New faces taking centre stage in Wednesday Night in the Dub tilt between Calgary and Moose Jaw

There will be some new faces on the ice, and some all too familiar as the Calgary Hitmen host the reigning WHL Champion Moose Jaw Warriors on Wednesday night.

While the teams are on very different trajectories, with Calgary loading up in hopes of a deep playoff run and Moose Jaw retooling after winning it all, there’s plenty of intrigue to be had.

Minnesota Wild prospect Kalem Parker, who won the Ed Chynoweth Cup with the Warriors, was one of the first players Hitmen General Manager Garry Davidson acquired when he began making moves earlier this season.

The 6-foot, 188-pound defenceman has 12 points (5G-7A) in 15 contests with the powerhouse Hitmen- and two of those assists came against his former squad on December 1, 2024.

2025 NHL Draft-eligible forward Ben Kindel also hopes to write his name in the team’s history book on Wednesday.

The speedy playmaker is on the hottest point streak in the league with 39 points (14G-25A) in 20 consecutive games.

A point tonight would see Kindel set a new franchise record for the longest point streak by a Hitmen player.

But he’ll have to solve a young netminder with a lot to prove.

Moose Jaw made a splash in the run-up to the WHL Trade Deadline by acquiring NHL Draft-eligible netminder Matthew Hutchison on Tuesday- and the 18-year-old could make his Warriors debut tonight.

The 6-foot-3, 189-pound goalie is 10-8-1-0 with the Giants the year with a 3.92 goals-against average and a .875 save percentage.

NHL Central Scouting has tagged Hutchison as a ‘C’ prospect, or a potential fourth-to-fifth round candidate.

Moose Jaw also traded for 20-year-old forward Krzysztof Macias and 17-year-old forward Luke Moroz as part of a deal that sent Rilen Kovacevic to Prince Albert.

Both players suited up for their first game in red and black on Tuesday in Lethbridge.

Macias, known by fans as the ‘Polish Prince’, has tallied eight goals and 14 assists for 22 points in 23 contests.

Despite seeing several veterans moved out this season, the scrappy Warriors have pulled out points in five of their last 10 games.

Veteran Ethan Semeniuk has buried seven goals in his last seven outings, while Aiden Ziprick- who scored the game-winning goal in Moose Jaw’s Memorial Cup round-robin victory over Drummondville- has nine helpers since the holiday break.

Calgary will also be without several highly-touted NHL prospects, with Ottawa Senators selection Carter Yakemchuk out week-to-week with a lower-body injury and Tanner Howe (Pittsburgh Penguins) and Sawyer Mynio (Vancouver) on a brief break following their participation in the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Puck drops at the Scotiabank Saddledome at 7:00 p.m. MST.

All Wednesday Night in the Dub featured games will be free to stream on WHL Live and the WHL’s YouTube Channel.

STAT PACK

	Moose Jaw Warriors	Calgary Hitmen
Record	10-23-3-2 (6th East)	21-11-3-1 (2nd Central)
Leading Scorers	Lynden Lakovic (17G, 22A, 39PTS) Aiden Ziprick (7G, 21A, 28PTS) Pavel McKenzie (10G, 13A, 23PTS)	Ben Kindel (23G, 36A, 58PTS) Oliver Tulk (17G, 41A, 58PTS) Carter Yakemchuk (14G, 20A, 34PTS)
Leading Goaltender	Josh Banini (3-5-0-1, 3.16 GAA, .916 save percentage)	Daniel Hauser (9-9-2-1, 3.23 GAA, .903 save percentage)
Powerplay	24.8% (8th)	21.3% (17th)
Penalty Kill	73.5% (19th)	74.6% (15th)

 

NHL PROSPECTS

Calgary Hitmen

F- Tanner Howe (Pittsburgh Penguins)

F- Carson Wetsch (San Jose Sharks)

D- Axel Hurtig (Calgary Flames)

D- Sawyer Mynio (Vancouver Canucks)

D- Kalem Parker (Minnesota Wild)

D- Carter Yakemchuk (Ottawa Senators)

Top 2025 NHL Draft Eligibles (per NHL Central Scouting)

Moose Jaw Warriors

F- Lynden Lakovic (A)

D- Connor Schmidt (W)

Calgary Hitmen

F- Ben Kindel (B)

F- Brandon Gorzynski (C)

F- Sawyer Mayes (W)