Moose Jaw, Sask.- At the end of the 2024-25 season, the Moose Jaw Warriors left veterans Brady Ness and Ethan Semeniuk with a challenge.
It had nothing to do with point totals or training.
Rather, the team wanted the billet brothers to identify a cause that held personal meaning.
One they could support to make a meaningful difference in the lives of Moose Javians.
The pair decided to team up with Moose Jaw Diversified Services.
The local non-profit provides vocational, educational, recreational and social programming for individuals living with disabilities.
On any given day, as many as 100 people access their services.
Ness and Semeniuk filled afternoons with everything from rounds of foosball and air hockey to community cleanups and simple chats, becoming a consistent and enthusiastic presence at the centre.
“It was amazing. Going there at the start of the year, you go and see how happy they are when we’re there,” Ness, who was named Captain of the Warriors in December of 2025, said. “It also makes our day as well.
“You want to [be] a positive influence on their life, and I think we did that… It’s a learning experience; every time I left, I left happy.”
Near the end of the regular season, the pair organized a full team visit to the centre.
For many, it was an introduction to some of their biggest fans.
For veterans, it was a reunion.
After winning the WHL Championship for the first time in franchise history in 2024, the team had brought the Ed Chynoweth Cup to Moose Jaw Diversified Services for a visit and ball hockey game.
“They’re our biggest fans,” Semeniuk added. “To be able to spend time with them, get to know lots of them, and put a little more joy in their life, it was super fun.
The biggest impact it had (on me) is just seeing the genuine joy and happiness; it’s really awesome to see and be a part of.”
At the end of the season, the Warriors named Ness and Semeniuk Co-Humanitarians of the Year for their time with Moose Jaw Diversified Services and support of other causes within the community.
They were also named co-finalists for the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually to the WHL Humanitarian of the Year.
“It’s one thing to hear about them going up there and giving their time, volunteering, doing it of their own free will,” Head Coach Mark O’Leary said. “It’s another thing to see it and the impact that it has and the influence that it has. We talk so much about being a good person and the importance of that, and we saw it on full display there.”
