The Regina Pats have a 23.8 per cent chance of winning the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Draft Lottery Thursday evening, which would give them the right to draft local phenom, 15-year-old Maddox Schultz in the upcoming prospects draft.
The only team with better odds of winning the lottery is the Moose Jaw Warriors. However, a trade with the Edmonton Oil Kings in December of 2023 that sent Moose Jaw’s first round pick to Edmonton means the Oil Kings have the best odds of landing the opportunity to draft Schultz.
Moose Jaw (Edmonton) will have six balls in the lottery. The Pats will have five. The other teams with the best odds include the Kelowna Rockets (four balls), Kamloops (Everett) (three balls), Wenatchee (Vancouver) (two balls) and Red Deer (one ball).
The expansion Penticton Vees, who will begin play in the 2025-26 season have been awarded the fourth overall pick and will then select first overall from the second round of the draft on.
Schultz dominated the SMAAAHL regular season as a 14-year-old picking up 43 goals and 50 assists in 44 games, he then went on to add 22 points in 10 playoff games to lead the Regina Pat Canadians to a league title.
Regina also swept the western regional tournament and has advanced to the Telus Cup, that gives them an opportunity to win a national U18 AAA championship.
The Telus Cup begins April 21 and once again all eyes will be on Schultz who has one more opportunity to showcase his talent before the WHL Prospects Draft begins on May 7.
Schultz elected not to pursue exceptional status that would allow him to play in the WHL full-time next season at 15, but under new league rules he will be eligible to play up to 34 regular season games in 2025-26.
The Pats last had the top pick in the WHL Prospects Draft in 2020 when they selected now Chicago Blackhawks star Connor Bedard.
Mark your calendars, and 🤞
— Regina Pats (@WHLPats) April 9, 2025
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