WHL NOTEBOOK: Ziprick thankful for wild ride in WHL

Aiden Ziprick has somehow become an old guy.

The 20-year-old Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman, who is his fourth season in the Western Hockey League, still can’t quite believe he’s one of the elder statesman in the dressing room as his major junior career nears its inevitable conclusion.

“It’s a weird feeling,” Ziprick said. “When you’re a young kid coming into the league, you don’t really think the time is going to come when you’re that old and being the overage guy. It’s an honour to be an overage guy in this league. I think I’m a good leader in the room and keep the room light and lead by example and push the younger kids and try to make them the best people they can be on and off the ice.”

Ziprick grew on the farm as part of a family that includes parents Cam and Sherisse, and brother Keaton.

After playing his minor hockey in Russell, Ziprick entered the Parkland Rangers system in the 2018-19 season and was picked in the seventh round, 148th overall, by the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 2020.

After starting the 2022-23 season with the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Waywayseecappo Wolverines, he jumped to Lethbridge after he was offered a contract and made his WHL debut in his 17-year-old season on Dec. 2, 2022.

While he attended plenty of Brandon Wheat Kings games growing up and dreamed of one day playing in the WHL, it was an eye opener when he actually arrived.

“You don’t really know the pace of it or the skills that guys have until you get there,” the six-foot-one, 190-pound Ziprick said. “Right since the first game I ever played, you could tell the speed is way different than when you’re watching. You have to make a lot quicker decisions, and as I got older, things got a lot more comfortable and I was able to build my game throughout my career.

“To get to where I am today took a lot of hard work and a lot of adjustments with everything.”

He played 30 games with the Hurricanes in his rookie campaign, which gave him a chance to fine-tune his game to thrive. When he looks back at the player he was then and the player he is now, he said his skating has elevated the most.

“When you’re playing in a fast-paced league, skating is obviously the biggest thing when you’re able to get around guys or beat guys to the puck,” Ziprick said. “I think that’s the biggest thing, and just making a good first pass. I think that’s what I strive for every game and I think that’s one of my biggest assets is moving pucks quick and jumping up into the play. Those are the two biggest things for me.”

HELLO MOOSE JAW

After two games in the 2023-24 season, he was about to be part of one of the most fortuitous trades he could have ever imagined.

On Sept. 28, Ziprick was dealt to Moose Jaw for a sixth-round pick in 2026. That was the rough equivalent of having your all-inclusive vacation to Pittsburgh upgraded to the French Riviera, because it was a Warriors team led by players such as Jagger Firkus, Brayden Yager, Matthew Savoie and Denton Mateychuk.

They went on to win the league title.

“I think that was one of the biggest things in my career,” Ziprick said. “When I got traded, I didn’t really know what to expect coming to a new team and everything, but as soon as I got here, I was welcomed really well and was able to play with some really special players.

“Just being able to learn from those guys and obviously going on the run we did and getting the experience of playoffs and the Memorial Cup and everything, I gained a lot of confidence.”

He noted a big part of that was learning the habits of the guys who attended pro camps, because he was able to apply those things to himself. And that’s why his memories of that year are as much his teammates as they are about the championship.

“I think it’s a mixture of both, raising the guys and raising the trophy,” Ziprick said. “We wouldn’t have been able to get to the trophy if we didn’t have the guys we did. Obviously it was a special team on the ice but off the ice, we were probably the closest group I’ve ever been a part of. No guy was left hanging, everyone was family in there and that really brought us together and eventually brought us to that championship run.”

After sweeping Brandon, they went on to beat the Swift Current Broncos in five games and the Saskatoon Blades in seven, and then swept Nate Danielson and the Portland Winterhawks. The Memorial Cup didn’t go as well with a 1-2 finish in the round robin and a loss in the semifinal, but it was a season to remember.

NEW REALITY

While the next two seasons didn’t feature nearly as many wins, it did see a significant increase in Ziprick’s role with the club. While it’s two very different dynamics, Ziprick has embraced the added responsibility.

“I’ve enjoyed it a lot,” Ziprick said. “You want to play as much as you can and help the team as much as you can. I think with the role I have, I’m able to kind of drive games and as a leader on the team I’m able to pick guys up and try and take the young guys under my wing and try to be the best I can in the room and on the ice and lead by example.”

He also had the benefit this season of having an important piece of paperwork all wrapped up.

Last April, he committed to Bemidji State University for the 2026-27 season. Like most players, he watched last season as rumours flew that the NCAA ban on major junior players would be overturned, and after it happened, he began to speak to schools.

“Once that got lifted and teams wear able to contact us and we could find a future plan, that was big for me,” Ziprick said. “I’m really excited to go to Bemidji and being able to commit last year and not worrying about all the noise around the outside of the rink was big for me to just focus on my game.

“Going in to the summer off a commitment was pretty special and just being able to work on my game and get ready for the next season and eventually make that jump to college is going to be pretty special.”

Hopefully he remembers everything he did last summer because he may want to repeat it.

Nobody could have anticipated how much Ziprick’s offensive game would explode and how he would become a team leader in goals (18) and points (54) for the Warriors, sitting third in both categories. To put that in context, Ziprick has been part of nearly a quarter of his team’s 229 goals this season.

The left-shooting Ziprick had 13 goals in the first 152 games of his WHL career — 12 of them came in 68 games last season — and 18 in 66 games this season. He hasn’t had a season like this since he was in minor hockey in Russell.

“Growing up, when you’re playing hometown games, you’re kind of the guy on those teams so growing up I always had the offensive talent that every kid wants,” Ziprick said. “It’s a big change when you get to the league and you’re playing against guys who have NHL contracts and all that. It obviously took some time to find my roots with that, but confidence is a big thing. Once you’re able to find your game, you just have to keep rolling with it.”

When asked how happy he is with his season, he’s quick to respond that his contribution has gone well beyond his points.

“I’ve been pretty happy,” Ziprick said. “I kind of started the year off slow but as the year went on, I’ve been able to find my game again and really push myself to be the best player I can be. Obviously the goals are nice but I feel like I’ve completed my game a bit more and been more reliable in the D-zone and the O-zone.

“I think it’s been a special year for me but right now the focus is on making the playoffs.”

THE END IS NEAR

The Warriors currently sit in ninth place, one point behind the Red Deer Rebels, who have a game in hand. Moose Jaw finishes up with a regular season-ending, home-and-home series with the 11th-place Swift Current Broncos, while Red Deer faces the 10th-place Lethbridge Hurricanes and then has a season-ending home-and-home series with the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Regardless of what happens, the day is coming soon when he’ll have to say goodbye to Moose Jaw. While he’s not looking forward to it, Ziprick said the Warriors have given him a lifetime of things to think about and treasure.

“It’s going to be pretty tough,” Ziprick said. “It’s obviously something I don’t really want to think about but it’s obviously coming an end here. I’m forever grateful for what this organization has done for me and the time I’ve been able to spend with this team is something I’ll never forget. It will be pretty tough leaving but the next thing is just moving on with my career and this is a stepping stone.

“I’ll be forever grateful for this place and have some great memories to look back on.”

THIS AND THAT

• QUIZ — The Wheat Kings are at 38 wins with three games left. Since they joined the WHL for the 1967-68 season, they have won 40 or more games 20 times. They have played in parts of seven different decades: Which four decades did they do it three or more times in? Which two decades are the leaders?

• WEEKLY AWARDS — The player of the week is 16-year-old Everett Silvertips defenceman Landon DuPont of Calgary, who had a goal and seven assists in three games. He was named the league’s rookie of the year last season as an exceptional status 15-year-old.

The goaltender of the week is 18-year-old Kelowna Rockets netminder Harrison Boettiger of Wheat Ridge, Colo., who won all three of his starts with a 0.98 goals-against average and .973 save percentage.

The rookie of the week is 16-year-old Prince Albert Raiders forward Ben Harvey of Edmonton, who had three goals and three assists in a pair of games.

• SIN BIN — The Kelowna Rockets were fined $250 for a warm-up violation at Kamloops on March 14 … Medicine Hat Tigers forward Noah Davidson was suspended one game for a goaltender interference major and game misconduct at Lethbridge on March 13 … Vancouver Giants defenceman Jaxson Pawlenchuk received five games for a checking-to-the-head major and game misconduct versus Kelowna on March 8.

• ALUMNI GLANCE — Former Wheat Kings and best buddies Nolan Ritchie and Calder Anderson, spent their second season with Germany’s Heilbronner Falken in the third-tier Oberliga, with Anderson leading the squad in scoring with 68 points in 88 games, with Ritchie in third with 55 points in just 31 games. Ritchie, who was the league MVP in 2024-25, then jumped to the Hannover Indians on Feb. 10 and posted four points in four games, and in the playoffs, eight points in three games. The 23-year-old Brandonites, who just finished their third pro seasons, played together on the Wheat Kings in the 2022-23 season.

• THE WEEK AHEAD — The regular season, which is beginning to feel like it kicked off in 1973, finally finishes up at home when Brandon hosts the Regina Pats on Saturday at 6 p.m. Before that, they visit the Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday and Regina on Friday.

• ANSWER — Here’s how the Wheat Kings have fared by decade in regards to 40-win seasons.

— 1967-69: None.

— 1970-79: Three — 1976-77 (54-10-8), 1977-78 (46-12-14), 1978-79 (58-5-9).

— 1980-89: One — 1983-84 (44-26-2).

— 1990-99: Six — 1992-93 (43-25-4), 1993-94 (42-25-5), 1994-95 (45-22-5), 1995-96 (52-19-1), 1996-97 (47-24-1), 1997-98 (45-21-6). — 2000-09: Seven — 2001-02 (43-23-4-2), 2002-03 (43-17-9-3), 2004-05 (45-21-5-1), 2006-07 (41-20-3-8), 2007-08 (42-24-3-3), 2008-09 (48-19-3-2), 2009-10 (50-18-1-3). — 2010-19: Three — 2014-15 (53-11-4-4), 2015-16 (48-18-4-2), 2017-18 (40-27-3-2). — 2020-26: None. (The 2020-21 team won 18 of 24 games in the Regina hub during the pandemic and would have almost certainly reached 40 victories in a full season.)