BY Jonathan Huntington
REGINA – The early 2027 NHL draft rankings are starting to appear from insiders – and two SMAAAHL alumni are among the top 40 players.
Former Saskatoon Contact (and Prince Albert Minto) Kayden Stroeder is ranked as high as #16. Boston Tait – a Regina Pat Canadians and Estevan Innovex Bear product – is projected at #39.
Stroeder has five goals in first six games for the Edmonton Oil Kings to start this season. Tait is on the blue line for the Wenatchee Wild.
Both players were stand-outs in the SMAAAHL in 2024-25 with Stroeder scoring 25 goals and notching 60 points in 40 games for the Contacts. Tait totalled 23 points in 41 contests for the Pat Cs.
WHL Rookie Stand-outs: The top-five of WHL rookie scoring to start the season is full of SMAAAHL connections. Liam Pue and Maddox Schultz of the Regina Pats (formerly of the Pat Canadians) have 10 and seven points, respectively. Both are considered rookies, even though they played more than 30 WHL games last year while also in the SMAAAHL as 15-year-old all-stars.
Former Saskatoon Blazer Dayne Beuker has surfaced with the Lethbridge Hurricanes after spending a few years in the United States development system. Beuker has four goals and nine points in eight games.
And Mateo Ferriera – the best defensive player at the Telus Cup Western Regional last April in Regina while playing for the Winnipeg Bruins – is averaging more than a point per game for the Kamloops Blazers.
Around The Rink: Three SMAAAHL products have started strong in their rookie season in the SJHL. Former Moose Jaw Winmar Warrior teammates Ryan Gibbs (Weyburn Red Wings) and Carson Park (Nipawin Hawks) are tied for second in rookie scoring with 11 points. Tyson Medernach (Saskatoon Blazers alumni) is fifth in scoring while playing in Yorkton.
Finish Lines: Tobin Schaefer leads the SMAAAHL in scoring to start the season by averaging more than two points a game with 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in six games for the Moose Jaw Winmar Warriors. While the 17-year-old from Yellow Grass is at the top of the offensive leaderboard, he’s focusing on being a responsible player in both ends of the rink, which has to be music to the ears of the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL after drafting him in the ninth round.
Tobin is following his father’s footsteps in the SMAAAHL, as Peter Schaefer put-up big numbers for the Yorkton Mallers in 1993-94 (27 goals and 133 PIMS in 32 games) before playing for three NHL teams (Vancouver Canucks, Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins).
Photo credit: Midnight Sun Notary & Photographics
