The 2023-24 Regina Pats will have a different look behind the bench and in the hockey operations office with Brad Herauf being promoted to head coach and Alan Millar being named general manager and VP of hockey operations.
Aside from John Paddock retiring, there will also be some well-known names absent from the ice this season, meaning the team will be younger than years past.
The Pats will be without Connor Bedard, who barring unforeseen circumstances, will be a significant part of the Chicago Blackhawks. Stanislav Svozil who was a top defenseman in the Western Hockey League (WHL) will also move to the pro rankings and there’s only a slight chance of a return for Alexander Suzdalev, who put up 86 points in 66 games last year.
In an interview with CTV News’ Cole Davenport, head coach Brad Herauf said part of junior hockey is the turnover teams experience each year and he’s confident there will be some players young and older that will step up.
Some returning players Herauf mentioned the team is expecting growth from include Braxton Whitehead, Borya Valis, Matteo Michaels and Zane Rowan.
“Those guys are all entering their third years in the WHL and everyone knows it’s a 19 and 20-year-old league so those guys are coming into the prime of their junior careers and are now expected to be the players we thought they’d be back when they were drafted,” Herauf said.
The Pats will also be looking at Tanner Howe to be perhaps the biggest part of the team’s offense and leadership as he enters his third full season in the league.
The Prince Albert product is still expected by many to be a first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and is coming off a year that saw him put up 85 points in 67 games, while also cementing himself as one of the more reliable defensive-minded forwards in the WHL.
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Herauf said he was also impressed to see the teams’ younger guys show up for training camp in great shape, adding the right tone to camp was set by the veterans.
“We’ve been real happy with training camp, we like a lot of our players and the younger guys really showed up in great shape and our veterans did an excellent job of setting a standard we expect and bringing a competitive nature to camp.”
After seven seasons behind the Pats bench as an assistant, Herauf will see his first game action behind the bench as a WHL head coach Friday night when the Pats open the 2023 pre-season at home against the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Without any opportunity for game action since his promotion from assistant coach in July, Herauf has embraced his new role by familiarizing new staff with himself and the organization.
“Right now we’ve got a lot of new staff so it’s been just kind of on-boarding them and making sure everyone is up to date with the process and the way things are done. We’ve got a lot of quality people we did hire and they’re more than capable of doing their job,” Herauf said.
For Herauf, a big part of building on-ice chemistry is making sure off-ice staff are on the same page.
“I think that’s huge because if our staff aren’t on the same page, it will be more difficult for our players to be aligned. I think we’ve done a great job the past month and have put a lot of hours in together to align ourselves,” he said.
When the pre-season does get underway, Herauf is hoping to build off of team identity objectives they established throughout training camp.
“With every week that passes now, the speed of the game is going to ramp up so [a big thing now] is going to be watching players meet or exceed expectations and figuring out where everyone is at.”
The Pats open the 2023-24 regular season on Sept. 22 in Brandon before returning home to face the Saskatoon Blades Sept. 23 at the Brandt Centre.
“If we can consistently establish our brand of hockey in every game, I think the fans will be very happy and I think that will also show up in the win column positively for our group as well,” Herauf said.
-- With files from Cole Davenport.
