Warriors feeling optimistic for season ahead; Leadership group named as preseason ends

Optimism is in the air for the Stratford Hunter Steel Warriors as the regular season draws closer to reality.

The Warriors continued their preparations for the season at the Allman Arena, and a buzz is in the air as the team looks to win its first Sutherland Cup since the 2003-2004 season.

On Sept. 4, the Warriors named Haden Frayne the 44th captain in franchise history. Jonas Schmidt, Quinn Kipfer, Rhyse Brown, and Joe Curtin were named alternate captains and will rotate the duties during the season.

Frayne is grateful for the opportunity to be the captain of his hometown team.

"Yeah, it's obviously really special. I am not taking for granted the amount of responsibility that I've been given here. These coaches, they're great here," Frayne said.

"They treat us all very well. This organization, it's pristine. They treat everyone here with the respect that (they deserve), and they expect you to give it back to them. I'm just being a hometown kid. It's very special, growing up here, watching the games, and now I'm here as a 20-year-old captain. It's pretty cool. It's very cool." 

Second-year player Kipfer says he is honoured to be part of the leadership group and embraces the role with the veteran core.

"Obviously, we have a great group of leaders here, and it's great to be recognized as such a young leader on this team," Kipfer said. 

"You know, we got a good core of older guys, so to be a part of that group is really exciting, and I'm proud to be a part of it."

The veteran Brown feels proud to be among the leaders of the team and knows what the goal is the team is looking to achieve this season.

"It means a lot. It feels really good to get recognized by my teammates and my peers," Brown said. 

"Doesn't change anything, as far as it goes for a team … We're all in this together, and we're gonna keep building forwards towards, obviously, the end of the year, hoping for a championship." 

Schmidt says expectations for himself and the team are very high.

"All my expectations for this year is a really, really good run as a team, kind of trying to go into it with few expectations," Schmidt said. "I feel like that's when I put on the most – most like myself, most free – but I think we got a really good group and we're going to be prepared for a long run this season."

Connor Davis, acquired by the Warriors from the Chatham Maroons in the offseason, believes the team's strong potential in the season ahead.

"I think it's high expectations. I mean, we've always been pretty competitive in the past, and I don't think there's any difference coming into this," Davis said. 

"We definitely expect to come in and make a statement, especially early, and then down the stretch continue to build towards playoffs and hopefully go for it all at the end. So definitely high expectations, for sure, for us."

Frayne likes the growth of the team so far, but is aware of what to expect in the level of competition in the Western Conference.

"We have a great group of guys. We bonded well, really quick here. Practices are fast. They're high pace. And for the start of the season, we like what we see here," Frayne said. 

"We gotta really keep pushing. It's a tough division; it'll be a 50-game grind to try and battle for a spot for playoffs, and then we go from there."

Kipfer knows the organization's standards, and he says it must meet them if the team wants to reach the top. 

"Obviously, very high expectations. You know, the management staff here has high expectations and that carries right through the players here," Kipfer said. 

"So, we had a good season last year, and I want to do better than that, so kind of just build on that and keep going well."

On Sept. 6, the Warriors ended their preseason schedule against the St. Andrew's Saints in the Eli Pelfreyman Tournament finals rematch at the Allman Arena. 

The Saints grabbed a 2-0 lead in the opening twenty minutes and controlled most of the period and outshot the Warriors 13-5. Jack McGurn scored his third goal of the preseason to put the Warriors on the board at the 2:40 mark before St. Andrew's restored their two-goal lead over a minute later. 

The power-play goal by Kipfer pulled Stratford to within one midway through the middle frame, but the Saints responded with a goal with 4:37 left in the period before Drew Hodge scored with under four minutes remaining in the period.

But the Saints held on and prevailed with the 4-3 win. Gage Hurst made 19 saves on 23 shots in the loss for the Warriors.

Brown likes the team's overall performance in the preseason and wants to provide positivity to the team through the challenging season ahead.

"I think that our expectations are obviously very positive going into this year," Brown said. 

"I think we had a very strong preseason, so moving into the season, I think we should try to continue that on and keep it going through the whole entire year – there's going to be ups and downs – and just stay positive and keep rolling and hopefully moving towards that championship."

Stratford will kick off their 2025-2026 campaign on the road against the London Nationals at the Western Fair Complex in London on Sept. 17. The Warriors will then host the Waterloo Siskins for their home opener at the Allman Arena on the following night, Sept. 19.