REGINA -- If everything goes according to plan for Regina Pat Canadians forward Maddox Schultz, he’ll be playing in the Western Hockey League in the 2025-2026 season.
One look at his numbers in the current Sask Male AAA Hockey League campaign and one can see why that’s a distinct possibility -- with 24 goals and 52 points in 27 games thus far as a rookie, it seems like jumping to the next level would be a good fit.
Thing is, Schultz is only 14 years old and will only be 15 in what would be his WHL Prospects Draft season in 2024-2025, meaning he would be limited to a handful of games despite his high-scoring abilities. That’s where the exceptional status system comes in to play.
If it all goes his way, Schultz could be drafted this summer and play full time in the WHL as a 15-year-old, as Connor Bedard did with the Regina Pats and Landon Dupont is currently doing with the Everett Silvertips, where he’s averaging one point-a-game as a rookie.
The questions become: how does the exceptional status system work? How can players be selected? And what is there to think about when it comes to that kind of move?
Hockey Sask general manager Kelly McClintock joined the The SportsCage to answer some of those questions.
How it worked at the provincial level, Schultz has been granted exceptional status to play U18 AAA as a 14-year-old this year after putting up 63 goals and 134 points in 27 games with the Regina Pat Blues at the U15 AA level last season.
This all started in the 2005-2006 campaign when the Canadian Hockey League started the exceptional status system, allowing John Tavares to become the first 15-year-old to play CHL hockey full-time.
“We started looking at our own and we wanted to control how many 14-year-olds were playing in AAA,” McClintock explained. “When I started 30 years ago, AAA or U18 or Midget was 16- and 17-year-olds. There were about eight kids that played AAA midget as 14-year-olds. [Former NHL star] Patrick Marleau, [former Moose Jaw Warriors standout] Chad Hinz, people like that.
“We said: ‘Is it right to have a player going at that level?’ Let's have a process.”
Prospective exceptional players in Saskatchewan pay a nominal fee by January 10, which moves the process into high gear.
“We try and get 10 to 14 people that watch them for the remainder of the year, get their feedback,” McClintock continued. “Then we make a decision if we feel that they're capable of moving up and playing AAA. Some of the kids that we have approved are Brayden Yager [Saskatoon Contacts/Moose Jaw Warriors], Riley Heidt [Saskatoon Contacts/Prince George Cougars], Berkley Catton [Saskatoon Contacts/Spokane Chiefs] and Maddox Schultz. There's probably been about eight or so that we haven't.”
The system works as the three current WHL players are all league standouts and first-round NHL Draft picks, with Yager and Heidt having an additional bonus playing a full abbreviated season in their respective WHL bubbles as 15-year-olds during the COVID season.
The exceptional player process also applies to female hockey, with Moose Jaw Minor Hockey product and former Regina Rebels standout Brooklyn Nimegeers the lone player to receive that status in Saskatchewan. She now plays for the University of Princeton in the NCAA.
“The one difficult thing on the female side is they're not losing any players at 16 and 17 to junior hockey,” McClintock said. “These girls are there for that duration. That's a difficult thing to make a decision there.”
As for players reaching exceptional status in the CHL, the system requires a $1,000 payment and a declaration of intention by December 1. Then CHL and Hockey Canada scouts go to work, determining if the player has the ability to play at the highest level of junior hockey while being five years younger than their opponents in some cases.
“They'll generally ask for feedback from us or a letter of support,” McClintock said. “In the case of Brayden Yager, we’d have given him one if they wanted to apply at that time. We would have said we've supported that individual for advancement and we feel they're capable of moving up as a 15-year-old.”
Beyond a player’s on-ice ability, there’s much to take into account when evaluating players of that age -- with one of the biggest issues being whether they’re ready for what could be a massive change in lifestyle.
“Depending on where you are in closeness to your family, all those types of things, that's significant,” McClintock said. “It might not be as significant if you're playing in the OHL because you're in Ontario and all the teams are fairly close. But in the West here, if someone's from Winnipeg and they get drafted by Portland, that's a long way to be away from home as a 15-year-old. It's important that we take into account the entire athlete, as opposed to just what they're doing on the ice.”
McClintock also pointed to developing leadership abilities as a factor, as most youngsters who make the move up are rarely leaders on their team, especially in a league with 20-year-olds with as much as four full years of experience.
“Mel Davidson used to coach the national women's team, she always said that she was against young girls moving up in age group, regardless of how good they were, because they never were the leader,” McClintock said. “If you're a 14-year-old coming on to a team that's a three-year age group, the chances of you being a leader on that team isn't all that great. You might be a good player, but are you a leader?
“And the leader isn't always necessarily the best player. On the female side, Mel said a lot of the girls that ended up on a national team program really struggled fitting in with the team, fitting in with that leadership aspect.”
If a player isn’t accepted as exceptional status at either level, it’s not the end of their career. Players can simply continue doing their thing, and if they’re good enough, the CHL will come calling.
“There was a player last year that we didn't grant two years ago and in talking with his father, I said: ‘Go back, dominate, but more importantly, tell him to be the best leader he can be on his team and work on those office skills and how he is. That's what's going to make him a player,'" McClintock said.
“I have no doubt that he's going to play in the Western Hockey League, you don't need to rush it, It's going to be there. Work on the other skills that you need to have off ice.”
You can check out the full interview from The SportsCage by clicking right here.
