The future of the Western Hockey League was front and centre as the WHL Prospects Draft has just wrapped up.
The Regina Pats made one of the biggest headlines of the opening round, selecting goaltender Fletcher MacDonald with the ninth overall pick. MacDonald posted a 0.925 save percentage in the 2025-26 season with the Edmonton CAC U15 AAA and became the highest drafted goalie in WHL Prospects Draft history, tying with Ian Scott.
Both netminders were selected by the same man, Dale Derkatch, now the Pats’ general manager, who felt a bit of deja vu more than a decade later.
“It was the exact same feeling when I walked into the rink and saw Fletcher for the first time that I had when I watched Ian Scott and that was a feeling of it seemed like every shot I would say something like this, he’s got it,” Derkatch recalled. “He just with ease the way he moved, it just felt right.”
The Pats continued building their future on day two of the draft, adding defenceman Tyson Wolanski in the second round at 31st overall, before selecting forward Kai Dingwall at 35th overall.
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Regina also added defencemen Riley Rubidge in the third round and Carter Bleau in the sixth, along with American forward Baze Hielscher not long after. They capped it off with centre Klay Weber and winger Alex Kowalyk in the ninth round.
It’s another clear sign the Pats are continuing a rebuild focused around elite young talent. After drafting Maddox Schultz first overall in 2025, the organization now adds a potential franchise goalie with one of the WHL’s brightest stars.
Meanwhile, the Saskatoon Blades took an aggressive approach in the first round. The Blades traded up from the 18th to the 15th overall to select forward Teagan Dernisky, a player the organization heavily targeted heading into the draft. In his 2025-26 campaign with Yale U15 Prep Dernisky recorded 18 goals and 30 assists over 33 games.
Blades director of scouting, Dan Tencer, couldn’t be more thrilled with the outcome.
“We’re super excited to get Teagan,” Tencer said. “Obviously we traded up for him. We felt very strongly about his potential and we can’t be more excited for his upside with us in the future.”
Tencer compares elements of his game to NHL-style power forward and Saskatchewan native Brandon Hagel, due to his compete level and offensive upside.
The Blades followed that up by selecting defenceman Hayden Harvey in the second round, before continuing to add depth throughout the draft including forwards Mason West and Joshua Koehler in the fifth.
They followed that up in the seventh round by selecting blue liner Jack Arseniuk and goaltender Blake Pickens. Saskatoon made even more moves on draft day, acquiring additional seventh-round picks from lethbridge to stockpile for more future prospects. With their remaining picks they selected forwards Brayden Lindsay and Carson Brown in the eight and ninth rounds, respectively, along with Rylen Schneider at 175th.
Across the province, the draft once again showed the strength of Saskatchewan hockey development. Eleven Saskatchewan products were drafted in the first three rounds, and over 30 total in the draft as local AAA programs continue producing WHL level talent year after year.
For the Pats, the draft was about accelerating the push out of a rebuild. For the Blades, it was about reloading and staying competitive in the Eastern Conference.
Either way, both franchises believe they added players who have the potential to become major pieces of their future cores.
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