Intent on being more than good hosts, Pats make pricey but essential trades
A blockbuster trade the Regina Pats announced Wednesday morning was as simple as one, two, three.
The Pats sent a first-round WHL bantam draft pick in 2020, a second-rounder in the same year and third-rounders in 2019 and 2021 to the Saskatoon Blades in a deal that brought high-scoring forward Cameron Hebig, 20, and goaltender Ryan Kubic, 19, to Regina.
Kubic displaces 20-year-old netminder Tyler Brown, who was joined en route to Saskatoon by forward Bryan Lockner, 17.
It was a massive deal with longterm ramifications, but such is the price to be paid in the WHL these days.
With teams near and far loading up, and with the 2018 Memorial Cup being held at the Brandt Centre, Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock had no choice but to remake his team. That he did, and emphatically.
Paddock completed two other trades after acquiring Hebig and Kubic, increasing the total of post-Christmas deals to a staggering seven.
Faced with a losing record at mid-season and the prospect of icing a team in May that was hardly Cup-worthy, Paddock took a chainsaw to his roster — and his list of future draft picks — while adding nine players.
The Pats have welcomed Hebig, Kubic, defencemen Libor Hajek, Aaron Hyman, Brady Pouteau and Jonas Harkins, and forwards Jesse Gabrielle, Jared Legien and (whew!) Austin Pratt in the past two weeks.
Paddock did what was required to bolster the team for the CHL’s championship tournament, much like Brent Parker did when the Cup was held in Regina in 2001.
There is a considerable cost to be borne in the years ahead, but anyone who successfully bids to host the Memorial Cup goes in with eyes (and wallets) wide open.
On a national stage, with a Cup berth secured, it is necessary to pull out all the stops. The Pats weren’t getting enough stops, it seemed, and a goaltending switch resulted.
Evidently, Paddock determined he could not afford to wait to find out whether Brown could recapture the game-changing form he exhibited in the 2016 and 2017 playoffs.
The addition of Hebig, who had 30 goals in 48 games at the time of the transaction, was hardly surprising. Rumours had swirled that the 20-year-old forward would be destined for Regina. Now, will it be enough?
Look around the league and the top guns are adding even more firepower.
The 29-10-3-0 Swift Current Broncos, for example, sent reverberations throughout the league Tuesday by acquiring forwards Giorgio Estephan, 20, and Tanner Nagel, 19, and goaltender Stuart Skinner, 19, from the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Swift Current surrendered forwards Logan Barlage, 16, and Owen Blocker, 17, defenceman Matthew Stanley, 19, Reginaborn goaltender Logan Flodell, 20, first- and third-round selections in the 2020 bantam draft, and a conditional second-rounder in 2021. (See again: One, two, three.)
Like Swift Current, the Moose Jaw Warriors have legitimate Memorial Cup aspirations. The Warriors — the CHL’s secondranked team — were 33-6-0-2 entering Wednesday’s home date with the Calgary Hitmen.
Moose Jaw pulled off a stunner late Wednesday afternoon, acquiring star defenceman Kale Clague from the Brandon Wheat Kings during the craziest deadline day anyone can recall. Moose Jaw surrendered two firstrounders (in 2019 and 2021) and a 2018 second-rounder, along with two players.
Regina was an unremarkable 21-19-3-0 leading up to Wednesday’s home game with the Edmonton Oil Kings. Ordinarily, such a so-so slate would incline Paddock to be a seller, not a buyer — but this is not any ordinary year.