Moose Jaw Warriors' first-round, third overall bantam draft pick Brayden Yager was in town over the weekend, checking out the Warriors' office and meeting with head coach Mark O'Leary.

While this time of year would normally mean that both the U18 AAA league and the Western Hockey League would be getting ready for the regular season, the pandemic response has put the brakes on the season so far.

As the team held its annual garage sale in the Mosaic Place parking lot, Yager talked about missing what would have been his first Western Hockey League training camp this week.

“It would have been pretty special being able to come to training camp,” Yager said. “But I guess you’ve got to respect what the league is doing. They’re trying to hardest to get to return to play safely. I guess I can’t really do anything about it.”

The league has set a Dec. 4 target date to start the season.

Yager, meanwhile, is still keeping track up with his training even through the pandemic.

“I’ve been training almost every day except for the weekends, and then skating two or three times per week,” he said. “It’s kind of what my weeks have been like, so it’s pretty good.”

Yager will be playing close to home with the U18 AAA Saskatoon Contacts this year once the season gets underway.

“They’re saying we’re going to start in November,” he said about the Contacts. “We’re not having a camp this year because we’ve kind of got our team picked. We’re starting practices on (Monday), at SaskTel (Centre), so I’m looking forward to it.”

And while Yager will be spending this coming season with the Contacts, he did like his glimpse at his hockey life starting in 2021-22 with the Mosaic Place tour.

“It was actually really nice, getting to see all the alumni guys on the walls. It’s pretty cool,” he said.