The Moose Jaw Warriors are headed to the Memorial Cup for the first time in franchise history, and one of the Seattle Kraken’s highly touted prospects is going with them. Moose Jaw took down the Portland Winterhawks in Game 4 of the WHL Championship Series 4-2 on Wednesday night, sweeping aside the Winterhawks in four games. Junior phenom Jagger Firkus helped the Warriors to lift the Ed Chynoweth Cup on home ice.
Firkus, with an assist on the opening goal in Game 4, continued to be on his game during the finals, finishing with two goals and three assists. His single-game high of the series was a two-goal, three-point night during Game 2 in Portland.
The second-round pick of the Kraken in the 2022 NHL Draft concluded his dominant run during the WHL playoffs with 14 goals and 18 assists, averaging out to 1.60 points per game. In addition, this week he was named the recipient of the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s Player of the Year during the regular season, as he led the CHL with 126 points in 63 regular-season games.
Firkus will become the third current Kraken prospect to play in the Memorial Cup, joining Ryan Winterton in 2022 and Tucker Robertson in 2023. He will look to become the first to win it all.
Don’t be fooled by the sweep, the Winterhawks skated stride for stride with the Warriors for much of the series, as shown by three of the four games ending with the teams within two goals of each other. The Warriors just had more of a will to finish, taking the series while backed by some outstanding defensive efforts, as well as timely goaltending performances.
Warriors netminder Jackson Unger finished the series with an astounding .938 save percentage, only allowing eight goals to squeak by him all series. The series was a microcosm of his overall WHL-leading 15 wins during the playoffs, in which he posted an overall save percentage of .910 and a goals-against average at 2.91.
While Firkus was a huge contributor, Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Denton Mateychuk was named the WHL’s Most Valuable Player during the playoffs. The nimble first-round defender finished second behind Firkus for total points with 30, leading the league in assists at 19.
All the while, forward Brayden Schuurman was arguably the most clutch player for Moose Jaw this series, as he had the game-winning goals in both Games 3 and 4.
Fellow Kraken prospect Tyson Jugnauth had just one assist during the finals for the Winterhawks.
Memorial Cup
Firkus and the Warriors will now head to Saginaw, Mich., for the Memorial Cup, where they will match up with the OHL champion London Knights, QMJHL champion Drummondville Voltigeurs, and the host team, the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit.
It’s safe to say this tournament is getting the best of the best teams from across the CHL, as for the first time in CHL history all three league title winners won their respective championship series by sweeping their opponents.
The Memorial Cup is set for May 24-June 2 at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw. Moose Jaw will open the tournament against the host Spirit on Friday, May 24.
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