Yager, Parker excited for ‘home’ games as Moose Jaw Warriors battle Saskatoon Blades
Game 1 of the WHL Eastern Conference final goes Friday in Saskatoon
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The Moose Jaw Warriors are set to begin the third round of the WHL playoffs on the road, but a pair of players will be feeling right at home.
As Moose Jaw gets set to take on the Saskatoon Blades on Friday night in Game 1 of the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference best-of-seven final series, Warriors forward Brayden Yager, a Saskatoon product, and Warriors defenceman Kalem Parker, who grew up just outside of Saskatoon in Clavet, will be battling against a team they both grew up following.
“It definitely means a lot,” said Parker, 19. “I kind of grew up watching them and watching the players that came through that organization.
“So, I think there’s a little bit of extra motivation for me to beat these guys.”
“Being in my hometown, it kind of adds a little bit more excitement with family being there and having a bunch of extra support,” said Yager, 19. “But when it comes to the game, just focused on doing what I can to help out team win.”
After beating the Brandon Wheat Kings in the opening round of the playoffs, the Warriors earned the conference final spot by defeating the Swift Current Broncos 4-1 in the best-of-seven conference semifinal despite losing the opening game 7-2.
“The first game was a big eyeopener for us,” said Parker. “But I think we bounced back in a huge way beating them in the second game 7-2 and then just riding that confidence into Swift’s barn and winning two huge games on the road.”
The Blades — who finished first in the entire WHL with a 50-13-5 record — got by the Prince Albert Raiders in the opening round before sweeping the Red Deer Rebels in round two.
In the regular season, the Warriors — whose 44-21-3 record was second best in the Eastern Conference — split the season series with the Blades with each team winning three times.
“They’re a good team,” said Yager, who had a career-high 95 points in 57 games this season while also representing Canada at the world juniors. “They’ve got a lot of firepower and some really good players.
“We had a good series with them throughout the year and I think if we play how we did against Swift, we’ll give them a good run.”
And while the Warriors can watch film and look back at the season series, Yager believes the team that wants it more in this series will come out victorious.
“It all comes down to our compete and our work ethic and willingness to win,” said Yager. “There’s going to be different systems and different adjustments you can make but at the end of the day, it’s who wants to win more.”
While the Blades feature five players who have been drafted to the NHL, the Warriors have seven NHL picks on their roster including Yager, a Pittsburgh Penguins first-round pick in 2023, and Parker, a Minnesota Wild sixth-round pick in 2023.
Yager is third on team scoring during the playoffs with 14 points in nine games while Parker has chipped in with four points in his first nine career playoff games after playing the first three seasons of his WHL career with the Victoria Royals, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2019.
“It’s been really good,” said Parker, who was acquired by Moose Jaw in October. “Went from not winning a lot of games to winning a lot so it’s obviously really nice to play with some really good players and help the team win.”
In fact, it wasn’t too long ago that Parker envisioned playing in meaningful games like he’s been experiencing during Moose Jaw’s playoff run.
Last season, he was in the stands at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon as the Blades beat Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats in seven games during the first round of the playoffs.
This year, Parker has upgraded his vantage point and will be a key defenceman for the Warriors during this series which will determine the Eastern Conference champion.
“I dreamed of it just last year playing in a huge game like that,” said Parker. “It’s going to be unreal.”
Game 1 and 2 will be Friday and Saturday in Saskatoon with Game 3 and 4 set for April 30 and May 1 in Moose Jaw.
Looking back
While Yager was born in Saskatoon, he spent the first 11 years of his life in Prince Albert before moving back to Saskatoon.
In 2018-19, he and Parker were teammates on the Martensville Marauders squad that won the Saskatchewan U15 AA Hockey League provincial title.
The following season, they played against each other as Yager was a member of the Saskatoon Contacts and Parker played for the Saskatoon Blazers in the Saskatchewan U18 AAA Hockey League.
Yager was drafted No. 3 overall by Moose Jaw in the 2020 WHL Draft behind Contacts teammate Riley Heidt, who went No. 2 to the Prince George Cougars, and Bedard, who went No. 1 to the Pats.
Parker, meanwhile, was a second-round draft pick by Victoria in 2019. He played his first 157 career WHL games with the Royals before being acquired by Moose Jaw alongside forward Brayden Schuurman and an eighth-round pick in 2027 in exchange for forward Ben Riche, first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, a second-round pick in 2025, a third-round pick in 2027 and a fifth-round pick in 2026.
He had a career-high 42 points in 63 games with the Warriors following the trade.
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