By Matthew Gourlie /

A quick scan of the Western Hockey League’s scoring leaders speaks volumes about the role of imports in The Dub these days.

With nary a Pavel Brendl, Sergei Varlamov or Oscar Moller to be found, the days of Europeans adding flash and a lot of offensive production is on the decline.

So while Martin Filo of the Moose Jaw Warriors is posting modest offensive numbers, the 19-year-old has quietly become one of the Tribe’s steadiest performers.

The 6-2 right winger from Banovce nad Bebravou, Slovakia has been one of the Warriors most underrated players this season.

“Marty Filo’s been outstanding for us,” Warriors head coach Dave Hunchak said. “I can’t say enough about his work ethic, his will to compete and just being a good teammate on and off the ice.”

After spending most of his two seasons on the checking line, Filo’s hard work has earned him a spot doing the dirty work in the corners on the top line with Jason Bast and Brendan Rowinski.

“Marty’s evolved into a very good two-way forward,” Hunchak said. “He can contribute offensively — we’d like him to shoot the puck a little more — and he’s starting to get additional time on the power play because of how hard he works. He’s earned it.”

Filo stepped onto the ice for his first WHL shift and immediately received a breakaway pass for his first goal. Still, he finished his rookie season with seven goals and seven assists. While he has surpassed both of those numbers this season, his strengths have been in other areas.

“Everybody has a role on the team,” Filo said. “My role is to kill penalties, block shots, hit some guys and create energy for the top lines and make some opportunities for myself too. I think it is kind of important too.”

Filo was selected by the Warriors in 2007 CHL Import Draft. He had no reservations about learning a new language and moving to a faraway city to improve his game.

“I wanted to try a different style of hockey,” Filo said. “It was a big opportunity for me because Canada is probably (the) best junior league in the world.

“I’m kind of a big guy. I’m not scared of physical play. I like it. It’s a pretty good league.”

Filo has managed to do a lot of small things well to find a niche in the WHL. He feels that it’s the subtle areas of the game that he’s improved upon in his two seasons in Canada and he hopes that holds him in good stead next season.

“In Slovak there isn’t that much (emphasis) on details,” said Filo. “I hope I can use what I learned at the next level.”

Warriors notes:
The Warriors were busy at the trade deadline. The Warriors traded Joel Broda, the CHL’s leading scorer, and Tomas Karpov to Calgary for Rowinski and second- and seventh-round 2009 bantam draft picks. The Warriors also traded 20-year-olds Ryley Grantham, a fifth-round pick in 2011 and Ian Duval to Kelowna in separate deals while acquiring Dylan Hood and Jesse Paradis in return.
The Warriors also added Matt MacKay, 18, from the Calgary Canucks of the AJHL. MacKay is the son of original Warriors captain Mark MacKay.
The Warriors posted a 4-2-0-1 record on their seven-game road swing. It was their first winning record on the trip since 1998-99.