The Regina Pats announced the signing of 17-year-old Colby Wotton, a forward from Foxwarren, Manitoba. Wotton signed a standard player agreement with the club and was drafted by the Pats in the 7th round, 136th overall in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft.
Last season with the Yellowhead Chiefs of the MMHL, Wotton put up 19 goals and 19 assists in 45 games.
“Colby displayed his excellent north-south speed this weekend,” NZ scouts said. “The 3-on-3 event starts with a race to the puck and Colby was always the gunner who tried to get there first. He has explosive acceleration and is able to reach his top speed in a hurry.”
Elsewhere, the Victoria Royals inked three 2005-born players to standard player agreements, signing forwards Anthony Wilson and Reggie Newman as well as defenseman Nate Misskey.
Wilson spent last season with the Northern Alberta Xtreme Bantam Prep team of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL). In 29 games with the Xtreme, Wilson registered 27 points (9g-18a).
“Wilson is a strong, balanced skater who wins draws and plays up the middle of the ice,” noted our western scouts. “He has smooth hands, a rocket wrist shot and the ability to get off checks and drive the net. He’s physically developed and strong on his stick and on his skates displaying deceptive speed. He proved both his passing and shooting ability; he made a highlight reel cross crease assist on the rush and he scored on a hard rebound driving to the net. He protects well in the corners, he wins stick battles and can overpower opponents in tight areas.”
Misskey spent this past season with the Pacific Coast Hockey Academy out of Langford, B.C., scoring 30 points from the blue line on eight goals and 22 assists.
“Misskey is a talented, multi-dimensional defenseman, first-line power play type defender with size and athleticism,” said NZ scouts. “He’s mobile, he has a heavy shot and can run the power play from the breakout to the offensive blue line and does a great job stretching out the opponents and exploiting the seams with precision passes and quick release shooting. He has great instincts knowing when to shoot and when to dish; he scored an even 3 goals and 3 assists; one of those was a top corner wrister just under the bar from top circles that beat the goalie clean. While his offensive tools are what stand out the most; his defensive game is strong given his size, his strength and ability to play the body, move bodies and poke pucks off sticks.”
