After missing the majority of his 16-year-old season thanks to a broken collarbone, the Moose Jaw Warriors weren’t sure what to expect from Noah Gregor heading into the 2015-16 WHL season.

They knew Gregor had tons of talent, but didn’t know if he would be slowed down by essentially a year out of action.

Gregor has proved any doubters wrong by racking up an outstanding start for the Warriors.

“To his credit, he worked really hard last year while he was hurt,” said head coach Tim Hunter.  “He developed his lower body and his shot has really improved, he’s got a really good jump in his game… He’s a real smart hockey player and he’s slowly catching the NHL scouts eyes because we’re getting more and more requests to interview him as we go on.”

Heading into the Christmas break, Gregor sits third in the WHL in rookie scoring with 14 goals and 34 points in 34 games.  He also leads the WHL with nine power play goals on the year.

However, Gregor has also went his past three games without a point, which is just the second time this season that he’s been held pointless for longer than just one game.

“Personally it’s been a really good start, I don’t know if I was expecting to have the start I had,” said Gregor.  “It really helps that we have a good team, we’re doing well, and I’ve had some good line mates with Brett Howden, Brayden Point and Dryden Hunt.”

Gregor has been a key part of the Warriors’ offence throughout the first half and has rewarded the team’s faith in him.

A high point for Gregor came on the U.S. Division road trip when he scored four times and had five points in six games, including two goals in the trip-ending 3-2 overtime win in Seattle.

He also had a six-game point streak just before heading out on the road trip, in which he collected five goals and 11 points over the course of the streak.

“My main focus over the offseason was try to get a little stronger, but I mainly worked on the on-ice stuff because I had missed a lot of time, so just trying to gain a step for the season,” said Gregor.

“My skating has always been one of my strongest attributes, so I just tried to work on that as much as I can because moving forward, your speed is what is really going to help you.”

The Warriors will now be looking for continued success for Gregor coming out of the Christmas break, especially with Point and Jiri Smejkal still away at the World Junior Hockey Championship and Howden possibly out with an injury.

General manager Alan Millar said that Gregor just needs to keep doing what he has been doing for the team in the first half.

“Noah is a talented young guy, he can skate, he’s got great skill and he can snap the puck,” said Millar.  “He’s only going to get better and there’s exciting things ahead for Noah and this team.”

The Warriors will be in Swift Current to open up the second half against the Broncos on Sunday.  Western Nissan Warriors Hockey returns to the air on Country 100 with the Pre-Game Show at 3:40pm.