Pats’ Sloboshan shows off his valuable versatility
The Regina Pats’ blue-line wasn’t a bad place to visit, but Wyatt Sloboshan wouldn’t want to stay there.
The 20-year-old forward saw his first action as a WHL defenceman over the weekend in a pair of preseason games against the Brandon Wheat Kings. Regina was shorthanded on the back end due to injuries and NHL camps, prompting Sloboshan’s temporary move to a new position.
“It’s a big change,” he said with a laugh following Saturday’s 3-1 win over Brandon.
“I’ve never played defence in my life — maybe beer league or summer hockey, that’s about it.
“I definitely was a little out of place but it was kind of fun seeing the ice in a different way. It was exciting but I’m ready to get back on forward, for sure.”
The Pats have no intention of asking Sloboshan to make a fulltime switch.
However, they do like the idea of knowing he can get the job done if necessary.
It was a similar situation with former captain Adam Brooks, a natural centre who made a couple of emergency appearances on the blue-line last season.
“We didn’t have any other options (on the weekend) so you put an experienced guy back there,” explained head coach/GM John Paddock, who acquired Sloboshan midway through last season.
“He has been good (on the back end). When you’re 20 and you’re playing against younger guys, whether it’s for real or exhibition, you have experience on your side. Slobo is a good skater. When you can skate and you have experience, you have a chance to sort of hold the fort out there.”
Despite a few hiccups, that’s exactly what he did.
“The competition isn’t as tough in the pre-season,” the former Saskatoon Blades captain said. “The regular season is a totally different game. I don’t know how I’d fare. I was a little shaky out there, for sure, but I think I settled down more and more.
“If it happened in the regular season that we had no D, which is pretty rare, I definitely could step back and play a few shifts. I don’t know how much time (the coaches) would give me but I could be out there a little bit.”
Sloboshan was considered one of the Pats’ most-versatile players before his move to the blue-line.
The team can deploy him at centre or either wing, and he prides himself on being “a hard player to play against in the D-zone.”
Those traits made him attractive to Regina at last year’s trade deadline and the same qualities should help keep him in the league as a 20-year-old.
He also knows the Pats — who are playing host to the 2018 Memorial Cup — have especially high expectations for their overage players.
“The stakes are high this season; it’s a Mem Cup year and we want to win it all,” added Sloboshan, who had 11 goals and 31 points in 68 games last season.
“There are only three 20-yearolds on the team so you have to give it your all every game and show them you can be here.
“If you’re not doing that, you’ll get sent away. Everyone in the league wants to play for this team this year so it’s not an easy spot to keep.”