The Pats made two selections, the first overall pick as well as the 25th.
With that selection, they picked Braden Hordichuk from the Phoenix Junior Coyotes. The 5'10", 152 lbs. right-handed forward is the son of former WHL and NHL player Darcy Hordichuk.
According to his Elite Prospects profile, Braden played high school hockey at Notre Dame, playing for both prep teams and with the Junior Coyotes in the 14UAAA and T1EHL leagues. In 66 games with the four teams, he had 79 points with 53 of them goals.
"We really like Braden both as a player and a young man," Pats GM Alan Millar said of Hordichuk in his post-draft recap.
"He plays the game the right way, understands the competitiveness, how hard you need to play to be successful to play at this level. I think he projects as a real good power forward in our league with good skill, a good shot. We think about him as an 18 or 19-year-old in our league. He'll be a handful to play against and he'll be able to chip in offensively as well."
In the second round, the Pats picked up Alaska product, Camden Zaporzan who was playing in Shattuck St. Mary's for the Sabres. The 5'5", 138 lb. right-shot forward had 50 points (18G-32A) in 57 games in 2023-24.
Millar said that "[Camden] brings a lot of good things to our club, [and] has the potential to be a dynamic player."
"For both young men, this is the start of a process, and we look forward to going through the process with both young guys, and see them in a Pats jersey down the road." - Alan Millar
🎥: Regina Pats GM Alan Millar recaps the 2024 U.S. Priority Draft! #WHLDraft pic.twitter.com/1KfuFbgFHf
— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) May 8, 2024
My quick two cents
As I mentioned in a previous post the U.S. Draft is one of those things that is surrounded by uncertainty, but drafting a kid of a former WHLer with NHL bloodlines gives me some hope. Braden's dad is from Saskatchewan and played for the Blades. There is hope. In listening to Millar's comments, it should give Pats fans some hope for both of the kids coming in.
Welcome to the Queen City, Braden, and Camden!
I just hope management doesn't laud this as their "2009 First round pick" and let the first round of the actual bantam draft pass over them. Although I believe the 08 crop we drafted last year looks very promising, especially considering the lack of draft capital, I don't think it is fair to expect it every year.
ReplyDeleteThis kid seems like a vintage Miller player. And the kind of pedigree I'm glad to see(potentially) come around. perhaps the spotlight of being first overall show gives this kid incentive to report, as does the gesture of picking him first overall before more statistically dynamic players. Perhaps not. The track record for this new draft isn't that solid so far, and I don't have much for expectations considering how often we have been burned.
Ps: Good luck with the new blog. Hopefully other former commenter's from the old digs find their way here.
I'm glad you were able to find me again, I haven't seen those initials is a long time. With everything that Millar has said, I'm confident that the Pats got some good players in both drafts. He mentioned in his post Prospects Draft media that Hordichuk is 100% wanting to play in the WHL. That's a good sign.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've seen about the main Draft, I like the picks. They have some decent size and they may have gotten a pair of steals with the last two picks. It will be nice to see them when they come for spring camp at the end of the month.