Ryan Smyth Night Approaching
Friday, February 6 when the Moose Jaw Warriors take on Spokane, before the game they will honour one of their all-time greats by retiring Ryan Smyth’s #28 in a ceremony presented by JLB Electric.
Smyth was drafted by the Warriors in the 2nd round, 21st overall, in the 1991 WHL Bantam Draft. He went on to play for Moose Jaw from 1992 to 1995, in 188 regular season games he had 110 goals, 114 assists, finishing with 224 points, and sits 12th on the Warriors All-Time scoring list. His best season was 1993-1994, in 72 games he had 50 goals and 105 points. He is one of ten players in Warriors history to score 50 goals in a season, and one of 13 players to record 100 or more points in a season. In 1994 he was drafted 6th overall by the Edmonton Oilers, he is the second highest Warrior drafted to the NHL.
After leaving Moose Jaw, Smyth went on to play 1270 games in the NHL with Edmonton, the New York Islanders, Colorado, and Los Angeles. He retired from professional hockey after the 2013-2014 season, he finished with 386 goals, 456 assists, and 842 points.
Smyth earned the nickname “Captain Canada” for the many times that he represented our country in international competitions. He won gold medals at the 1995 World Junior Championships, the 2002 Winter Olympics, the 2003 and 2004 World Championship, and 2004 World Cup. He served as captain of Canada’s World Championship team for a record six years (2001-05 and 2010). He played 61 games for Canada at the World Championships, he had 15 goals and 31 points, and is Canada’s all-time leader in games played at the tournament.
Smyth joins Kelly Buchberger, Mike Keane, and Theoren Fleury as the only Warriors to have their numbers retired.
During warmup, the Warriors will wear “Smyth” Edmonton Oilers jerseys, during the game the team will wear throwback jersey’s which were worn by Smyth from 1992 to 1995. Both sets of jerseys will be auctioned off with proceeds going to the Moose Jaw Humane Society and the Salvation Army Adopt-A-Family Campaign.
This auction will begin Friday, February 6th at 6pm and will continue throughout the game on the concourse of Mosaic Place. Following the conclusion of the game the auction will freeze and then resume online, www.mjwarriors.com, Monday, February 9th at 10am.
Fans will be able to email their bids to [email protected], call 306.694.5711 extension 3010, or stop by the “The Crushed Can” during regular store hours located on the north side of Mosaic Place. The auction will continue until 5pm, Friday, February 14th, funds raised will be announced Friday, February 27th during the Warriors 30th Anniversary Weekend.
** Disclaimer… progress of bids will be updated online, mjwarriors.com, throughout business hours **
Ryan Smyth, Warriors General Manager Alan Millar, and Warriors President Chad Taylor will be available to the media at 5:30pm in the Colonsay Room (203) located in Mosaic Place. The Ryan Smyth Jersey Retirement Ceremony presented by JLB Electric will begin at 7:08pm.
