Paddock looking for youngsters to step up
All the excitement is around Bedard but there are other breakout candidates
There’s no denying the star power of Connor Bedard, but the Regina Pats can’t expect their youngest player to be a one-man show.
The first WHLER to receive exceptional status as a 15-year-old is going to need help from his supporting cast.
It’s largely a blue-collar group but GM John Paddock likes the depth up front and is hopeful that a diamond in the rough could emerge.
“There’s no Sam Steel or Adam Brooks; there’s just good solid guys,” Paddock said. “We have good speed. We have good experience. Guys like (Riley) Krane, (Logan) Nijhoff, Drew (Englot), (Cole) Dubinsky, those guys play hard all the time.
“There’s a good foundation for the forwards.”
That includes Bedard, who’s arguably the most-hyped prospect in franchise history.
No pressure.
“I think he’ll make the team,” Paddock said with a laugh.
Regina will need him after graduating two of its top scorers from last season — Austin Pratt and Robbie Holmes. The team could have as many as 12 returnees up front, depending in part on how the 20-year-old situation shakes out with Krane and Carson Denomie potentially fighting for one spot.
Nijhoff — a front-runner to wear the ‘C’ — is a fitting leader for the lunch-bucket brigade. What the 19-year-old centre lacks in skill, he makes up for in other areas.
“He’s sort of a heartbeat of the team (in terms of ) preparation and playing hard,” Paddock said. “He’s at the top of the food chain in doing the little things.”
The Pats are optimistic that Englot and Dubinsky, both 18, can build upon strong finishes to last season. Another breakout candidate is Jakob Brook, who was the centrepiece of Regina’s compensation from the Max Paddock trade.
The 18-year-old speedster played just eight games with Regina following knee surgery.
“We expect Englot and Dubinsky to continue their improvement and Jakob to get used to playing regularly,” Paddock said. “That’s why we played just two or three games under .500 from early December on, because there were steps taken (by younger guys). They started to take ice-time away from other people.”
The “wild card” of the group is Carter Massier, 19, who missed most of last season due to shoulder surgery.
“(The reason) why he remains so intriguing is his speed,” Paddock said. “He’s a dark horse to be a significant player.”
That goes double for Sloan Stanick, who was the team’s lone 16-year-old up front last season.
“We think he has a chance to be a real good player,” Paddock said. “He brings more pure ability than some of the older guys.”
The Pats have four 19-year-old forwards on the roster: Massier, Nijhoff, Zack Smith and Carter Chorney.
Smith (an SJHL pickup) and Chorney (trade with Swift Current) have both shown some offensive ability. They’ll be expected to show more heading into their first full season in Regina.
“We need all these guys to really be humming at the top of their game,” Paddock said. “Our strengths will be as a four-line group, unless somebody surprises a little bit.”
The Pats also saw promise in Cole Carrier, 18, after he was acquired at midseason from the Kelowna Rockets. He’ll battle for a spot with the likes of Cale Sanders, who saw limited ice-time as a rookie, and fellow 18-year-old Josh Paulhus, a late-season call-up from the SJHL.
The bubble guys are expected to be pushed by hard-nosed American prospect Easton Armstrong, who signed last season and had a two-game audition.
“Armstrong will be on the team,” said Paddock. “It’s going to take a bit to get his feet wet as a 17-yearold in the league coming from playing midget hockey in California. But he has a determination and a little bit of an old-school whatever-it-takes attitude. He needs to pick his skating up a little bit. That happens over time in the league but he has the ability to score goals and he’s a pain to play against.”
Some of those same attributes apply to 17-year-old prospect Colby Wotton.
“I expect that we’ll sign Colby and I think he has a good chance of making the team,” Paddock said. “Those kind of guys are important. They do a lot of little things and they play with the right attitude.
“They play hard.”