Source: http://www.mjwarriors.ca/pages/news/.../jan/jan12.php

New Warriors set for battle

Rick Moore
Saskatchewan News Network; Moose Jaw Times-Herald

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

MOOSE JAW -- Anyone who might have had doubts about the newest members of the WHL's Warriors' desire to play in Moose Jaw, those doubts were short-lived.

In fact, they never even had time to rise.

Forwards Blair Jones and Andre Herman, the latest Warriors pick-ups from the ever-popular Red Deer-Moose Jaw tradeway, wasted little time proving their willingness to don Warriors uniforms.

The only time wasted, in fact, was due to weather conditions in B.C. which delayed a flight.

Late Friday morning the duo was informed by Red Deer Rebels' boss Brent Sutter that they had been dealt to the last-place Warriors in exchange for forwards Ashton Rome and Karey Pieper.

Not long after, while many of their new Warriors mates were lying down for a pre-game nap prior to an evening battle against the Kamloops Blazers, Jones and Herman were on a plane to Vancouver.

A couple hours later, Jones and Herman were awaiting a delayed flight from Vancouver to Kamloops. The Warriors, meanwhile, were heading to the rink.

While the Warriors were completing warmup, Jones and Herman were touching down in Kamloops. Greeted by Don Gillen -- father of another new Warrior, Steven Gillen, who was acquired in a deal with the Spokane Chiefs earlier in the week -- the duo gathered up their equipment and headed to the rink.

"By the time we got down to the rink, the guys were standing up waiting to go on,'' Jones recalled of the tail end of their lengthy journey.

The Warriors went on. Jones and Herman hurried into their gear and joined their new mates on the bench.

Most would have just said "forget it,'' watch the game, meet the squad afterwards and rest up for the next match the following night.

Jones and Herman, evidently, are not like most.

"My first shift was the first time I stepped on the ice that night,'' said Jones, an 18-year-old native of Craik. "I wanted to play.''

That enthusiasm did not go unnoticed by the coaching staff, management and certainly not by the players. it's an enthusiasm all hope flows through the organization and helps push the squad up the uphill road towards an East Division playoff spot.

Warrior fans will get their first look at the three newcomers tonight when Moose Jaw hosts the new-look Swift Current Broncos (7 p.m., Civic Centre).

For Jones and Herman, a 17-year-old forward from Sherwood park, Alta., it's a chance for a new start.

"I was kind of expecting a trade and I was excited to be coming here,'' said Herman, who had seven points (4-3) with the Rebels this season and four points (1-3) in 67 games as a 16-year-old last year. "At times I think I was wanting a trade. I needed a fresh start and that's how I see this.

"I was glad to get with the guys as soon as I could,'' he added. "That's a bunch of great guys.''

Jones, who along with Warrior forward Kenndal McArdle was among 40 CHL players picked to play in the CHL's Prospects Game Jan. 19 in Vancouver, is hoping to be a key part of the Warriors' offensive arsenal.

After a 31-point season as a sophomore last year, the 6-foot-2, 195-pounder has 25 points (7-18) this season.

"Numbers-wise, it's been okay but it's kind of been off and on,'' he said. "They're maybe not as good as they should be.

"It's exciting to be here,'' he added. "It's nice to be closer to home and I'll be able to see a lot more of my family and friends.''