2023 WHL Graduates – Regina Pats
Throughout the month of July, WHL.ca will be featuring the WHL Graduates from the 2022-23 season in a 22-part, team-by-team series.
We continue with the graduating players from the Regina Pats!
Luke Bateman
Hailing from Kamloops, B.C., defenceman Luke Bateman spent four full seasons in the WHL after being selected by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the fourth round of the 2017 WHL Draft. The 6-foot-6 defender appeared in four games as a 16-year-old in 2018-19, then scored the first of his four regular season goals in a 5-4 Thunderbirds shootout victory at Red Deer October 25, 2019. He skated in 57 games in his rookie season of 2019-20, chalking up 12 points before playing in 22 contests with Seattle over the course of the shortened 2020-21 campaign. Bateman was dealt to the Regina Pats ahead of the 2021-22 WHL season and in the Queen City, he continued his reputation as a strong, steady presence on the blue line, appearing in a career-high 64 games in his first year with the Pats. This past season, Bateman made 63 outings with Regina, scoring once and totalling a career-best 14 assists, adding two helpers during the 2023 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien. Overall, Bateman skated in 210 contests with the Thunderbirds and Pats, earning 42 points (4G-38A).
Luke Bateman pounds home the rebound to cut the deficit to just one!#ItsGoTime | #REGvsLET pic.twitter.com/B6kKlCgfZm
— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) October 17, 2022
Tanner Brown
Defenceman Tanner Brown skated in over 240 WHL games, seeing time with four WHL Clubs after he was selected in the second round of the 2017 WHL Draft by the Vancouver Giants. Brown, from Kelowna, B.C., made his WHL debut in his hometown November 10, 2017, appearing in 14 games over his 15- and 16-year-old seasons with the Giants, serving as well as a black ace during Vancouver’s run to the 2019 WHL Championship Series. A full-time playing opportunity developed in Vancouver in the fall of 2019: Brown suited up in 57 games, scoring his first WHL goal November 8, 2019 in a home contest versus the Portland Winterhawks. Brown put up 10 points during the shortened 2020-21 season, then had three goals and 11 assists from his first 34 games in 2021-22 before being traded to the Winnipeg ICE ahead of the WHL Trade Deadline. With Winnipeg, Brown scored four times, totalling 12 points during the regular season before making 15 playoff apperances, as the ICE reached the Eastern Conference Championship. In his final WHL campaign, Brown started his season with the Red Deer Rebels, collecting six assists from five games before moving to the Regina Pats. As a Pat, Brown appeared in 58 games, totalling 27 points on the strength of four goals and 23 assists. He closed out his WHL career during Regina’s first-round playoff series versus Saskatoon this past spring. Overall, Brown collected 74 points (14G-60A) from his 223 WHL regular season games.
On the stick ➡️ off the stick.
Tanner Brown extends the lead for the @WHLPats. pic.twitter.com/nDa9sW6V52
— The WHL (@TheWHL) December 11, 2022
Riley Ginnell
Despite being originally selected by the Kamloops Blazers in the seventh round of the 2017 WHL Draft, forward Riley Ginnell spent his four-year WHL career in the Eastern Conference after being dealt to the Brandon Wheat Kings in September of 2019. The Calgarian debuted with the Wheat Kings September 21, 2019 at Winnipeg, scoring his first WHL goal just over a month later at Swift Current. In 25 games, Ginnell tallied four points, upping his total to nine in the shortened 2020-21 campaign that saw his Brandon side earn the East Division championship. Ginnell played in a career-best 62 games for the Wheat Kings in 2021-22, earning a career-best 14 goals and 34 points in the process including a hat-trick at Winnipeg December 18, 2021. As a 20-year-old, Ginnell started the season in Brandon before a 14-game stint with the Moose Jaw Warriors. The final 36 games of his WHL career were spent just east of the Friendly City, with the Regina Pats, with whom he counted nine goals and 16 points. During the post-season, Ginnell finished Regina’s seven-game series with the Saskatoon Blades with a goal and five assists. Overall, he appeared in 163 WHL regular season games, amassing 66 points (31G-35A).
After Game Two in #RDvsBDN, we are all square thanks to Riley Ginnell and his WHOA-vertime heroics!@bdnwheatkings | #WHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/RbdSbjhnMI
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 24, 2022
