Brad Herauf has been named the next head coach of the Regina Pats.
The team made the announcement Thursday afternoon, three days after John Paddock announced his retirement and the team named Alan Millar the new general manager and vice president of hockey operations.
Herauf, who was born in Regina, has been an assistant coach for the Pats since 2015.
“When I look at Brad’s career, I’m impressed with his career path,” Millar said. “His development as a coach over the past few years with the Pats has been impressive. He certainly has earned his way.”
Herauf said that when he was first hired, he wanted to learn how to be a coach and do it the right way, noting that it’s a special tradition being passed down to him.
“I truly believe with Al’s vision, what he’s going to do for our team and what he believes. It’s been really exciting to hear his ideas over the last few days,” Herauf said on Millar’s new position. “I look forward to working with him side by side.”
Before his coaching career began, Herauf played professional hockey for eight seasons split between the Oklahoma City Blazers and Utah Grizzlies of the Central Hockey League (CHL), the Florida Everblades of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and the Albany River Rats and Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Herauf's junior hockey days were spent in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) with the Estevan Bruins and Battlefords North Stars from 1999 until 2003.
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“This opportunity means a lot to myself and my family, being from Regina,” Herauf said.
“The last eight seasons have been amazing, and I cannot wait to continue that in the future. The Pats are a special part of my family, and I couldn’t be more thankful for this opportunity,” Herauf added.
After retiring from playing, Herauf coached the Regina Pat Canadians to a Saskatchewan Midget ‘AAA’ Hockey League championship in 2015, which was followed by a bronze medal at the 2015 Telus Cup National Championship.
“I’ve been working under great coaches to have this opportunity, but obviously being a hometown person, it’s a gift and a curse sometimes,” Herauf shared. “It’s something that is so special when you’re winning and you have so much support.”
“Sometimes when you’re losing, it can be a small place to live. But that’s the great part of this job, it’s the career high and lows,” he added.
The Pats said a search is now underway to fill the assistant coaching position left vacant by Herauf’s promotion.
“I think the biggest thing for us is finding the best person possible. Al talked about just the way kids learn now, you need to be able to be a teacher, you need to actually know your stuff, you need to be able to work with video, you need to find ways to connect with kids,” Herauf said in what they will be looking for in their assistant coach candidates.
The Pats open the 2023-24 regular season Sept. 22 in Brandon.
