Gregor Excited To Return
With training camp on the horizon, one Moose Jaw Warriors in particular has been anxiously awaiting to return to the Friendly City.
Noah Gregor was originally drafted by the Victoria Royals in the third round of the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft, we was later traded to the Warriors in exchange for defenseman Travis Brown.
Last year was Gregor’s first camp with the Warriors, and after signing with the team after camp, he made his WHL regular season debut. The Leduc, Alberta product got off to a great start, recording six points in his first eight games, but then in early October in a game against Portland he was dealt a blow.
Gregor was hit along the Warriors boards by an attacking Winterhawk, the rookie left the game and was later diagnosed with a broken collarbone. He then spent the next two months rehabbing and preparing to return, which he did after Christmas. In his second game back Gregor reaggravated the injury and after further review, it was decided that he would be shut down for the remainder of the season to recover.
Gregor returned home to continue his rehab, which continued in to the off-season, and was a lengthy process. “It was a long process, but it was pretty much just trying to stay healthy and trying to get a lot of rest. There’s not much you can do for a collarbone except just being patient. “I spent a lot of time on the bike and working on my legs and keeping that in shape until I could actually do upper body workouts.”
Noah has spent limited time in Moose Jaw since December 2014, and with the start of camp this weekend, he says that it’s great to be back in the Friendly City and at Mosaic Place with his teammates.
“It was definitely a long season of being away from the boys,” he said. “Being at home during the second semester of school (last year) instead of here was tough. I followed the games online but it was tough being away from the guys.”
Coming in this week it will be Gregor’s third WHL camp and second with the Warriors and he says that his year brings more familiarity. “Everything is familiar to me. The coaches are the same as last year, the guys are mostly the same, and I’ll be ready for what’s in store for the fitness testing and practices. I’ll know what to expect.”
After recovering from his injury, Gregor trained hard in preparation for his sophomore season in the Western Hockey League. He worked hard to get bigger, faster, and stronger but after being out for so long he says it’s taking contact again that will his biggest test. “I haven’t taken any contact since last time I was injured. My cardio is up, I’ve skated quite a bit and trained a lot.”
“I think I’ve gained a step,” he added when talking about his off-season development and training. “Skating has always been a big part of my game and I think I’ve grown on that over the summer. I’ve put on a few pounds, I’m a little heavier and a little stronger. What I’d like to work on this year is being more dependable in our zone and trying to be a better defensive player.
With Gregor returning from injury and the team coming off a season where they missed the playoffs for the third straight year, the 17-year-old says it’s fair to say that expectations have risen for himself and the team.
“Playoffs are everyone’s number one goal. I’ve heard the stories from when they made their playoff run a couple years ago, the town was pretty crazy and I’d love to be in that type of atmosphere,” he said when talking about the team. “First off (for myself) is staying healthy, I’d like to get in to 72 games, that would be perfect instead of 10. I would like to try and be a key guy that Huntsy (Head Coach Tim Hunter) and Lears (Assistant Coach Mark O’Leary) can depend on. I want to be a key guy and work as hard as I can and show that I can be a big part of this team.”
The Moose Jaw Warriors 2015 Training Camp opens Wednesday with registration, Thursday morning will be fitness testing followed by practices in the afternoon for the three rookie teams and a scrimmage between rookie teams in the evening.
Rookie camp continues Friday at Mosaic Place with a pair of scrimmages, after the evening game players will meet with management and coaches to find out whether they’ll move on to Main Camp or be sent back to their club teams.
Main Camp begins Saturday with a pair of scrimmages and continues to Sunday. Sunday morning there will be a scrimmage and then at 4pm will be the annual Black-White Intersquad Game.
The Moose Jaw Warriors open the 2015 WHL Pre-Season Tuesday, September 1 with a rookie game in Swift Current.