There was a lot more size on the ice for the Moose Jaw Warriors during the afternoon scrimmage at main camp on Saturday.

Six-foot-eight Russian defenceman Oleg Sosunov hit the ice for the first time at Mosaic Place after arriving in Moose Jaw on Friday night.

“I'm excited to be here, this is a good experience for me,” said Sosunov, who was selected in the sixth round of the 2016 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Some issues initially getting a Canadian travel visa led to the late arrival to Warriors' training camp for the new import defenceman, who travelled from Russia to Tampa Bay last week and then up to Saskatchewan on Friday.

This is the second time that he's been to Canada and he said he's looking forward to being here for the season.

“This is a nice place, I like it,” said Sosunov, who hails from Ryazan, Russia.

Sosunov battles against fellow defenceman Chase Hartje during his first scrimmage at Moose Jaw Warriors' training camp on Saturday afternoon at Mosaic Place. (Photo: Marc Smith)

His English is limited, but Sosunov is here to play hockey and he showed that he's very capable in that area on the ice during the second scrimmage of main camp.

Sosunov showed his strong skating ability for a big player and also his knack for using his long stick to knock the puck away from forwards entering the zone.

“My size is an advantage because I'm tall so I have a longer stick and I'm more powerful than the short guys, so that's my advantage,” he said.

“I'm here to play hockey and that's my focus.”

Sosunov will join a Warriors' defensive core that features fellow Russian Dmitri Zaitsev, as well as Josh Brook, Jett Woo and Colin Paradis all returning.

He's expected to play a key role on a team that has its eyes on a championship and Sosunov was impressed with what he saw on the ice during his first action.

“We will try to get the Cup,” he said.

Sosunov will continue to work with his teammates over the rest of training camp and into the preseason before heading back down to Tampa Bay, along with captain Brett Howden, for camp with the Lightning.

The Warriors will close out training camp on Sunday with a morning scrimmage at 10 a.m. and then the Black and White Interquad Game at 4 p.m. Admission to the intersquad game is by donation to the Canadian Mental Health Association.