DUBNetwork Feature Game of the Night: October 27, 2019, Calgary Hitmen 7-2-1-0 @ Regina Pats 2-10-0-0 2:00 PM (MDT)
For the second time in WHL history, the Calgary Hitmen and Regina Pats will play outdoors, this time at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, SK. Just like in 2011, the Pats and Hitmen will take to a Canadian Football League stadium, shifting from the home of the Stampeders to the home of the Roughriders. That day the Pats skated to a 3-2 win over Calgary, played in front of 20,888 fans. The game set new Western and Canadian Hockey League attendance records and set the world record for highest attended junior game. Pats alumni Chandler Stephenson, scored the game-winning goal with 36.5 seconds left in the third period to lead the Pats to the victory. Dyson Stevenson and Garrett Mitchell also scored for the Pats that afternoon, while Jaynen Rissling and Kris Foucault replied for the Hitmen.
Calgary who has played the least amount of games in the Central Division (10) enters the game on a three-game winning streak. The Hitmen last played Friday night scoring a 4-2 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors. Regina, on the other hand, hasn’t played in over a week but ended their 10-game losing streak with a 6-5 shoot-out win over the Red Deer Rebels on October 19. The win was only the Pats’ second win of the year, with their first coming opening night over Moose Jaw.
Prior to this weekend’s game, the Pats and the Hitmen hooked up in a trade with the Pats acquiring a conditional eighth-round pick in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft from the Hitmen in exchange for 18-year-old forward Blake Allan.
Calgary has seen their offense come from a number of different sources this season. Leading the way are two NHL prospects, defenceman Egor Zamula and forward Carson Focht.
Zamula, a Philadelphia Flyers prospect, is coming off a 56-point campaign last season with Calgary. He scored a total of ten times last season with the Hitmen and has already scored four times and added nine assists in 10 games this year. Zamula is tied for the league lead in scoring by a defenceman with Johnny Ludvig of the Portland Winterhawks and Filip Kral of the Spokane Chiefs. Both Kral and Ludvig have played in two more games than Zamula.
Focht, who was picked by the Vancouver Canucks in the fifth round in the 2019 NHL draft, leads all Hitmen in scoring so far this season. He has scored eight goals and added six assists. Focht really came into his own last season with Calgary. He had 64 points, including 26 goals in 68 games, his first full season with Calgary.
Rounding out the Hitmen’s top five in scoring so far this season are two more NHL prospects and potential future rivals in Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Riley Stotts and Ottawa Senators prospect Mark Kastelic. Stotts, the Leafs’ third-round selection from 2018, has 11 points in 10 games this season. Last year Stotts played in 62 games picking up 57 points. As for Kastelic, picked by the Senators in the fifth round this past summer, he has already picked up nine points in just six games since returning from Senators training camp. The Hitmen captain scored 47 times last season which made him the WHL third-leading goal scorer.
(Photo – Keith Hershmiller)
Regina, on the other hand, has really struggled this season. Regina is currently sitting last in the entire league with just four points in 12 games. One bright spot has been the play of overage forward, Austin Pratt.
Pratt, who is the 79th captain in Pats’ franchise history, is in his fifth season in the Western Hockey League and third as a member of the Pats. Pratt has appeared in 266 games in his career, scoring 62 goals and 129 points. He set career highs last year with the Pats, scoring 25 goals and 51 points to lead the team in scoring. Pratt currently leads the team in scoring with 12 points.
Defenceman Zach Wytinck whom the Pats acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings earlier on this season leads the team in defensive scoring with 10 points in 11 games. Wytinck has seven of those points in just four games with the Pats.
Center Ty Kolle rounds out the Pats top three scorers so far this season. With nine points, including five goals in 12 games so far, Kolle is well on his way to shattering his career highs in all offensive categories.
The Pats have been extremely busy overhauling their lineup this week with four separate transactions. The Pats signed 17-year-old goaltender Spencer Welke to a WHL Standard Player Agreement. Welke is a listed prospect of the Pats and is currently a member of the Prince Albert Mintos of the SMHL. The Pats also signed 18-year-old forward Zack Smith. Smith started the 2019-20 season with Melfort of the SJHL, he put up six goals and 14 points in 15 games with the Mustangs. Regina didn’t stop there, they made a couple of trades to go along with their signings. After trading Blake Allan to the Hitmen for a conditional draft pick, the Pats then acquired 19-year-old goaltender Donovan Buskey from the Prince Albert Raiders in exchange for 18-year-old goaltender Matthew Pesenti.
Expected in goal:
- Jack McNaughton (Calgary) – McNaughton has appeared in seven games this season, winning four so far, but has struggled a bit posting a 3.80GAA and a .851SAV% in his appearances. McNaughton is looking to replicate the success he had in his rookie season last year. He finished his last year with an impressive 25 wins in 46 games played
- Max Paddock (Regina)-Paddock has struggled in his fourth season in the WHL. In six appearances this season, Paddock has just one win and has a 3.86 GAA and .875 SAV%. Last season he posted 11 wins in 47 appearances including two shut-outs.
In other WHL action
Moose Jaw Warriors (5-6-0-1) @ Saskatoon Blades (7-6-0-1)
Ryder Korczak has already surpassed his point totals from last season, collecting 16 points in 12 games versus his 15 points in 50 games in 2018-19. The 2002-born player isn’t even eligible for the 2020 NHL draft and is already attracting a lot of attention. Riley McKay has a seven-game point streak (3G, 6A) heading into the afternoon game.
Prince George Cougars (3-9-0-1) @ Vancouver Giants (7-8-0-0)
Both teams will be looking to end losing skids. The Giants have lost their last two games and are a sub-.500 team at home (2-3-0-0). Prince George has lost four straight, and has just one win in five road games this season. The Cougars have fallen four points behind the Victoria Royals for the final playoff spot. Josh Maser and Filip Koffer lead the Cougars with eight points each, Tristen Nielsen has 14 for the Giants.
