Pats GM Millar makes trio of deals to end 2023

The Regina Pats ended 2023 with some fireworks on the trade market.

Regina’s WHL team traded forwards Alexander Suzdalev and Borya Valis and defenceman Parker Berge in three separate deals on the final day of the year.

Suzdalev was dealt to the Saskatoon Blades for 17-year-old forward Zach Moore, 18-year-old defenceman Samuel Barcik, 16-year-old defenceman Dayton Deschamps and three draft picks.

Berge went to the Everett Silvertips, who sent 20-year-old defenceman Ty Gibson and a draft pick to Regina, while Valis was traded to the Prince George Cougars in exchange for 17-year-old defenceman Tyson Buczkowski and two draft picks.

On Saturday, the Pats acquired 18-year-old forward Harper Lolacher from the Moose Jaw Warriors for a pick in 2025.

“I think we are in a two-year window in terms of (building a contender),” Pats general manager Alan Millar said Tuesday. “I think we have bolstered that process with next year’s team … I think the competitive window for our team is let’s see where we are at this year and next and when that ’06 group is 19, we will be ready to take that next step.”

The moves come as Millar reworks the roster in his first season as the Pats’ general manager after taking over for the retiring John Paddock in July. Regina currently is ninth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference standings with a 13-18-4-2 record.

“I said from the get-go that there was going to be a process in terms of evaluating the roster, evaluating our prospect pool and evaluating our draft capital,” Millar said. “We talked about where we are (and) where we want to be and determined it was important to make moves to build this team to where we want to be and that’s a contender.

“We’re not quite there yet. We still have some work to do.”

Millar said it’s tough to tell a player he’s being traded.

“It’s not ideal to sit down and tell those young guys they have been traded. Not only for the competitiveness in terms of the hard hockey decisions you have to make, but on a personal level, it’s not enjoyable,” Millar said.

“We want to move forward here where we make less trades. We want to draft well and we want to develop our players. We want to complement our draft and develop model with the odd trade here and there.”

While Suzdalev had 86 points in 66 games with the Pats last season, he hasn’t played in the WHL this season. The Washington Capitals prospect began the season with their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, before being sent to Mora IK in the Swedish Hockey Allsvenskan league.

“Things weren’t going great in Mora in terms of ice time and opportunity for him to play,” Millar said. “Washington and (Suzdalev’s agency) felt they had to get him playing more.

“We had discussions just before Christmas about the possibility that he might be reassigned to the WHL and from there we worked on what it would look like if he stayed with us and who the suitors would be if we decided to move him. Washington’s preference was that he could come to a contending team and hopefully have a long playoff run, which would be important for his development.

“Washington was very fair and understanding that if the hockey club here couldn’t get a deal done that was satisfactory for us, they would have supported Suzdalev returning to Regina.”

While Millar feels like Gibson provides a good replacement for Berge, the GM said losing Valis is something the Pats will have to overcome.

“That’s a tough deal. He’s a good player,” Millar said. “When I told him that we had moved him, I explained, ‘It was an exciting opportunity for you to play on a real good team.’ I told him to ‘Earn a contract so you’re not back in the league and I don’t have to watch you play as a 20-year-old.’ ”

Millar doesn’t expect any other deals of significance ahead of the Jan. 10 WHL trade deadline. At midnight that day, the team has to have its roster down to 25 players.

“There will be some other roster moves in terms of getting down numbers here. Whether that is two or three bodies or involves trades or not, that’s to be determined,” Millar said.

With some talent out the door now, Millar said it’s up to guys to step up to fill those roles.

“We have built a team identity here that has kept us competitive. We need to be able to continue to do that and some guys will get new opportunities (and) bigger opportunities and there’s no reason why we can’t stay competitive,” Millar said.

“No one here in this organization from top to bottom just wants to get by or slide into the playoff. We want to build the next contending team here. To do that, whether it is two or three years down the road, we had to look at some significant moves and some difficult decisions. That’s what I felt and our organization felt that we needed to do.”