MOOSE JAW, Saskatchewan — Thomas Tien is one of the youngest players in the Western Hockey League who recently signed for the Moose Jaw Warriors in the 2021-22 season. Aside from other qualities possessed by Tien, one thing that has drawn our attention to him is that he has shown that age is just a number.

At just 17, Tien displays so much class when playing hockey. When you see such a dynamic young player on the ice, you know that hockey has a bright future, in not just Saskatchewan but in Canada by extension.

Tien was born on June 25, 2004, in Richmond, British Columbia, to the family of Ed and Anne Tien. He’s 5-foot-7 and weighs about 76 kg. He joined the Seafair Islander U15 A1 in the Pacific Coast Bantam Hockey League as a forward in the 2017-18 season when he was just 13 years old. Unfortunately, the Islanders didn’t know the potential of this young player and they let him go after one season.

After that, he joined the St. George’s Academy U15 Prep during the 2018-19 season in the Canadian Sport School League. This move was the best for the young Tien at that time, as St. George was the right environment he needed to build himself.

With St. George’s Academy, he played 30 games in his first season, scoring 24 goals and providing 40 assists, resulting in being ranked 1st in the skater’s statistics. His 40 assists were the highest in the regular season, and he shared the highest number of goals with Connor Levis and Cameron Johnson.

In the playoffs, he played three games, scored four goals and provided two assists. He was ranked 12th among 100 players listed in the playoff players statistics. Johnson was the only player from St. George’s Academy who was ranked higher than him (he was ranked 6th with eight total points from four goals and four assists).

In the second season, the young Tien played more games in the St. George Academy Elite 15’s. With more games came more goals and assists. In 34 games, Tien scored 33 goals, which is almost one goal per game. He also provided 44 assists. His total points of 77 during the 2019-20 season remains the highest in his career.

He was the top scorer in the skater statistics, and only his rival, Johnson, had more assists than him (49 assists). He also made a mark during the playoffs in just two games by providing three assists and scoring goals. As a result, he was ranked 3rd in the 2019-20 playoffs player statistics, even with the fewer games played. He further played eight games in the Midget Prep U18, where he scored two goals and provided one assist.

The year 2020 came with many challenges because of the global pandemic. Tien was only able to play in four games. However, he scored two goals before the season was canceled.

Thomas Tien joined the Moose Jaw Warriors during the 2020-21 season. He was selected 16th in round 11.

“He is a determined and competitive player,” Jason Ripplinger, the assistant general manager for the Warriors, said.

In just 77 games played during the regular season and playoffs in the two complete seasons with the Warriors, Tien has scored 66 goals and provided 90 assists. This is a total point of 156 in just two seasons.

When Ripplinger said he wanted to build the Warrior team around this young lad, he talked from experience’s keen eye. Tien is the future of the Moose Jaw Warriors.

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