Regina Pats captain Tanner Howe will have the chance to show why he should have his name called during the first night of the 2024 National Hockey League Draft this June.
The top 40 prospects from the Canadian Hockey League will compete in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Moncton on Wednesday.
Howe will be suiting up for Team Red in a battle against Team White, where all the players will try and improve their draft stock ahead of the big event in Las Vegas.
In 44 games this season, the Pats captain leads the team with 52 points (22G-30A).
He was recently ranked #29 in the NHL Central Midseason Rankings for North American skaters.
Shortly after the Prince Albert product found the news about the All-Star Game in Moncton, he called his parents.
“I was super excited and super pumped.”
Someone who reached out to Howe following the Top Prospects Game announcement was his former teammate Connor Bedard.
“He (Bedard) said it was super fun when he went.”
The first overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft took part in the Top Prospects Game last year in Langley, B.C.
Pats Head Coach Brad Herauf says Howe’s selection to the game a year after Bedard played in the game creates the standard of excellence he and General Manager Allan Millar are trying to establish.
“Al (Millar) talks about our organization on where we want to get to and consistently be at, we want those people to represent the Regina Pats.”
The Top Prospects Game will take centre stage in Canada on Wednesday, and Howe is excited to compete against the country’s best junior players.
“Playing with all of those talented players and to play against them, I think it will be a really fun game.”
The game in Moncton will mark one of the rare occasions where the Top prospects in the CHL will be under the same rink on the same night. The Pats forward is looking to see how his game compares with the other top draft prospects.
“Being able to see how good those players are, see how good they do, how I compete against them, see where I sit with all those guys.”
Herauf feels the selection of Howe to the game is the proper recognition that Pat’s leading scorer has earned.
“This is what he deserves, he deserves to be in that game,” said the Pats Head Coach, “I think it’s going to be a confidence boost for him when he comes back.”
Howe’s Team Red is led by Moncton Wildcats Head Coach Daniel Lacroix, former NHL player and Head Coach Gerard Gallant is the honourary Head Coach. On the opposite side, Team White is coached by Charlottetown Islanders bench boss Jim Hulton, Mike Kelly is Team White’s honourary coach.
The selected captains for the game will be Sam Dickinson from the London Knights for Team Red, with Saskatoon’s Berkly Catton of the Spokane Chiefs wearing the “C” for Team White.
Red Deer’s Ollie Josephson and Chicoutimi’s Maxim Masse will wear an ‘A’ for Team Red, while Rimouski’s Spencer Gill and Ottawa’s Henry Mews will do the same for Team White.
Howe is the only player in the Prospects Game who is the captain of his junior team, and he is honoured to lead the Pats organization.
“I’m so grateful to be a captain at 18-years-old, it’s pretty special, doesn’t happen a lot.”
With two months remaining in the WHL season, Howe is working on turning the efforts into additional results.
“Consistent wise I would like to be a bit better in that category, but I think I’ve been pretty good each game and worked hard each game.”
The NHL Draft is June 28-29 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.