‘It’s not going to be easy’: Pats looking for more wins after challenging 2018-19

The Regina Pats have a simple goal as the 2019-20 season gets underway — win more games.

The Pats were among the WHL’s worst teams last season, winning only 19 games and finishing third-last in the overall standings. Now 16 months removed from their Memorial Cup final appearance, head coach Dave Struch said the message last season was about sticking to the process.

“Credit to our players during a tough year in terms of wins and losses, it went really well,” Struch said Wednesday at the Brandt Centre. “This year we’re going to focus on winning hockey games. We know it’s not going to get easy. We still have the same group of guys coming back, we’re a year older and the year of experience should help us.”

The first test ahead of the team will be the Moose Jaw Warriors, who will be at the Brandt Centre on Friday to kick off the WHL season. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.

In order to find success, Struch said the Pats are going to need to take a step forward in their development.

“That’s been the message from Day 1,” Struch said. “We’ve seen it in our play to this point (in the pre-season). We’re not worrying about our record, but we’re worried about our play and our guys have done a great job, so we hope to have a good start to our season.”

The Pats will look to their 20-year-olds to provide valuable leadership to the young core of the team, with Austin Pratt donning the captain’s ‘C’ this season.

“It’s something that I’ve dreamt of when I came into the league as a 16-year-old,” Pratt said. “It feels pretty surreal right now.”

Pratt was the team’s leading scorer during the 2018-19 season with 51 points (25 goals, 26 assists) in 68 games. The Pats acquired Pratt in January 2018 after sending a third-round pick in the 2019 bantam draft to Red Deer.

“I’ve got a lot of experience; this is my fifth year in the league,” Pratt said. “I’ve had a lot of good captains in my time and I’ve had a lot of good players come play with me or against me, so I can bring that experience of what they did off the ice and on the ice to make them so good.”

Pratt said he’s the kind of captain who is going to hold people accountable for their play on the ice, just like he hopes the team does when he has a bad game.

“Everyone wants to win and it’s just holding people accountable, playing the right way and trying to help out the young guys and show them how to earn your stripes in the league,” Pratt said.

One of the new faces to join the Pats this season is centre Drew Englot.

The 16-year-old prospect was acquired from the Lethbridge Hurricanes on May 6 in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2022 bantam draft.

Englot said he was ecstatic to hear he was traded to Regina, because it’s the team he grew up cheering for while growing up in Candiac.

“All the WHL games I saw (were at the Brandt Centre), so it’s pretty cool to be playing in front of everyone,” Englot said. “It’s an honour to play for them.”

Englot’s tenure with the Pats got off to a slow start as he recovered from a knee injury. He finally suited up for the team in a Sept. 13 pre-season game against the Prince Albert Raiders. The Pats lost 3-2 in a shootout.

“I felt really good, I felt 100 per cent in my knee,” Englot said. “I think I’m ready to go.”

The Warriors dominated the 2018-19 regular season series between the two teams, going 7-1.