The Moose Jaw Warriors are coming away happy with what they saw out of the team during their preseason opener on Tuesday night.

The Tribe skated to a 2-1 win over the Swift Current Broncos at Mosaic Place in the annual rookie game between the two East Division rivals.

For 50 minutes, the Warriors were able to control the play with speed and skill, both things that have been preached by head coach Tim Hunter over the past week at training camp, and since he was hired as the team’s bench boss three years ago.

“Our skill was really evident tonight,” said Hunter following the win. “It’s night and day from this training camp to last training camp to my first training camp here... It was great to watch, we used everyone, moved the puck, shared the puck, made plays and we dumped the puck in just once during the second period.

“It was a great display of the bright future that this organization has.”

The Warriors’ top-two draft picks from 2015 are expected to make an impact in their 16-year-old seasons and they both started off on the right foot on Tuesday night.

Rookie centre Luka Burzan, who was taken sixth overall in 2015, opened the scoring just over a minute into the second period when he went five-hole on Swift Current goalie Bailey Brkin with a great shot.

Burzan’s draft mate from 2015, Jett Woo laid back-to-back big hits on 19-year-old Broncos forward Brandan Arnold and was solid all night for the Warriors.

“They’ve both had very good training camps and they’ll continue to fight for spots in the preseason,” said Hunter. “How they’ve played so far is a good indication of what we’ll see in the future.”

Warriors forward Luka Burzan controls the puck in the offensive zone during Moose Jaw's 2-1 win over the Swift Current Broncos on Tuesday. (Photo: Marc Smith)

Burzan just missed on a number of other chances throughout the game as he paced the Warriors’ offensive attack.

“I just kept playing my game and the puck eventually came to me,” said Burzan. “I just tried to play a good defensive game and once I did that, the offensive chances came, so I’m happy with my play today.”

The Surrey, BC product played in two games last season with the Warriors and was with the team during their playoff run. He’s came into camp looking more confident in his game and it showed in the preseason opener.

“Last year helped a lot, getting that experience definitely helped me for this year, I feel more comfortable coming in, I know a lot more about playing in this league and the speed and strength that you need,” he said.

18-year-old returning forward Ryan Bowen had the other goal on the night for the Warriors.

Goalie Adam Evanoff wasn’t busy to start the game, but he answered the call late when the Broncos turned up the pressure.

The 16-year-old netminder had his shutout broken up with just 28 seconds to go in regulation, but bounced back with a pair of big saves in the dying seconds of the game to keep his team in front.

“Being here last year and getting to play in his game against Swift Current really helped me a lot going into tonight,” said Evanoff. “I knew that I just had to make the saves that I needed to and the team would do the rest, they battled right to the end for me that was great.”

A number of players made their WHL preseason debuts for the Warriors in the win, including 2016 third round pick Austin Herron, who looked right at home on the back end for the Tribe.

“It was a lot of fun,” he said of his first WHL game experience. “Just had to get my first few shifts in and got use to the speed and then played well.

“There was a bit of nerves, but just more excitement than anything.”

The young Warrior prospects will get to see more time over the next three days as Moose Jaw heads into Regina for the Pats’ annual preseason tournament at the Cooperators Centre.

The Warriors play Saskatoon on Thursday afternoon and the Broncos again on Saturday afternoon. Puck drops on both games at 3 p.m.