What started earlier in the week continued on Sunday afternoon as the Moose Jaw Warriors swung another major deal designed to help the team recoup draft picks lost to trades during their championship run last season.
The Warriors announced Sunday the acquisition of 2009-born forward Nathan Gardiner and three draft picks from the Calgary Hitmen in exchange for 2004-born defenceman Kalem Parker.
“It wasn’t something I was shopping around, but Calgary came to the table with a strong offer, and we came to an agreement,” Warriors general manager Jason Ripplinger.
“There’s lots of things that went into it, starting with making sure that we got another 20-year-old defenceman at a minimal cost, which we did on Friday by adding [Keaton] Dowhaniuk.”
Parker was acquired by the Warriors last October, along with Brayden Schuurman from the Victoria Royals. The 20-year-old defenceman had nine goals and 54 points in 82 games with the Warriors. He added two goals and nine points in 20 playoff games during the team’s championship run.
“Kalem meant a lot to last year and this year’s team, it’s not an easy trade to make, just his character on and off the ice was a big part of why we won last year,” Ripplinger said.
In the trade, the Warriors add a second-round pick in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft, as well as third and seventh round picks in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft.
“It’s really important, we gave up a lot of picks last year to try to win a championship, which worked out, but now it’s important to get some picks back to start building for the future.”
The Warriors also picked up Saskatchewan-born prospect in Gardiner. Originally selected in the sixth round of the 2024 WHL Prospect Draft, Gardiner is currently playing with the Regina Pat Canadians in the Saskatchewan Male Under-18 AAA Hockey League.
In 15 games this season, the 15-year-old forward has four goals and 10 points.
Last season with Estevan Bruins U15 AA team, Gardiner led his team in scoring with 19 goals and 61 points in 26 games during the regular season and then added two goals and five points in two playoff games.
“Since we were short picks last year and didn’t get as much skill as we had hoped in the draft, we were able to add Gardiner, who is a highly skilled player.”
The Warriors will return to game action coming up on Thursday when they host the Saskatoon Blades. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
