Tuesday night was a memorable one for Prince Albert’s Alex Moar.
Not only did he get to play in front of his family and friends at the Art Hauser Centre, but the 17-year-old blueliner also found himself on the ice for the opening faceoff as the Everett Silvertips matched up against the Prince Albert Raiders.
“That was my first time being in the starting lineup in the WHL,” Moar said. “To have that happen in my hometown was pretty special.”
The only negative aspect of the evening was the final result, as Moar’s Silvertips dropped a 3-0 affair to the league-leading Raiders.
“I thought we played pretty well against a good hockey team, but we just didn’t get the bounces to go our way,” Moar said.
“We’re a hard working team with good puck management and I think that really stands out to me with how we’ve played to start the season.”
A fifth round pick by the Silvertips in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft, Moar made the jump to major junior hockey this season after putting up 46 points in 74 games over the last two years with the Prince Albert Mintos of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League.
He made his WHL debut on home ice against the Portland Winterhawks on Oct. 6 and was back in the lineup again on Oct. 13 against the Kamloops Blazers.
“It’s been a good experience so far, especially with having a couple of games under my belt now,” Moar said. “It was a hard training camp with the fitness testing and the on-ice sessions, but the whole process has been worth it.
“The veteran guys have been reminding me to make easy plays and to get the puck off my stick as soon as I can. They’ve also told me to pay attention to the coaches at all times and to listen to what they have to say.”
One of the players that has been helping Moar out is assistant captain Jake Christiansen, who has suited up in 204 games on the blueline for the Silvertips and was a member of last year’s team that made it to the league final.
“We’ve been trying to lead him through things that he hasn’t seen before and giving him as much advice as we can,” Christiansen said.
“I think Alex is adapting well. He’s a quiet guy so we try to keep him talking as much as we can, but we all love having him in the dressing room.”
In addition to getting used to playing in the WHL, Moar is also adapting to being away from home.
“It’s a lot different in Everett than it is in Prince Albert,” Moar said. “Obviously it’s not as cold in the winter, but we have a lot more rain there than we do here.
“The other big difference is the amount of time you spend on the bus. I think our longest trip with the Mintos was around four hours, and it’s way more than that with our (East Division) swing right now.”
