Regina Pat Canadians headed to Telus Cup for 1st time since 2017
One of the benefits of playing hockey late into April is coming to the rink in shorts. That's what the majority of the Regina Pat Canadians are doing as they prepare for the Telus Cup, which begins April 21 in Chilliwack, B.C.
The Pat Canadians have been grabbing headlines since December when a then-14-year-old Maddox Schultz took the hockey world by storm at the Circle K Tournament in Calgary.
Since then it's been a regular season title, a provincial championship and a dominating west regional that punched their ticket to the Telus Cup.
A blend of high octane offence and stout defence helped the Pat Canadians steamroll the competition at the west regionals, with the team outscoring opponents 25-2 in four games.
"We kept getting better and better throughout the playoffs," assistant captain Eli Johnson said. "Once we had the west regionals, I wouldn't want to say full stride yet, because that's to come, but we are playing really good hockey."
Regina Pat Canadians defenceman Eli Johnson. (Dan Plaster/CBC)
It's been 26 years since the Regina Pat Canadians won the U-18 national title in 1999, meaning none of the current players were alive the last time the team won the championship.
"I think the guys do know the rich history of this program," head coach Ryan Hodgins said. "It's been a good program for a long, long time with great players, great coaches, staff, in the community."
The Telus Cup has five of the top U-18 teams in Canada taking part in a seven-day tournament. This means very few days off, but this is nothing new to the Pat Canadians this season. It's the same format that played in at the Circle K tournament that turned the season around.
"It was kind of an easy adjustment for all of us, but we kind of know what it's like being in a hotel and playing games at all hours of the day," goaltender Taylor Tabashniuk said. "So yeah, it wasn't too hard of an adjustment for our team."
Regina Pat Canadians head coach Ryan Hodgins addresses his team before practice. (Dan Plaster/CBC)
There has been a lot of heartbreak for the Pat Canadians over the past few seasons. Since last playing in the Telus Cup in 2017, the team has lost in the Saskatchewan provincial semi-finals three times, and the provincial finals in 2023 and 2024, before finally breaking through this season.
"It just feels really good to take that step and put the losing side behind us," Johnson said. "It's awesome to bring it back home, bring it back to Regina, since it's been so long."
Win or lose, this will be the final week this group of Regina Pat Canadians will spend together as a group.
"It's going to be a blast, we're all so excited and we've been preparing for this all year," Tabashniuk said.
The Pat Canadians start the Telus Cup by facing the host Fraser Valley Thunderbirds on April 21. The tournament finishes with the finals on April 27.
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