The Moose Jaw Warriors like the talent they have on their blue line — both now and in the future.
Some of those defence prospects want to prove their future is now.
“They have tons of great ’92s returning. I know it’s a tough year to crack the lineup, but that made me work harder in training,” said Joel Edmundson, a 17-year-old defenceman from Brandon. “I’m just going to play my game and see what happens.”
Edmundson is attending his third Warriors training camp. Standing 6-foot-4, Edmundson had 10 goals and 35 points in 44 games playing midget AAA in Brandon last season.
Edmundson has signed a WHL education contract, but the question is whether there’s any room for him on a deep Warriors blue line.
A little space opened on the back end when the Warriors re-assigned 19-year-old veteran defenceman Clinton Atkinson to Salmon Arm of the BCHL before camp began.
Still the team has five returning defencemen, newly acquired 19-year-old veteran Collin Bowman from Kelowna and highly touted draft pick Morgan Rielly.
“Ideally we’d like to carry seven defencemen,” said Warriors head coach Dave Hunchak. “The last two years carrying eight defencemen hurt the development of certain players. It wasn’t by design that we carried eight, but it was the way that it worked out.”
The fate of 20-year-old defenceman Chad Suer could free up some room for another youngster, but he’s just another piece of a complicated puzzle.
“Our veteran guys have done a very good job and the young kids who have come in — Morgan Rielly, Joel Edmundson, Shayne Gwinner, Travis Brown — have been exceptional,” said Hunchak. “It’s going to be a difficult decision when we come down to it.”
For more please see Saturday's Times-Herald.
