Here's my column for this week's CHL Prospects Hockey Insider newsletter. Obviously, it was written and distributed before today's trade with Vancouver!
Pats Roar Out of the Gate
The Regina Pats sport a 2-0 record, after a pair of weekend victories over the Prince Albert Raiders to open the WHL season. The Pats knocked off the Raiders 4-2 in the season opener in Prince Albert Friday night. 18-year old blueliner Nick Ross broke a 2-2 tie in the third period, just two days after returning from the Phoenix Coyotes’ training camp. Other scorers for the Pats were Jordan Eberle, Jared Jagow and Michael MacAngus.
The win came with a steep price tag for the Pats, though. 20-year old Latvian forward Kaspars Sauletis was lost for up to three months with a badly separated shoulder. Sauletis was injured on his first shift of game, when he crashed into the boards awkwardly while forechecking.
"I'm really disappointed," Saulietis told the Regina Leader-Post. "I was so pumped (to come back to Regina). I thought this season would be great for me, then, first shift, first game and everything is done. But I should get over that and keep working. The season is long."
Saulietis’ injury leaves left-winger Troy Ofukany as the lone 20-year old on the Pats roster, while Czech rookie Rudolph Cerveny is the other import player on the team.
"It's just unlucky," Pats head coach Curtis Hunt said to the Leader-Post. "The nice thing is we have enough depth where we can insert people in our lineup. The bad news is we've lost a quality player and a good influence for an extended period of time."
There was no time for the Pats to dwell on the misfortune, however. The same teams locked up Sunday afternoon in Regina’s home opener. This time, the Pats prevailed 5-1, in front of a boisterous crowd of 5,303 who came to celebrate the opening of the team’s 90th season.
"We had the crowd behind us the whole night," right-winger Brett Leffler observed to the Leader-Post. The third year power forward scored on the first shot of the game and added one assist. "The biggest thing with a crowd like that is controlling your emotions. We wanted to come out hard but we didn't want to do anything too stupid. In the end, we got the win."
Jordan Eberle and Nick Ross scored their second goals of the young season for the Pats, who also got goals from newly-minted captain Logan Pyett and ex-Raider Cody Gross.
Head Coach Curtis Hunt credits the fan support for providing his team with an emotional boost in the home opener. "We knew it would be a tough building for the visitors but we didn't want to take anything for granted. We wanted to keep the fans in the game as much as possible. Anytime you get that seventh man involved it becomes pretty intimidating for a visitor. The fan support was outstanding. I look forward to a year of great hockey and giving our fans something to be proud of."
The Pats return to action Friday night, when the Red Deer Rebels visit the Brandt Centre. Regina visits Brandon Saturday, before returning home to face the Calgary Hitmen – the top-rated WHL team in the preseason rankings – Sunday evening.
3 comments:
Woe is me pulling a night shift. I don't know how you guys can keep up and current with sports happenings.
Good for Tommy T, he gets another shot. I felt he would have been a fit for PA. Could have done a good job and they would have still had three skaters as 20's.
The more I thought about the trade, the more I liked it. They got another Czech who might make it easier on Cerveny in adjusting. We are bigger on D, and have a potential 100 pt man in Kraus. Can you imagine seeing Tuebert and Valach on the ice at the same time as a D pair.
Have a good weekend!
I know we disagree on Schira's current value, but it definitely is a trade that benefits the Pats right away.
Tuebert and Valach - the Twin Towers!
Looking forward to seeing them in action tonight.
I am too but even more so on Sunday. That will be a strong test.
I am only just throwing this out there but last year Schira was a -5 for the season as a three year guy. Vallach was + 11 as a rookie. I think Craig will prosper under Don Hay as will Reich. While Kraus had more points he only had 19 goals. Reich had 15 goals, and can knock a guy out. Hay loves those guys. I wish them the best.
We might be OK on this trade. While Kraus will only be here a year, Robinson helped us the one year he was here. If Vallach turns into anything maybe they solve a Euro problem for us next year, considering the glitter success we have had picking euros.........!
Time will tell..
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