MOOSE JAW -- With the Western Hockey League trade deadline only a couple days away, Moose Jaw Warriors general manager Jason Ripplinger made a pair of deals on Tuesday.
The team saw one of the key members of their run to the WHL Championship last season joining the Prince Albert Raiders, with overage forward Rilen Kovacevic heading north in exchange for 20-year-old forward Krzysztof Macias, 17-year-old forward Luke Moroz and a fourth-round pick in 2027.
“Adding Luke gives us more skill in our 2007 age group as we continue to build for the future. He is a great playmaker with good hockey sense,” Ripplinger said. “Krzysztof gives us skill and a good work ethic. He should add scoring to our lineup and keep us competitive.”
Moroz, 5-foot-9 and 152 pounds, is from Grand Coulee and in 34 games this season has four goals and 15 points. He was selected by the Raiders in the first round, 15th overall, in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft. Playing with the Balgonie Prairie Storm in the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Sask U15 AA League in 2021-22 , he had 47 goals and 108 points in only 27 games. The following season as a rookie for the Regina Pat Canadian, Moroz had 16 goals and 47 points in 40 games.
Macias, 5-foot-11 and 196 pounds, has played at a point-a-game pace for the Raiders this season with eight goals and 22 points in 22 games this season. In 87 career regular-season games, he has 30 goals and 69 points.
Macias was selected by the Raiders in the first round, 15th overall, in the 2023 CHL Import Draft. He played for Poland at the 2024 World Championship and had two goals in seven games.
“Rilen is a hard player to replace,” Ripplinger said. “He was a big part of our championship team last year and was a good leader for our young group this year. We wish nothing but success for him in the future.”
Kovacevic was acquired by the Warriors last season from the Edmonton Oil Kings. In 33 games this year, he has 21 goals and 40 points. After putting up five goals and 20 points in 34 games in the regular season last year, Kovacevic had four goals and 15 points in 20 games in the post-season, helping the Warriors to their first Western Hockey League Championship.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Warriors exchanged goaltenders with the Vancouver Giants, sending 19-year-old goaltender Brady Smith west for 18-year-old goaltender Matthew Hutchison, a fourth round pick in 2025 and a seven round pick in 2028.
“Acquiring Matthew gave us a chance to add a quality goaltender with WHL experience and we were also able to add a couple more draft picks,” Ripplinger said, referring to the continuing effort to restock picks after depleting their selections in the build to the WHL Championship last season.
“Matthew has a lot of upside, and we are hoping he can give us some stability in our net and keep competing with Josh (Banini),” he added.
Hutchison, 6-foot-3 and 189 pounds, has played in 22 games this season with the Giants and has a record of 10-8-1, 3.92 goals against average and a .875 save percentage.
Hutchison was selected in the third round, 50th overall, in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft. In 43 career games in the WHL, he has a record of 14-22-2 with a 4.49 GAA and .872 SP. In 2022-2023, he played 22 games with Oceanside (VJHL), posting a record of 19-1-1-1 with a 1.82 GAA and a .933 SP.
All three new Warriors were able to catch up with the team prior to their game on Tuesday in Lethbridge and were in the line-up against the Hurricanes.
-- with files from James Gallo
