2024 U.S. Priority and WHL Prospects Draft Preview
Regina, Sask. — Draft season is upon us, and that means it’s an exciting time for the Regina Pats as they take part in Wednesday’s U.S. Priority Draft and Thursday’s WHL Prospects Draft. Real-time results will be available at https://whl.ca/draft as well as reginapats.com.
Below are the Pats selections for both the 2024 U.S. Priority Draft as well as the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft. Both drafts will begin at 10:00 a.m., MDT.
With the Pats holding the first overall pick in Wednesday’s 2024 U.S. Priority Selection, Director of Scouting Dale McMullin says he’s excited to see who they can land.
“You’re getting a player who wants to sign right away and wants to be a Regina Pat,” he said. “With the help of the coaching staff and management, hopefully they can mold this player into the future of the Regina Pats by 18 or 19, or even earlier. It’s a big step into the Western Hockey League.”
2023 WHL Prospects Draft
The 2023 WHL Prospects Draft was yet another successful draft for the Pats organization, as the club has already signed five prospects which include; Cohen Klassen, Cameron Kuzma, Zachary Lansard, Jett Deschamps and Fenton Mann. The Pats finished that draft with seven forwards, four defencemen and one goalie.
“I don’t think it’s an exact science, and I don’t think we can rely on that happening every year,” McMullin said. We need to do our body of work, which we have done. Whether it’s mistakes made in front of us in our opinion or whatever, everyone has a different opinion on a player. Not one is right, not one is wrong. Sometimes, strange things happen during the draft, and players fall to certain areas where you have a crack at them.”
Pats Selections
RD | OVR | PLAYER NAME | POS | HT | WT | DOB | HOMETOWN | CURRENT TEAM | ||||||||||
3 | 51 | Cohen Klassen | LW | 5-10 | 160 | 09/08/2008 | Martensville, SK | Martensville Marauders U15 AA | ||||||||||
3 | 61 | Cameron Kuzma | C | 6-1 | 175 | 07/17/2008 | St. Albert, AB | HC Edmonton U15 | ||||||||||
4 | 67 | Hudson Kowalchuk | LD | 5-10 | 145 | 06/05/2008 | Winnipeg, MB | Winnipeg Wild Red U15 AAA | ||||||||||
4 | 78 | Zachary Lansard | C | 5-8 | 140 | 07/29/2008 | Ste. Anne, MB | Rink H.A. Winnipeg U15 Prep | ||||||||||
5 | 96 | Jett Deschamps | LD | 5-6 | 120 | 09/28/2008 | Headingley, MB | Rink H.A. Winnipeg U15 Prep | ||||||||||
6 | 120 | Kohen Volk | RD | 5-9 | 160 | 04/16/2008 | Saskatoon, SK | Saskatoon Bandits U15 AA | ||||||||||
6 | 122 | Carter Haney | RW | 5-8 | 147 | 04/16/2008 | Winnipeg, MB | Winnipeg Bruins Brown U15 AAA | ||||||||||
7 | 148 | Fenton Mann | LD | 6-1 | 167 | 03/21/2008 | Winnipeg, MB | Winnipeg Wild Green U15 AAA | ||||||||||
8 | 173 | Maddox Malmquist | LW | 5-7 | 130 | 07/07/2008 | East St. Paul, MB | Rink H.A. Winnipeg U15 Prep | ||||||||||
9 | 188 | Kai Zurowski | G | 5-11 | 161 | 02/09/2008 | St. Albert, AB | St. Albert U15 AAA Sabres | ||||||||||
10 | 210 | Dain Gordon | F | 6-0 | 145 | 02/25/2008 | Denver, CO | Bishop Kearney Selects 14U | ||||||||||
11 | 232 | Tegan Kurtz | C | 5-11 | 160 | 12/03/2008 | Winnipeg, MB | Winnipeg Wild Gold U15 AAA |
Note: Pats passed on picks #254 and #276
FULL LIST OF PATS ALL-TIME DRAFT PICKS
“I’ve caught up to most of them, and I think they’ve done their part to improve and get better,” McMullin said on the 2024 draft class. Some are still continuing to grow. It’s a lot of work and it’s a privilege to play in Regina. Hopefully they all buy in and the coaches and management will get a look, and send them back home for the summer with some good feedback.”
With draft meetings underway, and both the U.S. and WHL Draft set for Wednesday May 8 and Thursday May 9, McMullin says he’s enjoyed getting back into the war room with his scouting staff.
“I think it’s similar to past years,” he said. “From every tournament after Christmas, you really have to focus in on key players. With Alan [Millar], we met at every tournament to get a feel for what the scouts thought, and tried to line it up as we went. A lot of work goes into drafting seven to 10 players.”
McMullin and his staff spend countless hours each winter scouting players across Western Canada and the United States, searching for the future of the Regina Pats.
“I’m passed the point of adding it up,” McMullin said on the body of work his staff has put in. “You get home for a bit, then you’re back going again. There is always something going on, players to circle back on when you haven’t seen them for a couple months. You go and see their progression in their development. I think once you’re done [the draft] I think every team can come out of it feeling pretty good. You have a gut feeling leaving the draft that you have some pretty good players drafted. Then you have spring camp in two or three weeks. Once they step on to the ice, there is even more excitement. It’s just a process you go through and with the wide body of work we’ve done, I think we will have a good draft.”