Whitehead puts focus on his time with Pats
Forward continues point-per-game pace since returning to the ice after surgery
Braxton Whitehead is on a pointper-game pace with the Regina Pats this season.
The only downside: the 19-yearold forward was forced to miss 16 games earlier this season after taking a nasty hit on Oct. 20 in Prince Albert, which led to facial surgery the next day.
“I had a broken orbital bone, cheek bone, part of my nose and my jaw,” said Whitehead. “So yeah, plastic surgeon had to fix me up.
“I have 11 screws and two plates (in my face).”
Before the injury, Whitehead had 12 points in his first 12 games of the season. Since returning to the lineup with a full face shield on Dec. 8, the five-foot-11, 161-pounder has notched 30 points in 28 games, giving him 42 points on the season.
He's also currently riding a sixgame point streak after picking up two assists in Monday's 6-0 win over the Calgary Hitmen.
“I honestly try not to focus on (the point production) too much, I just try and get the team in the win column,” said Whitehead.
And wins for the Pats are very important right now as they look to stay alive in the WHL Eastern Conference playoff race.
The latest win over Calgary improved Regina's record to 21-29-6 on the season, but they are still five points back of the final playoff spot with 12 games to go.
Regina's next six games will be played in the United States — where Whitehead grew up — beginning Friday night in Spokane.
It will be the first U.S. road trip for Whitehead, who was born in New Jersey but only lived there for a few weeks before he and his family moved to California. When Whitehead was three, his dad, a UPS pilot, got a job in Alaska, where Whitehead lived until he was 15.
The son of Charles and Alyson played for the Anchorage North Stars 14U squad and was drafted by the Pats in the third round, 66th overall in the 2019 WHL Draft.
The following year, he moved to Pennsylvania to play with the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 15U squad. Around the same time, the rest of the family moved from Alaska to Kentucky.
In 2020, Whitehead made the move to Canada and joined the Notre Dame Hounds in the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League.
After the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the SMAAAHL season, Whitehead joined the Pats for the shortened 2020-21 WHL season, which was held exclusively inside the Brandt Centre.
He had one goal in 18 games that year before taking a step forward the following year, putting up 10 goals and 17 points in 58 games.
Last year he had 10 goals and 24 points in 57 games and has already eclipsed those point totals this year with a few weeks still left in the season.
And while Whitehead is focused on helping Regina make a playoff push this season, he's also following how his siblings are doing, as younger sister Berkeley is having a strong season with the Pittsburgh Penguins 14U squad while older brother Trey is attending Harvard University, playing for the club hockey team while also studying in the mathematics faculty.
“He's taking some really hard classes that I don't even know what they're saying,” joked Braxton, who himself has a 4.0 GPA.
Hockey is the primary focus for Whitehead right now, but he's also still studying and taking classes as a member of the Pats, knowing that he will eventually want to pursue post-secondary education.
“I'm just trying to get the best overall looking transcript I can,” said Whitehead.
Before he thinks about post-secondary school or even potential professional hockey opportunities, Whitehead wants to be back in Regina next year for his final season of eligibility in the WHL as an overager.
“I would love to be back here next year,” said Whitehead, who will turn 20 on June 9.
“Obviously that's the coaches and general manager's decision whether I earn a spot as a 20-yearold, but that's what I'm working towards and that's what I'd like to do.”
I just try and get the team in the win column.