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The Regina Pats enter the final month of the regular-season in a playoff spot and are seeking a return to the postseason.
Regina enters Tuesday’s game against the Medicine Hat Tigers with a 23-28-6-1 record, but is 7-3 over their last 10 games. Regina last made the postseason in 2023 which was Connor Bedard’s final season in Regina before being selected first overall in the NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks.
“I think there’s a multitude of things that have come together,” Pats head coach Brad Herauf told The Green Zone on Monday. “Us being healthy has been a real huge thing for us. I think there’s been a lot of continuity in our lineup the last month-and-a-half where there hasn’t been a lot.
“I think having Maddox (Schultz) and Liam (Pue) in our lineup consistently has made a change for us and made a change for how our lines can operate. Also we’ve had a lot of core guys that have been here for a while and have really picked it up and have come to the rink with a different attitude. They have really changed our culture and the expectation of winning versus just showing up here.”
As Herauf pointed out, the two top draft picks from this past WHL draft have become key contributors for the team during their limited amount of games.
Schultz, the first overall pick, has 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists) in 26 games while third overall pick Pue has 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 30 games. They have been splitting duty with the Pats and the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League with the Regina Pat Canadians as they are limited to the amount of games they can play due to being 15 year olds.
The Pat Canadians are currently in the middle of their own playoffs as they look to repeat as national champions at the Telus Cup.
So with how busy their schedule could be, it’s still up in the air where Schultz and Pue will play over the next couple of months.
“There’s lots of moving parts to it. I think in the end, no one is going to be perfectly happy. I don’t think it’s going to be a perfect ending for anything,” Herauf said. “I think the communication between the two groups will need to be at paramount. There’s lots of people involved, lots of opinions on how things could go. This is a new model and we’re the ones being the test dummies for it.”
Herauf said for the two, they just want to play hockey.
“I know for Maddox, both programs mean a lot to him and trying to help everyone all at once,” Herauf said. “It’s tough. He’s 15 and there’s a lot of minutes and a lot of hockey we’re putting on this kid’s body and that’s where the agents come in and they are the ones thinking of their long-term. Probably me and (Pat Canadians head coach Ryan Hodgins), we’re probably thinking about how we can win the next 60 minutes while they can help us both.”
But while those two have a lot of fans’ eyes on the future, Herauf said in the locker room they are focused on the right now.
“We’re just so in the moment right now. I think we’re just being us with the group we have right now,” Herauf said. “We’ve got 10 games left and I think our focus as a group has been playing meaningful games into the second half of the season, which we have done right now, and then the second goal was to make the playoffs. For us right now, we’re trying to not get ahead of ourselves.”
