In January 2024, I travelled to Prince Albert to take in a game between the Prince Albert Raiders and the Saskatoon Blades. The hockey was fantastic and the game ended in a shootout victory for the hometown team, but what I enjoyed the most was the atmosphere. Prince Albert’s arena, the Art Hauser Centre, was a throwback to the old days of junior hockey; it was a barn with few modern upgrades but held all the charm of a local rink. It was lovingly cared for by the community that came out in droves to support the team, overwhelming the handful of visiting Blades fans with green and gold. When the Raiders scored, the roar of the crowd was unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
Eight months later in September 2024, I travelled south to watch the Moose Jaw Warriors take on the Regina Pats. Unlike with the Raiders, I was familiar with the Warriors before the game. From 2009-13, I attended a college just outside Moose Jaw and saw several games over those four years. Back then, the Warriors played in a barn that, despite its many quirks, was hard not to love, much like the Art Hauser Centre.
A lot has changed in the decade since. Moose Jaw’s old arena is dead and gone, replaced by a giant new events centre, and the old logo was replaced with a sharp new design. There’s not a lot left of the team I remembered from 2010. Yet, for those who stuck with the team and lived through its ups and downs, the Warriors never changed. To help me understand the team and its place in the city a bit better, I reached out to Leroy, a Moose Jaw local and co-creator of the popular social media account, Leroy & Leroy, who told me that the Warriors are still that small-town, community-owned organization with all the warmth and charm I remembered, just with a new coat of paint.
Warriors History
Rebrands are never easy. A team’s logo is its story, and when the Warriors, who had used the name since 1984-85 and worn an Indigenous chief in a headdress as their primary logo since 1987-88, underwent a formal review of their image in 2020, it was a big deal. Fred Sasakamoose, the first Indigenous hockey player to play in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks, didn’t see any issue with the Warriors’ jersey. “I was in Moose Jaw about five, six years ago,” he said when the team began the process, “and they honoured me with that sweater. That’s one of the proudest things (I own)…I’m proud to wear that logo. I’m proud of what I am, who I am” (from “Fred Sasakamoose likes the Moose Jaw Warriors’ logo just the way it is,” Regina Leader-Post – 10/03/2020).
Sasakamoose’s words held weight in Moose Jaw. Although he never played for the Warriors, he was part of Moose Jaw’s hockey story and started his career with the Moose Jaw Canucks in the early 1950s. It’s a story that not only stretched back 36 years to the Warriors’ arrival, but decades earlier, weaving generations of people together as both fans and players. If a rebrand was going to be successful, it needed to be incredibly careful not to write a new chapter that people felt was disingenuous.
#WaybackWednesday Happy birthday to the late Fred Sasakamoose who would have been 91 years old today. Here's Fred as a member of the Moose Jaw Canucks in the WJHL (1953) pic.twitter.com/XvoBNo7aSI
— Vintage Hockey Showcase (@hockey_vintage) December 25, 2024
The story began over 100 years ago with an unnamed junior team. In 1901 on a road trip to play in Regina, the Moose Jaw Junior Hockey team was led out by “Wild Jack,” a Sioux man who wore a “fancy costume” and led cheers supporting the team. He was no doubt a fixture in the small prairie city. He, or his image, likely led to the creation of the Moose Jaw Warriors, a founding member of the Prairie Hockey League (PHL), a professional circuit established to replace the recently-defunct Western Hockey League in 1926. The original Warriors only lasted one season, while the PHL only lasted for two before it folded due to low attendance.
Following the original Warriors’ collapse, Moose Jaw saw many teams pass through their city limits, but none found much traction in the various leagues. That is, not until the Canucks came to town and brought Moose Jaw into the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) in 1933. The junior club made the SJHL Final 11 times from 1934-48, winning it five times and appearing in the Memorial Cup twice. Their success led to an affiliation with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1945, which prompted the team to part ways with using a moose as their primary logo and start to adopt the look of their new parent club. That year they also made their first of two Memorial Cup appearances, with the second coming two years later, both of which they lost.
In 1966, the Canucks joined four other Saskatchewan-based teams and two Alberta teams to create the new Canadian Major Junior Hockey League (CMJHL) with Moose Jaw taking home the inaugural title over the Pats. However, by 1968-69, they had returned to the SJHL. The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association had rejected the CMJHL’s attempt to create a Major Junior league in the West and thus banned all member teams from competing for the Memorial Cup. The league was hopeful they would change their mind, but after two years, several teams got tired of waiting.
Upon their return to the SJHL, the Canucks struggled to recapture their previous success, failing to win any championships despite having Chris Chelios on their team from 1979-81. By the early 1980s, it started to look like junior hockey’s time in Moose Jaw was coming to an end. Things came to a head in 1983 when owner John Waronek, less than a year after purchasing the franchise, put it up for sale again intending to find more community help. Fan support had been dwindling in recent seasons, and while the on-ice product was still competitive, the team was losing money. “There has to be some community involvement in junior hockey,” he said in April of that year. “It is really tough running junior hockey as an individual. There is a lot more work involved than people think” (from “Canucks up for sale second time around,” Moose Jaw Times-Herald – 12/04/1983).
However, when a bid was finally received from a community group, Waronek resisted and backtracked the sale, which led to a lengthy, 18-day process that saw the players finally refuse to play until the ownership squabble concluded. But one positive thing came out of the ugly negotiations. “The community has stood behind us through this thing,” said new Club President Dennis McIvor, “and I don’t think they have changed. We need their support to put the puck back in the net” (from “Hockey ordeal ends after 18 trying days,” Moose Jaw Times-Herald – 4/11/1983).
With the old owner ousted, the new community-led group set their sights on bringing the highest level of junior hockey to Moose Jaw. That led to a successful bid to join the WHL, purchasing the struggling Winnipeg Warriors for the 1984-85 season. The only problem was that, with just one small arena, there was no room for the Canucks. Despite their best efforts, the community couldn’t support both, so the Canucks folded to make way for the incoming Major Junior team. There also seemed to be some painful memories around the Canucks, so rather than give the old name to the new franchise, Moose Jaw stuck with the Warriors. After all, the Warriors had plenty of history in Moose Jaw. The only change they made was to remove the indigenous ‘warrior’ riding on a skate from its logo, replacing it with the familiar red silhouette in 1987-88.
The Warriors were immediately welcomed in Moose Jaw, and they were happy to have a top junior team in their city again, but it took a while for the team to find its footing. Despite boasting talents like Theoren Fleury, Mike Keane, and Lyle Odelein, it wasn’t until the mid-1990s that the Warriors became regular playoff contenders. It would take nearly a decade after that before they won their first Division title in 2003-04 and didn’t appear in a WHL Final until 2005-06. They were rarely the worst team but struggled to find the success many younger teams experienced.
Yet, throughout those years of ups and downs, the team became more than just a hockey team in Moose Jaw. To have the team in the city was a mark of pride, and the red headdress on their chests unified those who supported it. But it wasn’t perfect, and the team faced criticism when they brought back the old Winnipeg logo for its 30th anniversary in 2014. That opened the door for a conversation on whether the use of Indigenous imagery should continue to be part of Moose Jaw’s story. Ownership made no promises when the review started, saying they were simply looking into whether it was time for a change.
“We feel it is the right time and the right thing to do, to go through a formal process and formal review of our primary logo. We feel it’s important, with the great support we have in Moose Jaw from our fans and corporate sponsors, that we engage with leaders in our community and we engage with our stakeholders and our partners to look at the logo and see at this time if we move forward with our current logo or if it’s time for a change.”
Former Warriors general manager Alan Miller
Being that the team was community-owned, management began an exhaustive process, gathering as much input as possible to ensure the process was done right. So, when the team announced that they had concluded it was time for a change and then unveiled its new logo featuring a CT-114 Tutor jet used by the famous Snowbirds for the 2022-23 season, there were few dissenting voices. “As far as the new logo goes, I love it,” said Leroy. “The Snowbirds have been a big part of Moose Jaw for a long time. Each season the team does a Snowbirds night and it’s a natural fit.”
But, of course, nothing makes a story better than winning, and in 2023-24, the Warriors, with their brand-new logo won their first WHL Championship, defeating the first-place Saskatoon Blades in the semifinal and sweeping the Portland Winterhawks for their first Memorial Cup appearance. It’s fair to say that the jet has now become synonymous with success and won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
Other Franchise Leaders:
- Most Points (Total): Theoren Fleury (1984-88) – 472
- Most Points (Season): Theoren Fleury (1987-88) – 160
- Most Goals (Season): Blair Atcheynum (1988-89) and Jayden Halbgewachs (2017-18) – 70
- Most Games Played: Jason Bast (2005-10) – 337
- Most Wins (Total): Joey Perricone (2003-08) – 93
- Most Wins (Season): Brody Willms (2017-18) – 37
- Retired Numbers: 4– #9 Theoren Fleury; #24 Kelly Buchberger; #25 Mike Keane; #28 Ryan Smyth
- Highest Drafted Players: Morgan Rielly, 5th (Toronto, 2012); Ryan Smyth, 6th (Edmonton, 1994); Jamie Lundmark, 9th (Rangers, 1999)
Moose Jaw Events Centre
Throughout the WHL’s history, there have been few more iconic arenas than Moose Jaw’s old Civic Centre, affectionately known as the ‘Crushed Can’ due to its swooping roof that wasn’t dissimilar to a pop can that was stepped on. However, the Civic Centre wasn’t just supposed to be eye-catching. Constructed in 1959, the cost was a big concern for the city of Moose Jaw, and the architect they hired came up with an idea to use cables to support the roof, removing the need for interior supports and thus providing an unobstructed view of the ice. The roof’s design also helped with energy conservation, as the heat was pushed up into the stands and away from the ice, meaning the arena didn’t have to add additional heaters for fans near the top of the arena. All of that allowed for the building to be shorter than other arenas and cost $525,000, or about $5.4 million today.
The Civic Centre was awarded the Massey Award for Architecture for its ingenious use of cables and striking design, but it did have its drawbacks. The swooping roof meant that there was just 12 feet of clearance at centre ice, and while you could see the whole ice from an upper-level seat, you couldn’t see the opposite side of the building. The unique design also meant that repairs were difficult. By the 2000s, major work was needed to get it up to the WHL’s standards. It had a capacity of 3,146, but only fit 2,750 seated fans on game days, and the seats were smaller than average – another cost-cutting measure implemented when it was built. The roof also prevented a scoreboard from hanging at centre ice for everyone to see, and outside temperatures would affect the ice inside as the leaking roof would drip right onto the goal line.
Despite the historical significance, no one wanted to take on the expansive preservation project and in 2012, it was demolished. To replace the Civic Centre, Moose Jaw opened Mosaic Place in 2011. The new arena was practically the opposite of the old arena in almost every way. Instead of a small, cost-cutting building with a unique look, Mosaic Place resembled an airplane hanger, with a massive footprint and a roof that bowed upward and cost the city double the projected price, with the final price tag coming in at $61 million. It was also tucked away in an older part of downtown instead of on the main road through the city, making it a bit harder to find than before.
Early reviews of Mosaic Place, like other arenas that replaced beloved old barns, were mixed. Fans were critical of the overpriced additions, the inconsistent event management, and the poor parking options. Management could have ignored the complaints and told fans they’d get used to it, but that’s not how Moose Jaw operates. They listened to the concerns, and over the next 12 years, worked to make Mosaic Stadium, now called the Moose Jaw Events Centre, to make it the best experience for the over 4,700 fans that could fit in the building.
However, the best thing was that the Crushed Can was not forgotten when the team moved. The Warriors’ team store still goes by the old arena nickname, and the buildings that were built in the ashes of the Civic Centre all have incorporated the swooping designs on the top of their storefronts. This is clearly a town that cares about its team, and those little details are what turn a large, soulless building into a warm, welcoming place for all fans and honouring the story of the Warriors in Moose Jaw.
Food and Extras
Summary
- Tickets – $24.75 ($29 after SaskTix fees)
- Hat – $44.99
- Jersey – $159.99
- Puck – $9.99
Compared to other arenas in my journey, the Warriors sit squarely in the middle. The food options are limited, but far from the worst. There were two standard concession stands: one offered alcoholic drinks with a few snacks, and the other offered more-typical food options. At the latter, I got the Warrior Burger, which had an onion ring and BBQ sauce on it, and my wife went for the Korean Beef Poutine. Neither were all that special, but they were far from disappointing. There were some more niche stands, with one serving primarily hot dogs just above our section, and at the far end from us, an ice cream stand had an assortment of intriguing desserts.
I admit I was disappointed with the available souvenirs. The Crushed Can store sits outside the main arena and we were told explicitly that our tickets do not permit re-entry, so checking out all the Warriors’ merchandise options was a no-go. Inside the arena, there was a small area with some hoodies, hats, t-shirts, and a small assortment of your typical souvenirs like mini-sticks, posters, stickers, and pens. I also found the prices a bit steeper than I was expecting, with hoodies clocking in at $80 and hats nearly $50. It was somewhat surreal when I added up the price of tickets, souvenirs, and food, and discovered I paid less to go to a game in the Scotiabank Saddledome than I did for a Warriors game.
Related: The Great WHL Journey #5: Calgary Hitmen
The higher prices likely come down to the fact that Moose Jaw is a bit of a tourist town, boasting the famous Temple Garden Spa and the historically significant Tunnels of Moose Jaw, which Al Capone allegedly used to run alcohol during prohibition. Of course, my wife and I had to do both while visiting, since they are two things that give Moose Jaw its charm. But, just like Banff or Niagara Falls, everything was a bit more expensive than I anticipated.
We also found a few other interesting spots while wandering around downtown. Post Horizon Books is a lovely small-town used bookstore with some hidden gems and interesting local topics. Happy Leisure Sports offered everything a hockey fan could ask for, from team-branded merchandise to hockey cards. The Antique Barn was also an interesting find, with a much more eclectic assortment of antiques from around the prairies. Compared to spots in Saskatoon, all of these stores charged a bit more than I would have liked, but they were far from tourist traps. Moose Jaw may be a tourist town, but it’s still filled with that small-town charm and honesty. If they’re going to do something, they are going to make sure it’s done right.
Sept. 27, 2024 – Warriors vs. Pats
Moose Jaw has always done things a little differently in my experience. Just look at the Crushed Can – no other junior team in the WHL ever attempted such a bold design to cut costs, but Moose Jaw thought outside the box and came up with one of the most iconic arenas ever to grace the league. The same thing could be said about their new place. The front entrance is strangely unobtrusive to the point where I began to wonder if I was going in the right doors but sure enough, I was quickly surrounded by Warriors’ jerseys. However, as I walked by the Warriors’ official store, down a long hallway past the ticket booth, and around to the stairs that led up to the main concourse, it looked more like the basement of an office building than a hockey arena.
Once inside the arena, however, everything was the Warriors. Everywhere I looked was coloured red and black; even the ice was bathed in a red glow. Then, when the pre-show began, the sound of a jet taking off reverberated through the arena just before “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins started along with some static radio communication between fighter pilots. Yes, it was very Top Gun, but it perfectly matched the Warriors’ new image of the Snowbirds jet. So far in my journey, I haven’t seen any team embrace a theme so wholeheartedly.
It was also surprising for both my wife and me because, when the new arena was unveiled, I bought tickets for a game as soon as I could. However, my experience was similar to that of the Medicine Hat Tigers’ new arena, in that the building was clean and spacious but lacked heart. Now, however, that was certainly not the case. Everything in the arena was all about the Warriors.
When the game got going, I was excited to watch Lynden Lakovic, a top 2025 NHL Entry Draft prospect. I’d seen him play a couple of times the previous season when the Warriors were in Saskatoon for the playoffs, and he stood out as a smart, hard-working player who did a lot of little things right. He was going to be leaned on pretty heavily for this game, too, as Brayden Yager was still at the Winnipeg Jets’ training camp.
Things didn’t start well for the home team, though, as the Regina Pats’ veteran Zackary Shantz scored less than a minute after the puck was dropped. The Warriors struggled to hold onto the puck, and although Lakovic had some good chances, nothing was getting by the Pats’ Kelton Pyne. It was tough to watch, but one bright spot was that, when Regina was sent to the penalty box, the speakers played one of the best penalty songs I’ve ever heard at a hockey game.
Finally, early in the second period, the Warriors broke through with a beautiful breakaway from Rilen Kovacevic. With the game tied, Moose Jaw turned on the gas, scoring two more times before the buzzer sounded to end the period, including one from Lakovic. Each time they scored, a jet engine roared through the building. The Warriors scored once more to earn a 4-2 victory and Lakovic earned the game’s second star.
I have to admit, I was impressed. This small-town team was putting on a better show just three games into the season than I’ve seen at some NHL games. With 3,274 people in attendance, the place wasn’t packed, but just like Prince Albert, it sounded filled to bursting every time the Warriors scored, which was impressive enough without taking into account the cavernous building. We sat 11 rows up, but still felt like we were right up against the boards and had some fantastic views of the action. The walkways felt full, but it also seemed like people were more than happy to just stand and chat with their neighbours and friends.
That’s when it began to dawn on me that this wasn’t just a place for hockey fans. There’s an extra level of community and camaraderie here I hadn’t ever noticed before in any other arenas. When I went to a game in Saskatoon with my friend Chad, he seemed to know everyone, but that seemed more like an exception to the rule. The same went for Regina, Prince Albert, Medicine Hat, and Calgary. People were there to watch hockey.
But in Moose Jaw, hockey almost seemed like a secondary attraction, which lined up with what Leroy told me. “My earliest memory of watching the Warriors goes back to the old Crushed Can, our old rink,” he said, regarding going to games in the 1980s. “As kids, we would all sit in the first couple of rows next to the Warriors bench. When the Warriors scored, we would all jump up on the boards and the players would come down the line and high-five the team and all the kids leaning over the boards, that’s how short the glass was back then!”
My dad has told me stories of watching Tigers games as a kid in the 1970s, and it never seemed like he had that kind of access to his favourite players. Yet the kids of Moose Jaw were getting high-fives from the likes of Fleury, Odelein, Keane, and Jim McKenzie, all of whom went on to play in the NHL. It was a special connection specifically between the Warriors and their fans, and that came directly back to the fact that the team was owned by the community and, thus, for the community.
However, despite all those warm memories, the best moment came much later. “My favourite memory watching the team was this past season,” Leroy said. “Seeing them win the WHL championship at home was amazing. Through the playoffs watching how the community rallied around the team was pretty special.”
There it is again – community. “The atmosphere at the rink is great!” he added. “Even when things aren’t going our way on the ice, it’s always great hockey to watch and it’s the community’s team. Moose Jaw isn’t a big city, so it’s a social event as well, you always run into people you know at the rink.”
When I talked with a fan at the Raiders game, he also mentioned how nice it was to see old friends and how it was just something to do in a place that didn’t have many other options. There, too, people stood at the top of the stands and chatted while watching the game. But hockey was still the primary focus. Moose Jaw has proven in the past that, even if the hockey is good, they won’t support a misguided franchise. The way that the Canucks’ final owner handled business almost certainly led to their downfall. Even the Warriors have struggled in very recent years; ahead of its championship-winning season, the team reported an overall loss of over $280,000 from 2022-23.
But the Warriors are the place to be if you want to see people. In a touristy town with a world-class spa and infamous tunnels underneath the streets, hockey is still the premier attraction for locals and the community has taken care of it. Almost immediately after speaking about the dire financial situation, the Warriors president Chad Taylor said, “The community always steps up for this team, no matter what. The Warriors are healthy; they have money in the bank. But we always need to do a better job finding a new fan to become engaged and be part of what the Moose Jaw Warriors bring. It’s about community, getting people out to hockey games and it takes one person at a time.”
That’s the way the Warriors see it, and it draws people in. It makes each fan part of the story of the Warriors, even someone like me, who only went to a handful of games when I lived nearby. That’s what makes the Warriors a success far more than the banner that now hangs from the rafters – staying true to the history and story of the team, and staying true to the fans that are with them every step of the way.
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