Pats forward Whitehead survived five WHL trading deadlines

Article content

Braxton Whitehead is a rarity, a player who started and will finish his WHL career with the Regina Pats.

Article content

Article content

While Pats general manager Alan Millar was slipping in one more trade before Thursday’s deadline — shipping centre Zackary Shantz to the Everett Silvertips for 16-year-old forward Shea Rollason and a second-round pick in the 2027 prospects draft — Whitehead was asked if he thought he might be dealt elsewhere for the remainder of his fifth and final season of junior eligibility.

Article content

“There’s always a chance,” said Whitehead. “But I’d like to stay here. I’d prefer to stay here. It’s kind of where I grew up.

“And you know, I feel responsible to show the kids the ropes here. That’s what I’d like to do.”

An American who was a third-round selection in the 2019 draft, Whitehead played 18 WHL games as a rookie in 2020-21. Now 20, If Whitehead plays all 31 of Regina’s games through the rest of this WHL season that would give him a career total of 260 and place him in the Pats’ all-time top 20, just 92 games behind all-time leader Frank Kovacs’ mark of 352.

Whitehead is one of four Pats remaining from the roster that opened the 2023-24 season, Millar’s first with the franchise. Goalies Kelton Pyne and Ewan Huet and defender Kolten Bridgeman are the others.

“We’ve talked about this for over a year, since I got here, it’s obviously a bit of a teardown,” said Millar, who has never shied away from telling players, fans and media about his plans to make the Pats into perennial contenders.

“It’s a significant rebuild.”

Millar has made more than two dozen trades since joining the Pats, most to acquire draft choices and some to make sure the team had 13 forwards and seven defenders who could share ice time. Millar wouldn’t specify when he believed the team could vie for a Memorial Cup berth, but he did list two things when asked about the overhaul.

Article content

Article content

“We’ve upgraded the skill and talent of our team,” said Millar. “And I think we’ve put ourselves in a position with our draft capital to give us significant options at the draft.”

The changes have left the Pats near the bottom of the Eastern Conference with a 10-21-6 record. Missing the playoffs for a second straight season would give the Pats an early choice in the upcoming prospects draft, allowing them to add more young talent alongside recent acquisitions Reese Hamilton and Matt Paranych, both puck-moving defenders, and potential offensive threats Julien Maze, Zach Pantelakis and Jace Egland.

It saddens Whitehead that teammates Tanner Howe, Tye Spencer and Sam Oremba have been traded away and he won’t be around to see his beloved team return to respectability.

“It’s kind of a bummer to see your buddies get traded,” said Whitehead, who has committed to play NCAA hockey next season at Arizona State. “But at the end of the day, that’s kind of how hockey works. And the future of this team’s really bright.

“It’s sad when your junior career is ending. The rest of this year, however that goes, I know these guys in the coming years will be excellent and perhaps be a real threat in the Western Hockey League, hopefully claim a title and possibly the Mem Cup.”

Article content

Asked if he may get a tattoo to commemorate his Pats career, Whitehead laughingly said “No” but admitted he had T-shirts and bumper stickers as memorabilia.

Millar said there were no promises made, but he spoke with Whitehead and defender John Babcock about the importance of supplying veteran leadership on a youthful squad. Babcock was an off-season acquisition from the Saskatoon Blades. They were told it might be a rocky campaign, particularly after the Pats won only once in 15 early season games to precipitate the trading flurry.

“Everything has been open and honest with his point of view, which I really appreciate,” said Whitehead. “I don’t think anybody could say at the start of the year that all these trades would be made.

“That’s a little unexpected, but he’s doing what he thinks is best and I fully support him in that because he’s the GM and he knows a lot more about that type of stuff than I do. So the future is great here.”

The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.

With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.

Article content