The long journey from Belarus to Moose Jaw is complete for Danill Stepanov and Yegor Buyalsky, but it's just the first step for the two young hockey players.

Stepanov and Buyalsky officially committed to the Moose Jaw Warriors on Monday as they signed their WHL Standard Player Agreements with the team.

"I'm looking forward to this season, now we're practicing with the guys, teammates, and I see their stick handling, they're pretty good, so I'm looking forward to being a part of Moose Jaw," said Stepanov, 17, after signing on Monday.

There will no doubt be some adjustment to North America for the two young Belarusians, but they're already well on their way to settling in, helping out with the Warriors' Kids Camp this week.

Stepanov speaks English after teaching himself over the past couple years in preparation for a move to North America to play hockey.

He said his goal is to play in the National Hockey League. "This is a big opportunity for me, the first step for me is to be a part of Moose Jaw, it's my purpose now and then the second is the NHL," said Stepanov.

"Before the trip, everyone was saying that the WHL is a very strong league and there is a lot of hits, so it's going to be demanding, I have to get use to hits and the short rinks, but I have experience playing in the short rinks."

Stepanov was selected by the Warriors with the 52nd overall pick in the first round of the 2018 CHL Import Draft, while Buyalsky was taken with the 77th selection in the second round.

Stepanov is a six-foot, 175-pound forward that played centre last season with Belarus' national under-18 team, collecting three goals and 20 points in 31 games. 

He played with Belarus as an underage at the 2018 IIHF Under-18 World Championship in April.

"I'm (a smart player), I love passing and at the same time, I love scoring goals," Stepanov said when describing himself as a player.

"I love to score, but of course I have to play in the defensive zone because I'm a centre and it’s one of the important things in hockey, but I prefer more to be in the attacking zone."

Buyalsky -- six-foot, 165 pounds -- registered 19 goals and 48 points in 49 games with the Belarus national under-17 team last season. The 17-year-old forward competed in the 2017-18 Mac's Midget AAA Tournament in Calgary, picking up five goals and six points in six games

Stepanov said Buyalsky is a hard nosed player. "He's a left winger, he can be great in the corners, he can shoot great as well and he's a character player, he doesn't need motivation to play, every time he's excited about the games and he thinks about hockey a lot," said Stepanov.

Both players knew each other before coming over to Canada and Stepanov added that it will be nice to have a fellow countryman with him here in Moose Jaw.

"It's very good that Yegor went with me to Moose Jaw, it's nice to have a person that speaks Russian," he said.

The duo will be getting accustom to their new surroundings this week during the Kids Camp and then hit the ice at full speed next Wednesday when training camp opens up for the Warriors.