For the Estevan Bruins, the 3-2 victory over the Kindersley Klippers on Wednesday, January 10 was their 23rd win of the season. For forward Ryder Pierson, it was a night he'll never forget. 

The 17-year-old native of Estevan made his Bruins debut that night, and despite being held pointless showed well in limited ice time against a big, physical Klippers squad. 

"I didn't play very much but when I got out there it was fun," Pierson said. "It was fast. It was good to be around the guys for a little bit."

Pierson grew up watching the Bruins, and his parents and grandparents were both billets for the team at various points, so hearing that he was going to be playing for his childhood team was a special, if daunting moment.

"Excited, nervous a little bit," he said. "Playing for your hometown team in your first junior hockey game, it was pretty cool. Especially since it was a home game in front of family and friends."

Bruins head coach and GM Chris Lewgood knows Pierson has a long way to go but he liked what he saw against Kindersley.

"Physically he's got to grow a lot to play at this level," Lewgood said. "He skates really well, he's got good hands, he understands the game and he's a good kid so that's a real good starting point. Even though he's only 17 years old he'll need a lot of physical maturity before he can be a key contributor at this level. We're excited about potentially seeing him as an Estevan Bruin next year." 

Right now, both Pierson and the Bruins seem to see him in Estevan Bruin colours in the near future. 

"I defintely want to come back here and play for the Bruins next year," Pierson said. "It's my ultimate goal so I'll have to work hard and try to finish strong in Yorkton and see what happens."

Once Pierson matures, Lewgood sees a do-it-all type at the Junior A level.

"He's a little bit of everything," he said. "He's intelligent so he can play in all three zones, he's a good penalty killer, he's got some skill I've seen him on the power play both growing up here in Estevan and a little bit last year with Yorkton."

While nothing will be handed to Pierson, the potential is there for him to make his mark on the Bruins in the near future.

"The Estevan Bruins are always a hard team to make out of midget," Lewgood said. "We always return enough players to ice a good roster and we always recruit well enough that there's lots of competition. He'll get every opportunity. We don't give players spots on our team because they're from Estevan but if they can match and exceed other players we'd love to have as many locals as we can." 

Pierson may get his second game in a Bruins sweater sooner than later, as they play Kindersley again on Saturday, January 13. Bruins captain Jake Fletcher will have to serve the second of his two-game suspension for a check from behind against Humboldt.