect to have much trouble adjusting back to the WHL pace.

“It’s a fast pace in the NHL, but we’ve got a lot of skill here, so I don’t think it will be too much difference,” he said.

“We just need to out work them, we have a skilled team, so if we out work (the Hitmen), we should be fine.”

The Warriors and Hitmen hit the ice at 7:00pm on Saturday night.  You can catch all the action with the Western Nissan Warriors Hockey on Country 100, the Pre-Game Show hits the air at 6:40pm.