2021 Off Season

[dsquared]

Well I hope the current pause doesn't last as long as the last one and when Pats games resume - we can do so, with our bums in the Agridome seats. Does anyone know when the 3 drafts are set to go?

[dsquared]

Import draft - June 30th with picks #32 & 95. Prospects

US Priority Draft - December 8th with picks #1 and 33

Prospects Draft - December 9th with pick #10 in first round and #8 in subsequent rounds

It looks like we will need the 2 euro picks this year - as we had none last season. As usual, I must express my opinion that the Pats go after the best euros that want to come to YQR - not the best available players. How many times have we picked someone who has no desire to play here and fails to report? We have a history of not using this draft to its full potential!

[dsquared]

Pats select 2 forwards in euro draft. The pats took Finnish forward Joakim Kemell in the 1st round and Russian born forward, Alexander Suzdalev in the 2nd round. Both players are 17 now and eligible for next year's NHL draft. Only time will tell if they will report to camp.......

[chopper]

I'm happy that the season seems to be progressing with some degree of normalcy. After this last silly season I personally feel disconnected from both the team and the league as a whole. I mean I've watched as much of Bedard as I could get and marvel at his ability. Nevertheless not having contact; like going to the rink, following players, hockey buddies, blogs, friends, etc has left me feeling out of sync. It feels like something is off and I really want things to get back to normal. I have to believe that some other fans regardless of their team choice, feel the same.

I have looked over the returning roster for the Pats and I feel we are still a long way off from being a serious contender. The best goalie we have is Kieper and he's just 17. Our defence is rather small with Evans being the only star power back there but he's also been a project over the years and now is an OA. After Bedard the forward pool has really no stars. There are lot of guys who are referred to as having the elusive "potential" . I have yet to see the potential that Dubinsky was supposed to have. Brook has been hurt since we got him. After that the forward pool drops off exponentially. There are some journeymen but really nobody that even has the competency to play at Bedards level. The two new Euros are wild cards and our history with these guys has been spotty. Regardless of Bedards immense talent, he alone cannot make the Pats a contender. We need a huge breakthrough from about three other players to get us to the next plateau. I hope it happens but as they say...."I'm from Missouri..show me!"

[dsquared]

Ryker Evans taken by Kraken in 2nd round.

[dsquared]

Pats traded away Carter Massier. for 18 yo goalie, Keegan Maddock, who hasn't played the dub yet. To me it seems kind of redundant given Kieper, and Welke are 17 and 19 respectfully. I figure Welke is odd man out.

That leaves Evans (D), Nijhoff (LW), Smith (RW) and Chorney (RW) as 20 yo's - based upon offensive production Chorney is the odd man out here unless JP can swing a trade.

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

Moving massier probably means theyre certain Evans will return. Nijhoff and smith/chorney are decent 20s. Guess we will see at camp. Welke/Maddock are going to be 1B starter behind Kieper. Itll be good to have depth due to the high probability of rust.

More concerning for me...are we going to strike out on signing imports for the 3rd year in a row??? Whats going on here? I think we are one of 5 or 6 remaining teams who hasnt signed at least one yet. Im fine if that little gushchin rat snubs regina, and it seems Svozil might not even need to do major junior....but i dont see any excuse to miss out on either of two these kids we drafted, especially since sedov is likely not returning. Three consecutive failures cannot be attributed to coincidence, the fault will lie at the feet of scouting and recruiting.

[dsquared]

SAJ said

.but i dont see any excuse to miss out on either of two these kids we drafted, especially since sedov is likely not returning. Three consecutive failures cannot be attributed to coincidence, the fault will lie at the feet of scouting and recruiting.

1. If Sedov were to return - he would mess up the 20 y/o calculations......
2. Every summer I get on here and gripe about the Pats would be best served by taking Euro's that want to come here & play-and that they should do their homework before picking any player. and establish that there is a legitimate desire to play here, how many times have we passed on very good players just to take a flyer on kids that do not want to come here? We may as well forfeit our import picks, all the good they do us!

Edit: I noticed that next year there there are no home or away games with BC or US teams - must be a cost saving measure due to financial impact of 2020-2021 Covid shortened season.

Edit 2: Pats acquire 19 y/o Luke Bateman - D from the T-birds for a 6th round pick in this year's draft. Looks like JP is balancing out the age groups bringing another veteran Dman.

Edit 3: Pats have acquired 18 y/o Zack Stringer - LW from Lethbridge in exchange for our 1st round pick in this December's draft. Curious, Stringer was 8th overall pick in 2018 Bantam draft and a Lethbridge native. Just wondering why the Hurricanes are willing to move him.

Edit 4: Pats have signed last year's import draft pick - Stanislav Svozil (d) from the Czech Republic to a standard contract. He was taken in the 3rd round of this year's NHL by the Blue Jackets - who must have lit a fire - to get him over in North America to get some CHL American experience. At least we will have 1 import in camp. BTW has anyone heard how Brook is healing up or if he is ready to play? - He would have no luck if it wasn't for bad.........

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

This is a pleasant surprise, likely for management too. I doubt they trade for this Bateman fella if they knew beforehand. I know it's not like any of the kids we """""drafted""""" this year are reporting, but it may be even better. Svozil played in the top Czech men's league last year, won ROTY there, and went to the world juniors. He should quickly earn top 4 minutes. Hopefully he sticks around for more than just one year.

I have to say, though, it was pretty easy for me to to mix this news up with the older headline of his NHL contract with columbus. I likely wouldnt have known anything new for days, as it wasnt until I read dsquared say otherwise.

What still remains is the issue with import recruitment. Without Columbus forcing him to do so, Svozil would probably remain in the Czech league. It could be a location thing(cold ass regina)...or a league thing(WHL has taken a credibility hit lately with lackluster memorial cup showings, and US hockey leagues being all the rage with scouts right now)...or even an organization thing. Doubt we will ever know what turns these kids off. Svozil isnt the greatest example as he had options, but what about all the others without leverage?

As for other stuff, Bateman seems like an allright pick-up. Huge kid at 6'6, and I hope his fight matches his size. Stringer, on the other hand, is a curious acquisition. Why would Lethbridge give up a young, relatively productive, home-town born, high bantam pick for an unspectacular pick in a meme draft? Barring any issues, this could very well end up as a steal. 18 is a big developmental year for these kids; and a change of scenery isnt easy, especially after rebounding from going undrafted. Hope he fits in.

[Reider]

The recent acquisitions (Maddocks, Bateman, Springer and Svozil) will certainly improve the overall team size, skill, and depth. Stanislav Svozil and Luke Bateman will help solidify the Pats' defensive core, which is always important, but especially this year with 17 year old Matthew Kieper likely being penciled in as the starting goaltender (as of now anyways). Perhaps Keegan Maddocks was brought in to hopefully take some of the pressure off of Kieper. Zack Stringer is an interesting signing and in a good way. I don't want to speculate about what the reasons were for the trade because I have no idea why this deal was made, but I think Zack has the potential to be a 3 year points producer. However, there's not much high end talent surrounding Bedard and Stringer at forward, so the Pats are going to have to find more talent to surround these guys with. The entire team will benefit because of it. I'm not sure if the addition of the aforementioned 4 players will propel the Pats into the playoffs, but it certainly gives them a better chance of making the playoffs.

As mentioned by others, the Pats are going to have to move or drop one of their OA's. And with a log jam on defense, they'll probably move a couple of defensemen. This should hopefully provide an opportunity to further improve their forward depth.

At this point I have a lot of questions.

What exactly are the Pats trying to accomplish over the next two years? Are they just trying to build a decent team around Bedard? Are they trying to make the playoffs? Are they trying to build a serous contender?
Will the playoffs return this year?
Why haven't the Pats signed Samuel Huck?
Why haven't the Pats signed Joakim Kemell?
Is Jakob Brook ready for the season? Will he be able to stay healthy? Will he be a high end player this year? (It's his 19 year old season).
Is Ryker Evans playing in Regina this year?
Are any of the other players on the roster, who need to take a step forward this year (as in the entire team other than Connor Bedard and Ryker Evans), preparing themselves as seriously as Austin Pratt did before the 2018-2019 season? Or are any of them preparing themselves as seriously as the 2017-2018 Regina Pats did between the time they got beat out in the first round of the playoffs and the start of the Memorial Cup?
Is there any chance at all that this year's Pats team will be able to improve their team discipline and stay out of the penalty box?

I'm looking forward to the season, but I'd like to see the Pats sign more of their quality drafted players and also improve the forward group if possible. The Pats need to find a way to get more high end talent at forward if they're serious about moving up in the standings this year.