The boys are back in town. 

After spending last season in the WHL East Division Hub in Regina, the Moose Jaw Warriors are opening up training camp starting on Tuesday with team meetings. 

Warriors General Manager Jason Ripplinger said those players that are already in town are ready to get back on the ice. 

“They're excited and I could walk into the rink again today and it's cold. You can just smell the ice and they've painted the ice and some of the players have come to the dressing room to do some workouts there, and they're excited. It's nice to see the smiles on their faces,” Ripplinger explained. 

Just before training camp hit, the Warriors did pull off a late trade, sending defenceman Cory King to the Seattle Thunderbirds in exchange for a sixth round pick in the 2022 Bantam Draft. 

King had 10 points in 64 games with the Warriors. 

“Cory requested a trade and we have five quality defensemen coming back and I think in the sixth, seventh, eighth spot we need to get some young guys in there and develop them,” Ripplinger said. 

Heading into camp, Ripplinger said the Warriors will have a much older team, but the veteran players cannot rest on their loreals or they can see their spot taken up by younger players.  

“Well, technically have our whole team back. So, some of the veterans are going to have to step up as well because there's some of our young guys have made some strides,” Ripplinger said.  

“We've got some '05s and '04s that we haven't seen for a while, so this will give us a chance to see how they progress in this training camp.” 

This past NHL draft saw Warriors Max Wanner, Cole Jordan and Ryder Korczak selected to NHL clubs. 

Ripplinger said, despite being draft, Korczak will likely be back with the Warriors and will be looked upon to take on a large role. 

“He didn't have maybe the best Hub when we were there, but he's going to be a leader on our team. He's got lots of skill and we're happy that he got drafted and I think he still has lots of lots to prove.” 

Also joining the team this year will be Czech Republic imports Robert Baco and Martin Rysavy. 

Baco will be joining training camp on Sept. 10 as he is still working through immigration, while Rysavy was drafted by Columbus in the NHL draft and will headed to the Blue Jackets training camp before joining the Warriors. 

Ripplinger feels Rysavy is going to be a huge addition to the Warriors lineup. 

“All the videos we've seen on him he's a big, strong power forward who gets into the tough areas and he's got pretty good hands around the net,” Ripplinger said.  

“Then Baco is maybe a little bit more raw with lots of upside. He's six foot three, skates really well, and has a really hard shot.” 

With the Saskatchewan Roughriders recently announcing that fans must to either vaccinated or need proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test. Ripplinger said they are still working with the WHL and public health officials to make a decision about vaccination statuses for fans. All WHL players and staff must be vaccinated. 

The players will be undergoing fitness testing at the Yara Centre on Wednesday and training camp wraps up on Sunday at 4 p.m. at Mosaic Place with the Black vs. White intrasquad game.