Prospect Update: Noah Warren

By Thomas Harrinton

Anaheim’s first second round pick from 2022, defenseman Noah Warren, completed his third season of junior hockey in the QMJHL for the Gatineau Olympiques. He played with fellow Anaheim pick Tristan Luneau.

Warren had an injury-plagued season, starting with him missing time after an injury suffered at Anaheim’s training camp, and then missing the end of the regular season and playoffs with an upper body injury. Despite that, he still played in 47 games and scored three goals and 20 points. He played in 15 fewer games than the previous season but still came close to setting career highs in goals, assists, and points. He had a four-game point streak in February, shortly before he was injured for the rest of the season.

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Warren isn’t the most offensively gifted defenseman, but he is a fantastic athlete. He’s more known for his size and reach. Warren stands at 6’5” and uses it to his advantage in his own zone. He’s not the fastest skater, but given how tall he is, he’s surprisingly quick because of his long stride. Warren will never be high scoring defenseman, but he can be very good on a team’s penalty kill unit. He could become a very good fourth or fifth defenseman someday.

Warren was recently traded to the Victoriaville Tigres for three draft picks. Gatineau is expected to be rebuilding this coming season while Victoriaville should be one of the top QMJHL teams. He was surprised to learn he’d been traded, Warren thought if he was, it wouldn’t be until after the season had started.

A successful final season of junior hockey will help set Warren up to turn pro the following year. I have a couple of expectations for him this coming year. First, I’m hoping for a healthier season from him. He doesn’t need to play in every game, but I’d like to see him play in most of them. However, he’s still recovering from his earlier injury and could miss the start of next year. Second, I’d like to see him hit the 30 point mark. He’s never going to be a top point producer from the blueline, but he does have some offensive ability, and as long as he plays most of the season, he should be able to hit 30 points. Third, I’m sure there will be an adjustment to his new team, but I’m expecting him to be one of the Tigres’ top defensemen by season’s end. Finally, I’d like to see him play for Team Canada at the World Juniors. His spot is far from assured, but if he has a strong start to the season, he will likely make the team.

Warren is a number of years away from the NHL. He’s got another year of juniors ahead of him and then at least a year or two in San Diego before he gets a taste of the NHL. If he can develop into a large, physically imposing defenseman, we might see him in an Anaheim uniform in the 2025-2026 or 2026-2027 season.

Warren is currently unsigned, and Anaheim holds his rights until June 2024. When signed, it will be to a standard entry-level deal that will last for three years. I fully expect Anaheim to sign Warren, and it could happen as early as this summer. However, if he has another injury-plagued season, they may decide not to.

The next prospect update will be on goaltender Vyacheslav Buteyets.

Related Article:

Graduated Prospect: Mason McTavish

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July 14th, 2023