In only a couple of days, the Moose Jaw Warriors and the rest of the Western Hockey League will be selecting the top bantam aged players from across Western Canada and the United States. 

We’re looking at some of the best drafts in Moose Jaw Warriors history from between 1994 and 2015, and we’re up to number two.

The circumstances surrounding the 2007 draft meant that the Warriors would need to get creative in order to get back to being contenders. A year after being in the league final, the Warriors finished near the bottom of the league’s standings.

The Warriors had the fifth overall pick in the 2007 draft but then-general manager Chad Lang struck a draft day deal with the Portland Winterhawks to swoop up the first overall pick and with that pick, the Warriors chose Oak Bank, Manitoba forward Quinton Howden.

Howden helped steer the franchise into the right direction and the team was able to build around the two-time member of Team Canada at the World Juniors. He scored 111 goals with the Warriors in that time and ended up getting drafted by the Florida Panthers in the first round.  

Howden played about 100 games in the NHL and has played the last four seasons in the KHL.

But he wasn’t the only solid player taken in that draft.

With their third round pick, the Warriors selected Winnipeg-born defenceman Dylan McIllrath. A fierce, physical punishing blueliner who could also play the game, McIllrath was also a first round NHL draft pick – 10th overall by the New York Rangers. He scored 74 points in four seasons with the Warriors and has 66 NHL games under his belt, most recently this season with Detroit.

That’s not enough? Fine then. With their fourth round pick, they stayed on the blueline and drafted future captain Kendall McFaull. McFaull played four seasons with Moose Jaw before a solid five seasons with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

A late second round pick also included forward Nathan MacMaster, who played 140 games with the Warriors before being part of a 2010 trade with the Ca

In only a couple of days, the Moose Jaw Warriors and the rest of the Western Hockey League will be selecting the top bantam aged players from across Western Canada and the United States, and

We’re looking at some of the best drafts in Moose Jaw Warriors history, and we’re up to number 2.

The circumstances surrounding the 2007 draft meant that the Warriors would need to get creative in order to get back to being contenders. A year after being in the league final, the Warriors finished near the bottom of the league’s standings.

The Warriors had the fifth overall pick in the 2007 draft but then-general manager Chad Lang struck a draft day deal with the Portland Winterhawks to swoop up the first overall pick and with that pick, the Warriors chose Oak Bank, Manitoba forward Quinton Howden.

Howden helped steer the franchise into the right direction and the team was able to build around the two-time member of Team Canada at the World Juniors. He scored 111 goals with the Warriors in that time and ended up getting drafted by the Florida Panthers in the first round.  

Howden played about 100 games in the NHL and has played the last four seasons in the KHL.

But he wasn’t the only solid player taken in that draft.

With their third round pick, the Warriors selected Winnipeg-born defenceman Dylan McIllrath. A fierce, physical punishing blueliner who could also play the game, McIllrath was also a first round NHL draft pick – 10th overall by the New York Rangers. He scored 74 points in four seasons with the Warriors and has 66 NHL games under his belt, most recently this season with Detroit.

That’s not enough? Fine then. With their fourth round pick, they stayed on the blueline and drafted future captain Kendall McFaull. McFaull played four seasons with Moose Jaw before a solid five seasons with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

A late second round pick also included forward Nathan MacMaster, who played 140 games with the Warriors before being part of a 2010 trade with the Calgary Hitmen that netted the Warriors one of their most popular players in the last decade, Cody Beach.  

In the sixth round, the Warriors added goaltender Brandon Glover, who played 32 games for Moose Jaw and then went on to start for Calgary and Seattle before four seasons with Acadia University.

Tuesday, we’ll look at the best draft in Warriors history – a draft that helped bring the Warriors some of the franchise’s best players.

Seventh best: 2001

Sixth best: 2015

Fifth best: 2011

Fourth best: 1997

Third best: 1996

Second best: 2011