PATS NOTEBOOK

Regina Pats forward Sam Steel is among the 22 young Canadians set to represent their country at the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup, August 10-15 in Breclav, Czech Republic, and Bratislava, Slovakia.  Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Hockey League, announced the players who will comprise Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team on Tuesday.

Steel was the Pats’ 2nd overall pick in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft.  The Sherwood Park, AB product broke into the WHL with an impressive 54 points (17G, 37A) in just 61 games.  His 37 assists led all Pats players and placed him second among WHL rookies.  Steel was named the Pats’ Rookie of the Year to close the season.  He is already rated as one of the top prospects for the 2016 NHL Draft, appearing on Central Scouting’s futures list for the 2015-16 season.

This is the second time Steel represents Canada on the international stage.  He was a member of Team Canada Black at the 2014 World U17 Challenge where he had three points (1G, 2A) in five games.

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The Regina Pats Hockey Club is pleased to announce the addition of Drew Callander and Ken Schneider to its scouting staff.

Drew Callander is an alumni of the organization having played 191 games with the Pats from 1973-1976, winning the Memorial Cup in 1974.  Callander posted 153 points (75G, 78A) in his time wearing the Blue and White.  After an eleven year professional career including 39 games in the NHL, the Regina native returned to the Pats as an assistant coach from 1998-2004.  He also spent five years coaching midget-AAA in Saskatchewan.

Ken Schneider is also a former WHL’er having played his junior hockey with the Brandon Wheat Kings.  The Weyburn, SK native played 120 games for the Wheat Kings, posting 107 points (36G, 71A).  Following his WHL career, Schneider went on to play for the Brandon University Bobcats.  With his playing days behind him, Schneider turned his focus to coaching and has been heavily involved with minor hockey in the Brandon area including coaching the Midget AAA Wheat Kings from 2010 to 2014.  Schneider’s son, Mark, played his over-age season with the Pats in 2010-11.

Regina Pats Head Coach and General Manager John Paddock is happy to be able to add two scouts with excellent hockey backgrounds.  “Drew Callander is a former Pat who has plenty of experience in hockey including working for a junior team in scouting and coaching over the years. Ken Schneider has been working in the Manitoba and specifically in the Brandon Minor Hockey Association and has excellent knowledge of players in Manitoba.  Both Drew and Ken are strong additions to our hockey operations department.”

With the hiring of Callander and Schneider, the Pats hockey operations department includes 17 scouts.

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The Regina Pats Hockey Club congratulates graduated forward Patrick D’Amico on signing his first professional contract with the Colorado Eagles of the ECHL.

D’Amico joined the Pats in the 2012-13 season, cracking the roster as an 18-year old training camp invite.  After leading the Blue and White in scoring through the 2012 pre-season, the Winnipeg, MB product was injured and missed the next 27 games.  The following year saw D’Amico reassigned to the MJHL’s Virden Oil Capitals where he found his scoring touch, posting 17 points (11G, 6A) in just 11 games. He then rejoined the Pats after the Christmas break.

Following the stint in Junior-A, D’Amico’s WHL career took off.  The resilient forward tallied 21 points (5G, 16A) over the remaining 35 games of the 2013-14 season.  That momentum rolled over into last season where D’Amico enjoyed a breakout year.  As an over-ager, D’Amico posted 50 points (20G, 30A) while playing in all 72 games of the 2014-15 campaign.  He also finished tied for second in Pats playoff scoring with 7 points (3G, 4A) in nine games while finishing with a +3 plus/minus rating.

NHL scouts took notice of his performance and D’Amico was invited to the New Jersey Devils’ prospect development camp earlier this summer.

With D’Amico signing, all three Pats over-agers have inked professional deals this summer: Braden Christoffer (Bakersfield), Pavel Padakin (Lehigh Valley).