An interesting subplot to Zach Sawchenko’s departure to U Sports over the offseason was the opening of the door for veteran goalie Brody Willms, but also rookie netminder Adam Evanoff.

Evanoff enters Moose Jaw Warriors’ training camp this week as the presumptive back-up goalie as the 17-year-old looks to make the WHL team’s roster for the first time.

“I’ve been looking forward to this all summer,” said Evanoff, who arrived in Moose Jaw early to help out with the Warriors’ Kids Camp.

Originally a tenth round pick in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft, Evanoff has blossomed into a top goalie prospect for the Warriors.

He’s coming off a stellar season with the Okanagan Hockey Academy Midget Red Prep team where he took home the Canadian Sport School Hockey League’s Top Goaltender award.

In 19 regular season games, Evanoff posted a 2.44 goals against average and a 0.918 save percentage and he pushed those numbers down to a 1.98 GAA and 0.941 save percentage during the playoffs.

Despite those excellent numbers, Evanoff said he feels that he needs to come into this week’s camp and prove that he belongs at this level.

“I know what I’m capable of and I feel that I can show that to the coaches, management staff and my teammates here,” he said.

“I just have to play my game and be consistent. Brody is a great goalie and in order to get starts, I’m going to have my work cut out for me.”

Evanoff added that he’s looking forward to learning from Willms as well, “He’s really great about teaching me the ropes and showing me the ways.”

In anticipation of his first WHL season, Evanoff said he focused on being ready for the skill that players have at the major junior level.

“I knew I had be stronger because faster hockey you have to push harder as a goalie, so I really worked on my legs and flexibility, I was doing a lot of yoga and stuff like that,” said Evanoff.

There’s a lot of excitement for this Warriors’ season and Evanoff said that he could feel that as soon as he stepped into Mosaic Place last week.

“We already have good chemistry and it’s not even training camp yet, so it’s going to be a great year,” said Evanoff.

The Warriors will open training camp on-ice on Thursday with rookie camp at Mosaic Place. Main camp starts on Saturday with the annual Black & White Game going on Sunday. Click here for the full schedule and roster.