When the Moose Jaw Warriors head on their post-Christmas West Division road swing, they'll do it without the services of rookie defenseman Nathan Paetsch.
That's bad news for the Warriors who of late have relied heavily on Paetsch to help spark what has become one of the Western Hockey League's more potent power-plays.
But it's good news for Paetsch who will be competing with and against the best in the world in his age group at the 1999-2000 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
The Saskatchewan Hockey Association announced its roster for Team West Monday, a 22-player squad consisting of the top under-17 players in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and Paetsch is one of 16 WHL 16-year olds on the roster.
They leave for Timmins, Ont. Dec. 26. The Warriors, meanwhile, leave for Portland Dec. 27.
"We're going to miss him, for sure, but that's all part of it," Warrior coach Len Nielsen said from Prince-George where Paetsch and his mates are preparing to battle the Cougars tonight. "It's going to be a great experience for him. It'll give him a chance to showcase a bit but also to compete with and against the best in his age group."
The 6'0", 185-pound Paetsch was one of 40 Saskatchewan and Manitoba players invited to a summer tournament-type camp in Saskatoon where the coaching staff, headed by Notre Dame's Kim Perepeluk, pared down the list.
Through the first part of the 1999-00 season, the final roster decisions were made and Perepeluk informed the Team West players just recently.
"I was pretty happy to hear it," Paetsch said. "I thought I had a pretty good camp but I wasn't sure if I was going to make it or not. I was getting a little nervous.
"It's definitely going to be a great experience," he added. "To play at an elite level like that should help me a lot and there'll probably be tons of scouts there."
Not that they haven't already noticed the Warriors' first round pick - fifth overall- in the 1998 Bantam Draft.
Not only has Paetsch taken a regular shift through the first 22 games, playing alongside 20-year-old captain Scott Schoneck, he's also among the team leader in points.
His two goals and 16 assists for 18 points - eight of those points have come in the last three games - is 11th best among WHL defensemen, fifth among rookies and tops among rookie rear-guards.
He also has a plus-nine rating heading into tonight's game, far and away the best in the club. Shawn Limpright is next at plus-4.
"He's certainly played very well for us," Nielsen said. "He shows a lot of composure, a great deal of hockey intelligence and competes really hard all the time.
"He's still very, very young but he does a lot of things well," he added. "There aren't a lot of glaring weaknesses. His work ethic is great, he's a very focused young man and he wants to get better."
Last year as a 150-year old blueliner with the Saskatchewan Midget 'AAA' Hockey League's Tisdale Trojans, Paetsch played 74 games, scoring 20 goals and adding 55 assists for 75 points. He appeared in two games with the WHL Warriors last year.
"At the start of this year I didn't really know what to expect," Paetsch said. "But everything's been going amazing.
"Scott (Schoneck) has helped a lot," he added. "He offers so much support out there, always telling me what to do. He offers so much support out there, always telling me what to do. He's only about 5'10" but he's one of the top defensemen in the league because of his smarts. I get a lot of tips just by watching him."
The World Hockey Challenge kicks off with exhibition games on Dec. 27 and wraps up Jan 3.
Warrior list player Ryan MacMurchy, a forward with the 'AAA' Regina Pat Canadians who the Warriors drafted in the ninth round in '98, also made Team West.
-Taken from the Moose Jaw Times-Herald
Wednesday, November 24, 1999
