Braxton Whitehead: A skillful goal scorer for the Pats
REGINA, Saskatchewan — If there is any team in the Western Hockey League that has eyes for a quality player, it is the Regina Pats. It doesn’t matter which part of the world the player is located in, if the player has qualities and is ready to commit to the Pats, they will get him.
That was the case with Braxton Whitehead. Whitehead is one of the latest additions to the Regina Pats. In just seven games, he has shown why the Pats recruited him even though other players could have made the team.
鈥淚t felt like a long time since I scored,鈥� Whitehead when he scored his first goal after seven appearances with the Pats. 鈥淚t felt unreal. I can鈥檛 wait to do it again next time.鈥�
Whitehead was born on June 9, 2004 in Palmer, Alaska, though his parents later moved to Louisville, Kentucky. He is 17 years old, stands at 5-foot-11, weighs 73kg, plays as a forward and is a righty shooter.
At 13, he joined the Anchorage North Stars U14 in the 2017-18 season. He spent two seasons with the North Stars before joining Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 15U in the 15U AAA League. Whitehead recorded his name in the club鈥檚 good book after scoring 11 goals and providing 18 assists in 56 games.
He was the fifth player on the team in terms of assists and ended that season with 29 PIM. Only Matthew DiMarsico with 37 goals, Evan Konyen with 36 goals, Lucas Ross with 27 goals and Cole Bianchin with 22 goals scored more goals than him in the 2019-20 players statistics. The Pittsburgh Penguins Elite Hockey Club was founded in 2014, and Whitehead is one of the few players who has made a name for himself in the young club.
Whitehead moved to Canada in the 2020-21 season, where he joined the Notre Dame Hounds U18 AAA team in the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League. He brought the States鈥� hockey swag to the team, scoring two goals and providing two assists in his first two games with the Hounds.
鈥淗e does a lot of things very, very well,鈥� Jeremy Mylymok, Notre Dame鈥檚 director of hockey, . 鈥淗e鈥檚 not flashy but he makes spectacular plays at times with no-look passes and deception. He鈥檚 sneaky fast.鈥�
The Regina Pats drafted Whitehead in 2019 in the third round but he decided to go to Notre Dame briefly for further development. He scored two goals and provided five assists after six games for the Hounds. He was the second player with the most assists in the Saskatchewan Male AAA Hockey League. He was ranked second in the 2020-21 skater statistics before joining the Regina Pats for the remainder of the season, where he scored one goal after 18 appearances.
In the 2021-22 season, Whitehead played 21 games for the Pats and scored three goals. He was the eighth on the team in goals scored. While it is true that 17-year-old Whitehead still needs to improve, what he has done so far is a pointer to the fact that he has all it takes to be an incredible player in the near future.
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