Regina Pats draft Maddox Schultz with No. 1 pick in WHL draft

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The Regina Pats have officially landed top prospect Maddox Schultz.

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With the first overall selection in Wednesday night’s Western Hockey League draft, the Pats selected Schultz, a 15-year-old Regina product who led the Saskatchewan Male Under-18 AAA League in scoring last season.

“I might have had a tear in my eye, you know, it’s pretty cool being drafted by your hometown team,” said Schultz moments after hearing his name called. “Watching this team grow and watching them play throughout my younger years, just really looking forward to it.”

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“Coming to the Brandt Centre and taking the moment in with my family and the whole organization, it’s something special that I’ll never forget. I’m just really looking forward to this upcoming year.”

After the Edmonton Oil Kings selected defenceman Holden Wouters at No. 2 overall, Pats general manager Alan Millar pulled off a blockbuster trade to acquire the third overall pick from the Kelowna Rockets in exchange for a second-round pick, 26th overall, this year along with a 2026 first-round pick (the Pats own two first-round picks and will keep the highest) and a 2027 first-round pick.

With the No. 3 pick, Regina drafted forward Liam Pue, considered as the second best forward in the draft behind Schultz.

“This was a situation where, last night, we learned that Edmonton was going to draft Wouters at two and Liam Pue would be available at three,” said Millar. “And we knew that Kelowna, with them hosting the Memorial Cup, were looking to make moves and wanted to move the third overall pick to build the assets to build their team for the Memorial Cup.

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“So we started to engage those conversations to see if we could get what we believe are the two top forwards in the draft, the two top players in the draft and, you know, we were able to put it together.”

As for Schultz, along with posting 93 points in 44 regular season games to lead the league in scoring as an underage player, the Regina product — who was named the league’s MVP and rookie of the year — recorded 22 points in 10 playoff games to lead the Pat Canadians to a league title.

From there, the 5-foot-10, 165-pounder led Regina to a West regional championship and Telus Cup berth, before scoring the winning goal in overtime of the national final. In the national championship, Schultz led all skaters with 20 points in seven games and was named tournament MVP despite being the youngest player in the event.

While Schultz didn’t apply for exceptional status to play in the WHL full-time as a 15-year-old next season, under the Western Canadian Development Model, he is still eligible to play 34 games with the Pats in 2025-26. It’s also expected the young phenom Schultz will continue to play at the U18 level with the Pat Canadians.

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Pue, a Langley, B.C. product who, like Schultz, was one of three players eligible in the draft who played at the U18 level last season.

In 29 games with the Langley Hockey Academy U18 squad, Pue, 15, had 30 goals and 20 assists for 50 points to finish second in the Junior Prospects Hockey League (JPHL) scoring race.

“It’s a big honour knowing that they traded up to get me and I’m super stoked to get things going,” said Pue. “And obviously being able to get drafted on same team as Maddox; he’s an amazing guy and I’m super glad that I get to be a part of this team with him.”

Schultz is the third player in franchise history to be taken first overall joining Colton Tuebert in 2005 and Connor Bedard in 2020, the latter of whom sent a video message to Schultz during the WHL’s draft livestream.

“You’re going to be a special player and you’ll love your time there,” Bedard said on the video. “Tremendous organization to be part of and the fans will embrace you and it’s going to be a blast.”

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After taking Schultz and Pue, the Pats also had the last pick in the first round, 23rd overall, where they selected forward Logan Henry, a Prince George, B.C. product who played with the Burnaby Winter Club’s U15 prep program last year, racking up 51 points in 31 games along with 116 penalty minutes.

On Thursday, rounds two through 15 of the prospects draft will be held with Regina having two selections in the second round (27th and 46th) before picking again in the fourth (89th) and twice more in the sixth and seventh rounds. From there, the Pats hold single picks in rounds eighth through 15.

“We still have a lot of work to do, but we’re building a foundation of very good young players and very good people,” said Millar. “We’re still building, but we have expectations that the building is starting to take a step.

“And we’re going to continue to do what we can during this week and during the off-season, to do what we can, to take that next step next year, to be a competitive team and to be a playoff team.”

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Expansion draft

While the Pats will add some new prospects to the roster this week, they also lost a player in the system as forward Corban Almen was selected by the Penticton Vees in Wednesday’s expansion draft.

Almen, a 17-year-old Saskatoon product, played 12 games for the Pats last year before joining the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers. He then ended the season back in Saskatchewan with the under-18 Saskatoon Blazers AAA squad. In 2023-24, Almen played 54 games and had 14 points in his rookie WHL season with the Pats.

The expansion Vees, who are joining the WHL after playing Jr. A in B.C., were able to select one player from each WHL club for a total of 22 picks. The Pats were able to protect up to 16 players aged 17 to 20 along with six players on the team’s college list.

U.S. priority draft

On Thursday, prior to round two of the prospects draft commencing, the WHL will hold the U.S. priority draft with the Pats holding the 12th and 32nd overall selections.

Players eligible for this draft including 2010-born prospects who have lived in the United States for two or more consecutive hockey seasons prior to 2025. Players must reside in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington or Wyoming to be eligible.

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CHL import draft

The Canadian Hockey League import draft is set for July 2nd and the implications will be heightened this year.

Beginning next season, CHL teams will be permitted to play an additional import player, moving the total allowed from two to three. With this change, the CHL has added an extra round to the draft this year as well.

The Pats will have the fourth overall pick this year in the first round, followed by the 68th overall pick in the second round and 129th overall pick in the third round.

And heading into the 2025-26 season, the Pats will have all three import spots open as last year’s lone import, goaltender Ewan Huet, is turning pro next season and is not expected back in Regina.

In 2024, Regina drafted Czech forward Vaclav Nestrasil with the eighth overall pick. Last season, the 2025 NHL draft prospect played in the USHL and is committed to the University of Massachusetts for the 2026-27 season.

The Moose Jaw Warriors have the first overall pick in the CHL import draft.

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tshire@postmedia.com

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