WHL NOTEBOOK: Ziprick savours title, moves on

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This article was published 10/12/2024 (281 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Aiden Ziprick was traded by the Lethbridge Hurricanes to the Moose Jaw Warriors, it would have been entirely normal to have some reservations.

As it turned out, the deal on Sept. 28, 2023 for a sixth-round pick in 2026 launched the defenceman from Russell on an adventure he couldn’t have imagined.

“At the time when you get traded, you’re kind of like ‘Damn, I liked playing here,’” Ziprick said. “The more I got along with Moose Jaw, I knew we had a chance to do something very special. To know I was part of that championship team is such a good feeling. Obviously the trade ended up working out pretty well.”

The six-foot-one, 188-pound defenceman played 52 regular season and all 20 playoff games with the Warriors, posting just seven points but more importantly a plus-minus of +4 in the post-season as the Warriors won the first Western Hockey League championship in franchise history. They beat the Brandon Wheat Kings, Swift Current Broncos, Saskatoon Blades and Portland Winterhawks en route to earning the prize.

“It was insane,” Ziprick said. “I’ve been asked so many times and I still haven’t been able to make up words for it. It’s just such a different atmosphere and such a different feeling, and the guys who we did it with are some of the guys I’ll never forget. It was a run of a lifetime. That was probably the best month of my life.”

The playoff run included what will go down as one of the best playoff series in league history. In the Eastern Conference final, the Warriors and Blades went to overtime six times. Ziprick said the whole series was a nerve-wracking affair.

“The more the game goes on, the more you get into it, so that makes it easier, but when it’s a close game like that, whether it was the third period or going into overtime, which six of the games went into, the nerves were definitely there for everyone,” Ziprick said. “You just have to go out there and play your game. The nerves take away your mind sometimes and you have to battle through it, and that’s what we did.”

With an incredible 13,240 fans on hand in Saskatoon on May 7, the Game 7 winner came off the stick of Moose Jaw forward Lynden Lakovic, who shovelled the puck at the net, and watched as it hit a body and went in 36 seconds into extra time.

“It was crazy, seeing that bounce in: The rush in all the guys was a feeling we’ll all never forget,” Ziprick said.

That goal propelled the Warriors into the league final against the always dangerous Portland Winterhawks, who had dealt for Wheat Kings captain Nate Danielson at the trade deadline.

While it would have been easy to get lost in the focus for every game, Ziprick said the message to the entire team was to enjoy the entire experience, which includes plane travel between cities, a much higher level of media scrutiny and the eyes of the entire league upon them.

“We knew we were in a battle for an WHL championship but also to enjoy it,” Ziprick said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so you couldn’t take it for granted.”

The Warriors earned 3-2 and 5-1 victories in Portland, which brought the series back to Moose Jaw for the next three games. The Warriors only needed two of them, winning 4-3 in overtime in Game 3 and 4-2 in Game 4 on May 15 to clinch the franchise’s first WHL crown since it was founded in 1980.

“It’s hard to explain, the feeling of jumping off the bench, going with all the guys, throwing your gloves off,” Ziprick said. “It’s an adrenalin rush I wish everyone got to experience just once in their lifetime. It was insane, and obviously lifting the cup in the rink, we obviously had a sold-out crowd and I don’t think anyone left until we got off the ice.

“Just hearing everyone cheering for you and showing all their support through the playoffs and the whole run just meant so much to me and the team. It was just a surreal experience.”

The Memorial Cup was held from May 24 to June 2 in Saginaw, Mich. Moose Jaw went 1-2 in the round-robin, beating the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Maritime Hockey League 5-3. In the semifinal, they fell 7-1 to the host Saginaw Spirit, who beat the London Knights in overtime in the final.

“After you win, you have one more goal and that’s the Mem Cup, so you just have to push the injuries past you,” Ziprick said of his mentally and physically exhausted team. “You only get this once also you have to push through the pain and that’s what we did. We didn’t get the result we wanted but I thought we went out there and competed for each other every night.”

While it didn’t work out how he might have hoped, Ziprick said it was a neat experience too. A big part of that was playing on national television.

“My family and friends were texting me after games,” Ziprick said. “I had so many people watching me and supporting me through the whole thing. That meant so much to me just for the people back home to be able to watch.”

This season is unlikely to reach similar heights.

The Warriors graduated many of their top players — overagers Martin Rysavy, Atley Calvert and Lucas Brenton, and drafted 19-year-olds Jagger Firkus, Denton Mateychuk and Matthew Savoie — and have traded several more as they attempt to recoup some of the picks they spent to build the team.

In the last month, Moose Jaw has dealt defencemen Vojtech Port and Kalem Parker, goalies Dimitri Fortin and Jackson Unger, and star forward Brayden Yager, who is a Winnipeg Jets prospect. In return, they have picked up 13 picks and six players. Earlier, they dealt defenceman Cosmo Wilson and a draft pick for a player and two more picks.

The deal that sent Yager and Unger to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Dec. 2 was especially tough.

“It sucks when a guy like Brayden Yager leaves a team,” Ziprick said. “He’s obviously a big part of what we were able to build, whether that was last year or years prior. It’s just staying positive. We have a lot of younger guys now and they look up to us older guys so what we do on and off the ice they’ll follow.”

“Those were two of the guys I was closest with on the team,” Ziprick added about Yager and Unger. “It’s tough to see them go.”

On top of that, overage forward Brayden Schuurman suffered a serious lower-body injury and is listed as out month to month.

Ziprick admitted expectations are different this season.

“Obviously we knew there was going to be a different look in the room with the guys that we ended up losing from last year,” Ziprick said. “That just gives more guys opportunity. The guys who came in have to work for the opportunity they’re given, and with the guys we lost, there is more ice time and opportunity, whether that’s special teams or late in the game.

“The thing now is that we know what it takes to win, and we have to get going on that train and I think we can turn this train around.”

No one is endorsing that new reality more than Ziprick, who suddenly finds himself the second oldest player on the blue-line, behind only former Prince George Cougars overage defenceman Keaton Dowhaniuk.

Ziprick was rewarded for his steady play and leadership abilities when he was named an alternate captain, the first time he’s worn a letter since his second year in under-15 with the Parkland Rangers.

“It was really cool to see the A on my jersey for the first time,” Ziprick said. “It’s something you dream of as a kid. It was very special and I can’t thank the coaching staff enough for believing in me. My role doesn’t change much. I just have to continue to be a vocal leader: Even before I had the A, I thought I was kind of a loud voice in the room.”

He’s also providing an outstanding example for his younger teammates.

Ziprick has been playing far heavier minutes this season, skating on the first power play, first penalty kill and first pairing. “I have to go out there like I’m still trying to got earn a spot to be in that part of the lineup,” Ziprick said. “It’s not just given, I feel like I’ve worked for that, and been rewarded for it.”

He was playing the most with Parker, but when the overager was traded to the Calgary Hitmen on Nov. 17, he began pairing with 18-year-old Brady Ness. He still thinks he has more to give, but is happy overall with his play so far.

That makes sense because he’s already set career offensive highs with five goals and eight assists in just 27 games

Happily for Ziprick, the Warriors finish the first half of their season in Brandon next Tuesday, so after the game he’ll be able to head straight home for the Christmas break with his parents Cam and Sherisse.

Since the Warriors play in Regina on the weekend, his folks are driving out to Moose Jaw and picking up his car so he can travel back on Boxing Day.

Even without the obvious advantages next week, he still cherishes the chance to play at Westoba Place.

“That’s probably the games I look forward to the most,” Ziprick said. “With being in Moose Jaw, family doesn’t come out too often. In Brandon, everyone is around there and in Manitoba. I’ve got a lot of buddies who are going to school in Brandon too so they’re able to come out and watch.

“It’s really cool to see all the support I get when I play there.”

THIS AND THAT

• QUIZ — Since 1992, Brandon has had 10 different men serve as head coach. How many can you name?

• WEEKLY AWARDS — The player of the week is 20-year-old Portland Winterhawks defenceman Tyson Jugnauth of Kelowna, who set a team record with six assists on Saturday in a 7-2 win over the visiting Vancouver Giants. The Seattle Kraken prospect also had an assist in the team’s other game.

The goaltender of the week is 18-year-old Everett Silvertips rookie Raiden LeGall of Morden, who joined the team on Nov. 20 after previously playing with the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Niverville Nighthawks. He won both his starts while posting a 0.50 goals-against average and a .981 save percentage. He is committed to Bemidji State University.

The rookie of the week is 16-year-old Medicine Hat Tigers forward Liam Ruck of Osoyoos, B.C., who posted three goals, one assist and a +5 rating in three games while skating with his twin brother Markus.

• SIN BIN — There were none this week.

• TRADE FRONT — The Regina Pats sent disgruntled 18-year-old defenceman Corbin Vaughan to the Prince George Cougars on Sunday for 19-year-old defenceman Ephram McNutt of Red Deer and a second-round pick in 2025. Vaughan’s twin brother Jaxsin was traded to the Everett Silvertips on Nov. 16.

• ALUMNI GLANCE — Goaltender Jordan Papirny, 28, who played with the Wheat Kings from 2013 to 2017, is in his third full pro campaign. He split his two season between the American Hockey League’s Henderson Silver Knights and the ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates. The Tahoe Knight Monsters are the new Vegas ECHL affiliate this season and Papirny has a 2.58 goals-against average and .928 save percentage in eight appearances with a 4-3-1-0 record. He’s also made two appearances with Henderson. Papirny appeared in 205 regular season WHL games and 63 playoff games, including 17 regular season appearances and 14 playoff games with the Swift Current Broncos after a trade on Jan. 10, 2017.

• BIRTHDAY BOYS — Tye Cameron (Dec. 11, 1969); Darren Gusdal (Dec. 16, 1960), Jaxon Jacobson (Dec. 11, 2008), Jack Wells (Dec. 16, 1947).

• THE WEEK AHEAD — Brandon heads out on the road to meet the Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday at 5 p.m., and the Saskatoon Blades on Sunday at 4 p.m. Their final game before the Christmas break is on Tuesday, Dec. 17 when the Moose Jaw Warriors visit Westoba Place. They return on Friday, Dec. 27 when the Regina Pats come to town.

• ANSWER — The Wheat Kings coaches in the last 25 seasons have been:

— Bob Lowes (nine seasons, 1993 to 2001).

— Dean Clark (two seasons, 2001 to 2003).

— Mike Kelly (part of one season, 2003 to 2004).

— Kelly McCrimmon (part of eight seasons, 2004 to 2010, 2013-16).

— Cory Clouston (one season, 2011 to 2012).

— Dwayne Gylywoychuk (one season, 2012 to 2013).

— David Anning (three seasons, 2016 to 2019).

— Dave Lowry (one season, 2019 to 2020).

— Don MacGillivray (parts of three seasons, 2020 to 2022).

— Marty Murray (parts of three seasons, 2022 to now).