Today is the real beginning of the rebuild in Regina.
Following the last two seasons in Regina, where the team went all the way to the WHL Final against Seattle and then to be hosts of the 100th Memorial Cup, the Pats were going to be left with a dearth of talent and draft picks for the next bunch of seasons.
In an article published just last night, Brandon Rivers took a deep look at the Regina Pats situation. You can read that article HERE.
This deal between the Pats and the Hurricanes was precipitated by the fact Regina needed to rebuild and Lethbridge needed to score more goals. This deal achieves that for both teams.
In Nick Henry the Hurricanes get a very useful Colorado Avalanche draft pick. Despite being unsigned, the skilled forward has caught the attention of the hockey world by scoring dazzling goals and being an unselfish player. He is currently seventh in WHL scoring with 15 goals and 25 assists.
Originally drafted by the Everett Silvertips, he did not commit to the team and ended up playing for the Portage Terriers of the MJHL. He did commit to the Regina Pats in time for the 2016-17 regular season and had an excellent rookie season, scoring 35 times and adding 46 assists.
Henry dealt with injuries throughout the 2017-18 Memorial Cup hosting season and was unable to match his production. Henry did add five goals and two assists in five games at the Memorial Cup as the Pats made it to the Final, losing to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. He is clearly back on track this season, with a team that certainly has less talent around him.
As for Leschyshyn, he was originally drafted by the Red Deer Rebels sixth overall in the 2014 Bantam Draft. There was not room for him to get the ice time he needed to develop, so he was traded with a draft pick to the Pats for Connor Gay and three draft picks.
He fit in well in his first foray into the WHL, splitting time with the Saskatoon Blazers Midget team. It took a little bit of time for Leschyshyn to develop his game and he had to over come some injuries, but he was able to garner the attention of the Vegas Golden Knights, drafted in the second round by the NHL team at the 2017 NHL Draft.
The Pats are losing both of their top scorers, which is 31 of their 72 goals and between them they have 72 points.
The return though is exactly what they were looking for, Ty Kolle and Jadon Joseph and seven draft picks two of which are conditional.
Ty Kolle came over to the Hurricanes just October 4th of this season. He played in 17 games with the ‘Canes, registering 11 points. He now has 29 points in 94 WHL games. He was originally drafted by the Portland Winterhawks, the team that dealt him to the Hurricanes.
Centre Jadon Joseph was a fifth round selection of the Hurricanes back at the 2014 Bantam Draft. In his third season, Joseph has scored 10 goals and added nine assists. Overall he has suited up in 144 WHL games and tallied 66 points (22G-44A)
