"It's a dream come true."

The community of Oxbow and southeast Saskatchewan is beaming with pride today as one of their own has signed a contract to play in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Tanner Jeannot, a 20-year-old forward with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League (WHL) has signed a three-year, entry level deal with the NHL's Nashville Predators that will begin in 2018/19.

"It's unreal," expressed an ecstatic Jeannot shortly after the announcement was made on Monday morning. "It's something that I've worked for my entire life so far, overcoming lots of obstacles along the way."

"Just continuing to work hard, and with the support I've had, it's really incredible for me, my family, and all those who have helped me along the way."

Jeannot has spent the past four seasons with the Moose Jaw Warriors, amassing 170 points (77 goals and 93 assists) in 267 regular season games and 18 points (6 goals and 12 assists) in 23 postseason contests.

As an alternate captain in 2017-18, Jeannot ranked third in the WHL in plus/minus rating (+49), as well as third on the Warriors in goals (40) and fourth in points (80), helping the club to a league-best 52-15-5 record.

Moose Jaw plays a decisive Game 7 against Prince Albert in its WHL Playoffs opening-round matchup on Tuesday, April 3rd.

Tanner Jeannot Signs His NHL Contract On Monday Surrounded By His Family. Photo Credit: Moose Jaw Warriors

Story Submitted From Marc Smith, DiscoverMooseJaw

Hard work does pay off.

Moose Jaw Warriors forward Tanner Jeannot is the perfect example of what happens when you put in the work and show determination to reach your goals.

On Monday, the 20-year-old Oxbow, Sask. product inked a three-year entry level contract with the Nashville Predators, currently the best team in the National Hockey League.

“It's pretty crazy, working so hard to get here and all the support and help I've had along the way — coaches, teammates, fans, family — I can't thank them enough for helping get to where I am right now,” said Jeannot.

After going undrafted into the Western Hockey League, Jeannot wasn't able to crack the league as a 16-year-old and was a casualty at Warriors' training camp as a 17-year-old as well, only to be called to rejoin the team a few days later.

It's all been history after that as Jeannot has worked to earn every opportunity that's come his way over the past four seasons, moving from a role player to a key contributor on this year's regular season champion squad.

“This makes everything worth it,” said Jeannot. “You have (an NHL contract) in mind when you're working and putting in those hours of work in the offseason and extra hours after practice staying out on the ice and working on your little skills. It's really exciting and it’s a dream come true, but I know that the work is just beginning as well.”

Jeannot set career-highs with 40 goals, 40 assists and 80 points this season for the Warriors. He's seen his goal and point total increase every season in the WHL as he wrapped up his career with 77 goals and 170 points in 267 games.

The six-foot-three, 215-pound winger has also shown incredible durability over the past three seasons, only missing one game out of 216.

“The Predators how I play a hard working game,” said Jeannot. “They liked that I go to the dirty areas that not everyone likes to go to and working my butt off there, so that's what I’m going to keep doing.”

Jeannot wasn't selected in the NHL Draft, but was a highly sought after prospect over the course of this season. He said the culture that the Predators have built is what drew him to the team.

“Talking to guys in their organization and hearing what they had to say about their values and how they like to run their organization, it seemed like they share lots of the same values and beliefs as me,” said Jeannot. “I like to work hard and lay it all out on the ice and that's the type of organization that they are, as you can see with how they're doing in the NHL this year, so that was a big focus in my decision and I'm excited to get started.”

A lot of hard work and determination has helped Jeannot get to this point, but he also said that he wouldn't have earned this contract with the support system around him.

“I called my dad and I let him know that this was in the process, you could tell that he was trying to stay calm, but you could hear it in his voice that he was really excited after putting in all those hours of travelling for practice twice a week and countless trips during the night to come watch me play here in Moose Jaw,” said Jeannot.

“The Warriors organization has been incredible as well, coming in as an invite to the camp four years ago, they took a chance on me and signed me and gave me a spot on the team and over the four years, I've just been trying to make them proud and I couldn't thank everyone here enough.”

With an NHL contract under his belt now, Jeannot added that he's focused and determined to extend his Warrior career as long as possible during the WHL Playoffs.

“We want to come out hard (in game seven on Tuesday) and keep this season going,” said Jeannot.