Struch eager for his first look at Pats prospects in spring camp
Introductions will be necessary when the Regina Pats open their spring camp on Saturday.
The 22-player roster is mainly comprised of prospects who were selected in the past two WHL bantam drafts. Roughly half of them attended rookie camp last fall but the other half will be making their first appearance with the club after being drafted just three weeks ago.
Regina had five picks in the first three rounds of the 2019 draft and each of them is expected to be in town this weekend: Defenceman Layton Feist (first round, 17th overall), forward Samuel Huck (second round, 41st), forward Zane Rowan (third round, 61st), goalie Matthew Kieper (third round, 63rd) and forward Braxton Whitehead (third round, 66th).
“When you look back at the past few years, we haven’t had this many high draft picks (due to trades),” said head coach Dave Struch. “Those higher picks are going to be important for our future. The scouts and (GM) John (Paddock) have seen what they look like in game situations but for us as a coaching staff we haven’t seen it yet. It’ll be really exciting to see them up close and personal, get to know them as people and see them on the ice a little bit.”
The Pats are slated to hold two practices — from 10:30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday at the Co-operators Centre — but the on-ice sessions aren’t so much about evaluating players.
It’s more about acclimating them for training camp in late August.
“It’ll be a get-to-know-each-other weekend,” Struch explained. “It’s important for the organization to get to know the kids but more importantly for the kids to get to know us and get to know each other. (They need to) feel comfortable with each other so that when they come back at training camp their sole focus is on coming out and doing the best they can for us to have a look at them.”
The Pats are now one year into a major rebuild after playing host to the 2018 Memorial Cup. They missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 2013, an inevitable outcome given the massive exodus of high-end talent through graduation and trades.
It’ll take time to restock the cupboards after a two-year championship run — reaching the league final in 2017 and the Memorial Cup final in 2018 — but the Pats are committed to doing it the right way by developing players through the draft.
Struch is hoping the current crop of prospects will help elevate the entire group, adding some much-needed skill to the club’s well-established work ethic.
“Going through last year, having a difficult season as far as wins and losses but maintaining the culture, the environment, the work ethic (was critical),” Struch said. “Our guys did a great job. Moving forward into this year’s draft, these are the kids we’re going to build around that will be our future skilled players. It’s really exciting, especially with the high picks. Our goal is to have sustained success.”
The term “rebuild” has negative connotations because it can be a painstaking process for fans and the organization.
However, Struch is excited about the challenge of building another championship-calibre team from the ground up.
“It’s a special thing to be a part of and it is exciting for us as a coaching staff,” he said. “I enjoy watching and being a part of the development of these young players and seeing them grow into young men.”
If all goes well, they’ll eventually form a quality team.
“We have a process that we have stuck with to this point and we’re not going to veer too far from that moving forward,” Struch added. “We also have our standards that are raised daily. That’s one thing we’ll talk about this weekend is how high our standards are. They can see a little bit of it this weekend and they can get themselves ready.
“(It’s exciting) when you look at the possibilities and the projections of where we can go with these new kids. We’ll learn a lot more this weekend but it doesn’t happen overnight.”
These are the kids we’re going to build around that will be our future skilled players.