WHL NOTEBOOK: Paddock settling in at new rink

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This article was published 24/02/2020 (2255 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Max Paddock admits he wasn’t much of a fan of the Art Hauser Centre in the past, but that certainly changed on Jan. 9.

The 19-year-old Brandonite was dealt from the Regina Pats, the team he has spent his entire Western Hockey League career with, to the Prince Albert Raiders for 17-year-old Roblin forward Jakob Brook, a second-round pick in 2020 and a conditional third-round pick in 2022.

Now Paddock suddenly has warmer feelings about the Art Hauser Centre, the arena that opened in 1971 and has hosted the Raiders since their inaugural campaign in 1971-72.

“I hated it,” the goaltender said with a chuckle. “I hated going up to P.A., and playing in that rink. I think it’s got to be one of the smallest in the (Canadian Hockey League), but it’s just so hard. The fans are really good there and they play fast and they hit hard. The hitting doesn’t affect me but the speed they play at, it sucked going up there, especially last year when they were the WHL championship team. You’re going up there and facing 45 quality shots. They were just all over you.

“I had a good feeling that it was a lot easier to play as the home team up there, and so far it has been.”

In 14 games with the Raiders, Paddock has been sensational, posting a 1.48 goals-against average and a sparkling .942 save percentage.

Paddock knew a few guys on the team, including Justin Nachbaur, and his grandmother is good friends with Evan Herman’s mother.

Even with his veteran experience, he had to learn a new way of doing things, and he admits that’s been a work in progress.

“I’m starting to get used to how things go,” Paddock said. “It really makes you think more about it. In Regina, I just knew what was going on all the time, even if nothing was really said. I had my routine and essentially knew what was happening before it happened in terms of being to the rink at a certain time and when meetings are.

“That part of it was a bit of an adjustment, having to ask questions on things that in the past were just a given. The changes are the same but they’re different. It’s just little tweaks. There was nothing major.”

The deal wasn’t a surprise to Paddock, who appeared in 114 games over four seasons with the club.

With Regina in rebuild mode, Pats general manager John Paddock told his nephew that they were shopping Max around and kept him updated.

He admits it was a bittersweet day.

“Regina was pretty close to being my home,” Paddock said. “I spent three years there, parts of four, I went to high school there, I played on a team there one season until the end of May so most of every year was spent in Regina. It was hard to say goodbye to your billets and your teammates and adjust to a new team and the way that they do things at the rink and getting used to a new city and a new billet family.”

Paddock said the enduring memories he will carry forward include the 2016-17 Pats team that fell in the league final to the Seattle Thunderbirds and the Regina squad that hosted the Memorial Cup a year later and also lost in the final.

The Raiders club he now has in front of him is again an elite squad. Prince Albert leads the East Division with a record of 32-16-5-4, despite using three other goalies prior to Paddock’s arrival. Former starter Boston Bilous is now with the Moose Jaw Warriors.

“We’re a really good defensive team,” Paddock said. “We don’t give up too many shots and a lot of the stuff we do give up is from the outside and whatnot. Guys like (Kaiden) Guhle and (Zach) Hayes and (Jeremy) Masella are just awful to play against. I’m sure if you asked anyone in the league, they’d rather not play against them. It’s been good so far. Guys hunker down on defence. They put a big emphasis on not giving up too much.”

As a result, Paddock isn’t just on a playoff team again, he’s on a playoff team with ambitions of a second consecutive championship.

“That’s our goal, and anything short of it will be a disappointment to the season,” Paddock said. “We have chance to do something that hasn’t been done in close to three decades since the (Kamloops) Blazers won it back to back (in the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons). It’s not too often that you have a team that has a chance to repeat. We have a really good team here.”

TOP PERFORMERS — Saskatoon Blades defenceman Aidan De La Gorgendiere was named the WHL’s player of the week on Monday after recording a goal and five assists in two games, while Everett Silvertips netminder Dustin Wolf has been named the goaltender of the week after stopping 60 of 63 shots in three wins.

SIN BIN — Robbie Holmes of the Regina Pats continues to await word on the length of a suspension after he took a checking to the head major and game misconduct in a game against the Edmonton Oil Kings on Saturday … Parker Hendren of the Swift Current Broncos sat one game for a slashing major and game misconduct he took against the Tri-City Americans last Wednesday.