‘Continue to build’: Pats look to future as WHL trade deadline passes

The Regina Pats’ rebuild continues, but general manager Alan Millar believes the team is in a good place for the future.

The WHL club wasn’t too active on Thursday’s trade deadline, but had been busy prior to it. The team made a number of trades during the season, including dealing captain Tanner Howe to Calgary, Tye Spencer to Wenatchee and Cole Temple to Everett.

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Millar believes those moves have not only bolstered their current roster, but also their draft capital. The Pats now have five picks (two firsts, three seconds) in the first two rounds of the 2025 WHL Draft and then two first and second-round selections in the 2026 draft.

“I think we’ve made some good progress. I think you can start to see the addition of young players and the talent and the upgraded skill set that we have added to our club. We’ve certainly bolstered our draft capital considerably during the last year,” Millar said.

“That’s the foundation of what could be a good team for a long time … It’s obviously a bit of a tear down and a significant rebuild. We’re in the middle of it and now we have to continue to build.”

Millar said you have to be careful when discussing timelines in junior hockey.

“I think we’ve built a strong group around the ’07 age group. We like our three ’08 forwards. We’re optimistic about our ’09 age group. We’ve got some solid pieces in the ’06 group that could be good 20-year-olds down the road. It’s all a part of the process,” he said.

The Pats (10-21-4-2) are currently second-last in the WHL Eastern Conference, with only the Moose Jaw Warriors having fewer points.

Millar believes last year he was still getting a handle on where this team was at and what improvements needed to be made.

This season, however, it became clear what was needed.

“When we knew we were going in this direction – specifically around the Tanner Howe trade – it was time to be transparent with our fan base. It was time to just use the word rebuild,” Millar said.

“I hope our fans are starting to see some of the good young players that we have and be optimistic about the draft capital we have built.

“I think sometimes people lose sight of the fact of, ‘Well you traded all these guys and now you’re here.’ As we worked through October and November and a lot of our team was intact but we made some moves along the way … we won one game in 15 games during that time frame that put us in a position where it was going to be tough to make the playoffs. Since that point, we’re pushing close to a .500 team and playing some decent hockey with a young group.”

Millar said he expects to see some better results on the ice next season.

“Part of that process is we need to take a good step next year. My expectations will be that we will do what we need to do with our roster and any moves we need to make to be a playoff team next year. When our ’07 group is 19, I think we will be a pretty good hockey club,” Millar said.

But he wouldn’t commit to saying the team would be vying for a Memorial Cup in a couple of seasons.

“What I would tell you is if I think we’re getting there. We will try to make the moves to get us one step further,” Millar said.

One of the players Millar could be fortunate enough to add in the future could be 14-year-old Maddox Schultz, who is expected to be one of the top picks in the upcoming WHL draft.

“Maddox did not apply for exceptional status. The deadline for exceptional status was December 1. The new branch agreement that the WHL has allows any player who has been granted exceptional status to play up a level like Maddox has to play U18 with the Pat (Canadians) makes him eligible to play 34 games for the team that drafts him,” Millar said.

“There’s a few players in that category in the draft this year, and all I can say about Maddox is our team knows him very well. He’s a special player and a special young man and he’s going to have a great career in the WHL and beyond.”