Pats secure first pick overall in WHL bantam draft

The Regina Pats will have the first pick overall in the WHL’s upcoming bantam draft.

The Prince George Cougars won Wednesday’s bantam draft lottery after going into it as the fourth team in the draft order. But the lottery rules say a team can only move up a maximum of two spots in the order.

That meant the team with the worst record in the 2019-20 regular season, the Swift Current Broncos, were to stay at No. 1. But the Pats had acquired that selection via trade, so Regina has the top pick.

The furthest the Pats could have fallen in the draft order was to second, if one of the balls assigned to the Moose Jaw Warriors or Tri-City Americans had been selected in the lottery.

The bantam draft is set for April 22.

The league made history Tuesday when it granted exceptional player status to 14-year-old Connor Bedard of North Vancouver, B.C. He’s the first person ever given that status in Western Canada. Winnipeg Ice forward Matthew Savoie applied for the same status, but it was denied to him on March 8, 2019.

The 5-foot-8, 165-pound Bedard, who already was eligible for the 2020 draft, now is permitted to play full-time in the league next season as a 15-year-old.

The Canadian Hockey League has had six players granted exceptional status since the rule was adopted in 2005. The OHL had five of those players (John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid, Sean Day and Shane Wright) and the QMJHL had one (Joe Veleno).