‘I love this city:’ Mateychuk and Warriors celebrate historic season

A historic season is officially in the books.

The Moose Jaw Warriors returned to the Friendly City over the weekend following a franchise first appearance at the Memorial Cup, and we were greeted by hundreds of Warriors’ faithful as the team, coaches, office staff and the booster club paraded down Main Street from the Town N Country Mall to the Hangar.

“This is awesome,” said Beth Longworth as her and her family waited for the parade to reach their vantage point.

“I think this is great and I think they deserve all this recognition.”

Longworth, a lifelong fan, recounted her experience witnessing the Warriors win the Ed Chynoweth Cup in front of a sold-out crowd at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

“It was unreal. We were screaming and just seeing the boys all happy and everything that was awesome,” said Longworth.

Absolute scenes in downtown Moose Jaw!#WHLChampions | @TheWHL pic.twitter.com/jCLLoPS2eW

— Moose Jaw Warriors (@MJWARRIORS) June 2, 2024

The Warriors didn’t have long to rest and celebrate their WHL Championship win as the team was off to Saginaw, Mich. for the 104th Memorial Cup.

The Warriors battled with the host team and the best of the OHL and QMJHL . The WHL champions would finish in third place after being eliminated by the eventual champions the Saginaw Spirit 7-1 on Friday.

With the season officially over the celebration began! The team paraded down Main Street all the way to the Moose Jaw Events Centre where the team showed off their hardwear and thanked the fanbase for all the support.

Members of the Warriors on stage at the Moose Jaw Event Centre on June 2, 2024 (Discover Moose Jaw)

“This is unbelievable. This is great for the community. I’m happy to see this many people out. It’s not every time you get to win a championship and the boys did it,” said Jeff Calvert, father of Atley Calvert.

“Yeah, it was a really good run for the fellas. It was nice to see Atley get a chance to win and he got to play his brother in the semifinal, which was an unbelievable series. And for the family, it was a really good experience.”

Over 600 Warriors’ fans packed into the Moose Jaw Events Centre to hear from the team and take pictures with the Eastern Conference Championship and the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

The Moose Jaw Warriors on stage at the Moose Jaw Event Centre.
“You guys were there all the way, and it means everything to all the guys up here,” said Warriors captain Denton Mateychuk as the crowd chanted M.V.P.

“From the bottom of my heart, I love this city,” Mateychuk added.

As this historic chapter closes, just remember we are only three months away from the ride starting again.

– with files from Shawn Slaght