PATS SELECT NINE IN WHL BANTAM DRAFT

REGINA, SK — The Regina Pats are pleased to announce that they have made nine selections in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, picking six forwards, two defencemen and one goalie.

The Pats did not have a first round selection heading into the draft, but on Thursday they traded their 2023 first round pick to the Kamloops Blazers in exchange for the 21st overall pick in 2021 WHL Prospects Draft.

With that pick, the Pats selected forward Jaxsin Vaughan, before drafting his twin brother Corbin Vaughan with the 30th overall pick. Both currently play at the Rink Hockey Academy U18 program in Kelowna, and hail from Merritt, B.C.

Jaxsin is a 6-foot-1, 185 lb. forward and has totalled 12 points (9G-3A) in 12 games so far this season, leading his team in goals. Last year he scored 13 goals and recorded 18 points in just five games with RHA Kelowna’s U15 program. His brother Corbin is a 6-foot, 190 lb. defenceman who has recorded five points (2G-3A) in nine games this season and is coming off a 2020-21 year with the RHA Kelowna’s U15 program, where he produced 11 points (2G-9A) in five contests.

“They wanted to come together, as a package I guess you could say. [Jaxsin] skates well for his size, plays a heavy game and his brother there on the backend plays the same way,” Regina Pats Director of Scouting Dale McMullin said. “[Physicality] is still part of the game…You have to surround your players that are skilled with the odd heavy player to protect them.”

In the fourth round, the Pats selected right-winger Raiden Zacharias with the 75th overall pick from the Saskatoon Blazers. The Saskatoon, Sask., native has scored four goals and 15 assists for 19 points in 19 games this season, ranking fourth in team scoring. The 5-foot-10, 179 lb. forward played for the Saskatoon Generals U15 program last season where he totaled 13 points (6G-7A) in four games after tallying 87 points (35G-51A) the season prior with the Saskatoon Stallions U15 team.

In round five, the Pats made two selections, drafting left-handed defenceman Aaron Krestanowich from the Winnipeg Wild and forward Brock Souch, who plays in Edmonton for the Northern Alberta Xtreme U16 Prep program. Krestanowich is a 6-foot, 175 lb. defenceman who hails from Winnipeg, MB, and has tallied eight points (2G-6A) in 22 games with the Wild this season. Souch, a 5-foot-8, 140 lb. forward, has scored 19 points (6G-13A) in 16 games this season and is the younger brother of current Oil Kings forward Carter South.

In the later rounds, the Pats drafted 6-foot-1, 160 lb. forward Carter Ralston Tisdale Trojans with their sixth round pick, before selecting forward’s Dru Mushumanski from the Parkland Rangers U18 AAA program and Kaslo Ferner from the Okanagan Rockets with their two seventh round picks. In the eighth round, the Pats drafted goaltender Nicolas Rempel from the Winnipeg Wild.

“I think overall when you leave the draft, most teams are happy,” McMullin said. “Obviously the kids have to do their part going forward, but the proof in the pudding will be two years down the road, and hopefully we will be happy at that point too.”

FULL LIST REGINA PATS 2021 DRAFT PICKS

The Pats elected to not use picks nine through 14.