Regina Pats hire Dale Derkach and Ryan Smith to hockey operations staff

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The Regina Pats have completed their hockey operations department ahead of the 2024-25 Western Hockey League season.

Coming off a season in which they finished last in the WHL's Eastern Conference with 22 wins, 40 losses and six ties, the Patriots announced some staff changes on Monday, headlined by the addition of former Patriots star Dale Derkach as the new assistant general manager under general manager Alan Miller.

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“As the year progressed, it was certainly a year of transition both on and off the ice,” said Miller, who was hired by the Patriots last offseason to replace the retired John Paddock, “and part of the job that I was tasked with doing in my first year here was a complete evaluation of the hockey operations department.”

The 59-year-old Derkach has served as a scout for the Columbus Blue Jackets the past two seasons and brings 13 years of scouting experience at the NHL level to the Patriots, having previously worked as a scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals.

Derkach, Regina's all-time leading scorer during his playing days (1981-85), is familiar with the team having coached there from 2008-09, and he also served as a traveling scout for the Patriots during the 2021-22 season before joining the Blue Jackets.

“To be honest with you, it was hard to turn down Al's offer,” said Derkach, who is signed with the Blue Jackets for next season. “Working with the Patriots is a big thing for me.”

The hiring of Derkach is just one of many steps Miller took this offseason to reorganize his entire scouting staff.

However, one key member of the scouting staff will remain in place as Dale McMullin signed a contract extension to return for his 13th season with the team.

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“We have a few scouts that are not coming back,” Miller said. “We decided to create a separate organization, put the resources into two full-time staff members and fill in some scouts in the right areas.”

“It will be a much smaller group than before.”

The Patriots also hired Ryan Smith as an associate coach along with head coach Brad Herlauf and assistant coach Ken Schneider, who signed the coaching staff to multi-year deals after signing one-year contracts last season.

Smith, who spent the past four seasons with the Spokane Chiefs, replaces Evan McPheeters, whose contract was not renewed at the end of the season.

“It was an easy decision for me and honestly it would be an honor to coach the Regina Patriots,” Smith said. “When Al and Brad started calling me in the offseason it really became clear to me and my family that this would be a great opportunity for both parties.”

Prior to coming to Spokane, Smith, 50, served as an assistant coach with the Medicine Hat Tigers (2018-20) and Swift Current Broncos (2015-18). The Winnipeg native also recently served as an assistant coach for Hockey Canada at the 2024 IIHF U-18 World Championship and coached for Hockey Canada at the U-17 level in 2022.

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“We were fortunate to find some very good coaches and great people,” said Miller, who worked for Hockey Canada for several years before joining the Patriots. “I have a long association with Hockey Canada having worked with Ryan at the WHL level as well as the under-17 level.

“I think Ryan's experience is a great fit for our team. I think he'll complement our group very well.”

The club also hired Max Paddock as its new goaltending coach, replacing Daniel Wapple. Paddock, 24, played for the Patriots from 2016 to 2020. He was named to the Memorial Cup All-Star team in 2018 when Regina held the championship.

“Throughout our process, it was clear that Max is a student of the game and the position,” Miller said, “and he's going to relate extremely well to our players, the age of our players and the players who play the position.”

The Patriots also announced the hiring of the team's new athletic therapist, Cole Stevens, who was the head athletic therapist for the ECHL's Newfoundland Growlers last season.

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