Overager Bradley playing where Pats need him most
Matt Bradley has put on a show in his first season with the Regina Pats, but he didn’t know it would include a juggling act.
Regina’s top scorer began this season at his natural centre position but the team’s lack of scoring depth on the wings has necessitated some line juggling, along with multiple position changes.
After playing a handful of games on the right side with centres Jake Leschyshyn and Sam Steel, Bradley has recently found a home on left wing with Steel and Nick Henry, creating a formidable top line.
“They’re both special players and they both bring a lot to the game,” said Bradley, who leads the Pats with 19 goals and 34 points in 30 games. “I’m learning to get them the puck and get to open space. They’ll finish and they’ll set you up so it has been great playing with them.”
Bradley had been strictly a centre before he was traded to Regina in the off-season. However, he embraced the initial move to right wing and has done the same since he was placed on the left side.
“Playing the off wing has been a little bit of an adjustment,” said the right-handed shooter. “(The most important thing is) winning those wall battles. I have the size and the physicality.
‘It has been an easy transition, especially when you have Sam in the middle. He’s all over (the ice) and he’s always supporting you. It has been really good so far.”
Bradley was in a mini-slump before his move to the left side, notching just one assist in four games at centre. In four subsequent contests, he had three goals and three assists, surpassing the 200-point mark for his career on the weekend.
Meanwhile, Steel has thrived alongside his new left winger, recording five goals and two assists over those four contests. Henry also emerged from a four-game drought with one goal and six assists.
There are positives and negatives to placing your three most gifted offensive players on the same line. Although it allows opposing teams to target the top unit, the Pats have seen signs their new trio can rise to the challenge.
The latest example came in a 7-4 loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings on Wednesday when the top line contributed three goals and two helpers: Bradley (one goal), Steel (two goals) and Henry (two assists).
“It was (Bradley’s) best game of the year,” noted assistant coach/ assistant GM Dave Struch. “With him and Nick and Sam, it was their best game together. I thought Matt was the best player on the ice for both teams.”
The Pats are hoping it’s a sign of things to come.
“That’s the next step for him as a 20-year-old because of where we are as a .500 team,” Struch said. “He has to be a big catalyst in moving us forward. There is another step. Matt took a big one (Wednesday) but that’s over with now. He has to do the same thing in practice and (again on Friday) against Kelowna.”
That’s followed by a game Saturday against Bradley’s former team, the Medicine Hat Tigers. It’ll also be the last game before Steel and defenceman Josh Mahura leave for Canada’s world junior selection camp.
Steel is considered a shoo-in to make the team, which means he’ll be gone for about a month. That will necessitate more line juggling and a move back to centre for Bradley, and a heavier load placed on a number of players.
“We’ve seen (Koby) Morrisseau and (Bryan) Lockner and Robbie Holmes take big steps in the last week,” Struch said. “They’re going to have to build off that and raise that standard for themselves. Guys like (Scott) Mahovlich and (Tanner) Sidaway and (Braydon) Buziak have to do the same thing.
“When we lose guys like Sam and Josh — two very important guys — those other guys have to take up the minutes.”