'I'll always be a Pat': Regina Pats trade captain Tanner Howe to Calgary

The Regina Pats have announced a blockbuster trade Thursday that sees captain Tanner Howe on his way to Calgary to play for the Hitmen as the team continues rebuilding for the future.

For their best player, the Pats received 2007 born defenceman Reese Hamilton, 2006 born forward Keets Fawcett, a 2025 third round draft pick, and a 2027 second round pick.

Howe was named the Pats’ captain before the 2023-24 season; he became the 82nd player to wear the “C” in franchise history.

The Prince Albert product was drafted in the second round, 46th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins last June, signing a three-year entry-level contract in July. Prior to that, he played in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game last season.

Howe spent parts of five seasons with the Pats, recording 98 goals and 142 assists for 240 points in 217 regular season games, putting him 25th in all-time scoring for the franchise. He also picked up four points in seven playoff games in the spring of 2023 playing alongside Connor Bedard.

“Tanner plays the game the right way, is a tremendous leader, and is a person with great values and integrity. He has a very bright future in the game, and we wish him the best in Calgary, and beyond with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tanner will always be a Pat,” Pats’ general manager Alan Millar said in a news release.

Millar was questioned about the timing of the trade but eluded to the fact he believes Howe will be leaving shortly for Canada’s World Junior selection camp.

"I feel comfortable in saying that I believe Tanner will be invited to that camp and I think he has a real good chance to play on that team," Millar explained.

"So if Tanner played then ... he wouldn’t play another game for us after he left for World Juniors. So we talked about that strategy around adding the assets that potentially come from a Howe trade and line them up earlier."

Howe is ninth all-time in franchise history with 13 game winning goals, sixth all-time with 35 power-play goals and tied for 12th all-time with six shorthanded goals, along with Connor Bedard and Matt Robinson.

Howe had six goals and one assist in 10 games with the Pats this season, he was sidelined for multiple weeks with an upper body injury sustained in his second game back with Regina after attending Penguins training camp where he took part on one pre-season game.   

Hamilton, a Whitewood, Sask. product, tallied three points in 20 games with the Hitmen this season. Last year, he led all 2007 born defencemen in the WHL with 31 points in 42 games. He also recorded a five point game on March 23.

"Hamilton is considered one of the top young defencemen in the WHL, is an elite skater, puck mover, and will help generate offense for our team from the back-end. Fawcett plays the game hard, is a good skater, and had an impressive rookie season as a 17-year-old scoring 19 goals," Millar said.

Millar added they needed to hop on the potential trade bait as soon as possible as Calgary made it clear they were going to move ahead with another deal regarding Hamilton.

"We collectively as a group talked, evaluated the trade, continued to do our homework and research and we had a deadline with Calgary last night or they were going to move on," Millar explained.

The six foot four blueliner was selected fourth overall in the 2022 WHL prospects Draft and has represented Canada at three tournaments, dressing for Team Canada Red at the U17’s in 2023 before winning two gold medals with Canada at two U18 tournaments, the Pats said.

The 18-year-old Fawcett has seven points in 19 games this season and picked up 45 points including 19 goals in 65 games last year.

The Grimshaw, Alta. Product recorded 28 of his 45 points after Jan. 1 last year, according to the Pats.

Regina now has 15 picks in the first three rounds of the WHL Prospects Draft in 2025, 2026 and 2027.

The Pats (6-11-2-2) are coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to the Tri-City Americans Wednesday night, Howe was not in the lineup. Regina now plays its next eight games on the road before returning home Dec. 13 to face the Saskatoon Blades.   

The Hitmen will next face the Pats inside the Brandt Centre on Feb. 19, 2025. Regina travels to Calgary twice before that, on Jan. 5 and Jan. 19. 

Howe shared a message with Pats fans via the team’s social media accounts on Thursday, acknowledging and showing appreciation for the city and organization.

I’d like to thank the Pats organization for everything they did for me and my family, it was the best four and a half years of my life,” Howe said in the statement.

“I had great billets, teammates and coaches. I’d also like to thank the fans for all their support. I’ll always be a Pat," Howe said.