REGINA -- The Regina Pats have won the 2025 Western Hockey League Prospects Draft lottery, and as a result the right to select one of the top prospects to come from the Queen City in many years.
The Pats had the second most balls in the lottery but had their selection come up first, and as a result will have the first overall pick when the Draft takes place on Wednesday, May 7.
That means it’s highly likely the team will be selecting hometown product Maddox Schultz, widely considered to be the top player available this season.
Pats general manager Alan Millar was keeping his cards close to his chest, though, saying on the WHL Prospects Draft show shortly after the selection that the team is focussed on the Draft as a whole at the moment.
“There’s going to be a lot of excitement around the number one pick overall for our group and we look forward to that excitement, but our group has to stay focussed on the big picture,” Millar said. “We have five picks in the first two rounds of this draft, so there’s still a lot of work to be done for our group, but obviously having that number one pick is going to be a great way to start Draft day in May.”
Schultz himself also spoke to Cami Kepke during the selection show and expressed his excitement for playing in the WHL in the near future.
“I thought about it a lot, going to Pats games this year and having that in the back of my mind that someday I could be here, it’s a real cool feeling,” Schutlz said. “To be in this spot right now and be drafted will be fun, but this is the start of a new beginning.”
Schultz is currently playing for the Regina Pat Canadians of the Sask Male AAA Hockey League and is coming off a championship-winning season that is still ongoing, as Regina recently won the Telus Cup West Regional and will be playing for a national title from April 21-27 in Fraser Valley, B.C.
Schultz had 43 goals and 93 points as a 14-year-old in the regular season and added another nine goals and 22 points in 10 playoff games.
The Moose Jaw Warriors had the most balls in the lottery, but had traded their first overall pick to the Edmonton Oil Kings last fall, bringing in two key pieces of their championship-winning team in defenceman Voytech Port and forward Rilen Kovacevic.
Edmonton won the second overall selection, with the Kelowna Rockets picking third, expansion Penticton Vees fourth, Everett Silvertips (via Kamloops) fifth, Vancouver Giants (via Wenatchee) sixth and Red Deer Rebels seventh.
The first round of the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft will takes place on Wednesday, May 7 at 5 p.m., followed by the U.S. Priority Draft on Thursday, May 8 at 9 a.m. and the remainder of the WHL Draft immediately following.
