Pats welcome new faces to training camp
The Regina Pats’ first day of school is expected to be well attended.
The WHL club will conduct a roll call on Friday when players report for training camp registration, followed by the start of on-ice workouts at the Co-operators Centre on Saturday.
One of the newest faces is import Filip Ahl, a fourth-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in the 2015 NHL draft. The Pats selected Ahl in the first round of this summer’s CHL import draft, but they had to secure his release from a pro team in Sweden before the 19-year-old forward could report for training camp.
“He’s here,” said Pats head coach/ GM John Paddock, adding that there are just a couple of “procedural” things left to complete in his transfer agreement. “It’s settled between us (and the player). He’s going to be on the ice Saturday.”
The same goes for rookie forwards Bryan Lockner and Nick Henry. Although both players remain unsigned, they have committed to attend Regina’s camp.
Lockner, a 16-year-old native of Windsor, Colo., is expected to compete for one of the final roster spots up front.
He’s regarded as a high-end talent who slipped into the third round of the 2015 WHL bantam draft because of recruiting concerns, but the Pats are optimistic they’ll be able to sign him.
Ditto for Henry, whose WHL rights were acquired this spring from the Everett Silvertips.
The 17-year-old right winger was the top rookie in the Manitoba junior A ranks last season, helping lead his hometown Portage Terriers to a provincial title and a berth in the Western Canada Cup.
Henry made a verbal commitment to Western Michigan University in the spring but the Pats have presented him with another option. He is guaranteed a spot on the team if he signs.
“He knows what we think of him as a player,” said Paddock. “For me it’s hard not to be optimistic on the situation but I’m not saying anything is guaranteed. He’ll have to sign a contract to play in any games. He’s coming in and we’ll just deal with that as soon as we can.”
In addition to acquiring Henry, the Pats made another major trade with Everett in the off-season, acquiring overage forward Dawson Leedahl and the WHL rights to blue-chip NHL prospect Tyson Jost, who’s headed for the University of North Dakota.
As expected, Jost won’t be attending the Pats’ camp. However, Paddock is excited to add an impact veteran like Leedahl to the fold after smoothing over some rough edges with the player this summer.
“Did I talk with him a couple times on the phone? Yeah,” said Paddock, who downplayed the suggestion that Leedahl needed some convincing to report. “Everything is good. After the second conversation I think he’s thrilled to be in Regina. He just needed to recharge, that’s all.”
The Pats are scheduled to open camp with 74 players. That includes six skaters who are headed for NHL camps: Forwards Sam Steel (Anaheim Ducks), Adam Brooks (Toronto Maple Leafs), Austin Wagner (L.A. Kings) and Ahl (Ottawa) and defencemen Connor Hobbs (Washington Capitals) and Sergey Zborovskiy (New York Rangers).
NHL training camps begin late this year due to the World Cup of Hockey. As a result, Regina’s six NHL prospects aren’t slated to depart until around Sept. 15, about a week before the start of the WHL regular season.
“I don’t think they’ll be here for the first two weeks; that would be my guess,” said Paddock. “But it’s the same for everybody. It may hurt us a little bit more than some, to take six players out of the lineup. In saying that, when they’re back, on paper, it should give us lots of chances to rebound.” THE PATS’ TRAINING CAMP ROSTER AND SCHEDULE APPEAR ON PAGE B4.