Regina Pats' forward Maddox Schultz is aware CHL players are leaving to play in the NCAA and knows he will face a difficult decision in his future.
"Gavin McKenna being paid that much money and him helping Penn State out is really cool," Schultz said on the Rider Broadcast Network. "We'll see, it's not that far down the road. Some will talk about it for sure."
The rule change, which took effect last November, allows CHL players to play NCAA hockey. The first player to leave the CHL for the NCAA was former Regina Pats forward Braxton Whitehead, who committed to play for Arizona State University.
Meanwhile, in the 2025-2026 WHL season, Schultz will be allowed to play 34 games as part of the Western Canadian Development Model, which allows 15-year-olds a chance to see some action. The Regina native spent his summer eating, sleeping, and thinking about hockey to prepare for the WHL season.
"I was in Toronto for about three weeks, trained with some pretty high-level players who play in the NHL, Quinton Byfield and Robert Thomas," Schultz said. "Met Gary Roberts Performance. In Regina, this past couple of weeks I was at Level 10 training with Daniel Yaskowich, which was pretty cool. I've been in the gym non-stop."
The Los Angeles Kings selected Byfield with the second overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Last season, Byfield played 81 games for the Kings, scoring 23 goals and recording 31 assists. As for Thomas, he was taken with the 20th pick in the first round by the St. Louis Blues in the 2017 NHL Draft. Thomas played 70 games for the Blues, accumulating 21 goals and 60 assists last year and won a Stanley Cup with St. Louis in 2019.
The common denominator is that all the players know former NHL player turned trainer trainer Gary Roberts. Schultz credits his agency for connecting him with Roberts.
"I was there for about a week before training with all the guys from my agency," Schultz said. "Actually, Liam Pue's is in it too, so that's where we bonded as well. After that, I stayed there for about a week and trained with them."
One benefit from being associated with Roberts was Schultz having the chance to meet one of his idols, Edmonton Oilers' superstar Connor McDavid.
"I met him two summers ago, actually at Gary Roberts' training facility, so that was really cool for me," Schultz recalled. "Watching him on TV when I was younger and then finally getting to shake his hand was a really cool moment."
While not a big football fan himself, Schultz had to choose between his mom and his dad's favourite CFL teams.
"My mom's from Saskatchewan, so she always wanted me to be a Riders fan and her family loves the Roughriders. My dad was from Winnipeg and loved the Blue Bombers," Schultz said. "He still chirps me to this day about it, but I'm a Riders fan for life."
