By Nathan Kanter

Buziak enjoying his time as a Pat

Dec 6, 2016 | 11:00 AM

When Braydon Buziak signed a WHL contract with the Regina Pats in early September, he knew it wasn’t a guarantee he’d stick with the team.

There’s no doubt it was special for the undrafted Battleford native, but there was still hard work to come.

Now, roughly three months later, his work ethic has paid off.

Buziak scored in his first ever WHL game on Sept. 23. Then he scored in his second game. And his third. And his fourth.

He has now dressed in 17 of the Pats 25 games so far this season, a team that is leading the East Division with a 19-2-4-0 record and has the best win percentage of any CHL team in Canada.

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He had five goals in 17 games.

“I remember my [first goal] pretty good,” Buziak said after Sunday’s 6-3 win in Swift Current over the Broncos. “I just remember the puck going back to the point and then a shot must have happened and the puck ended up in the air and I just kind of grabbed it and put it down on the ice as quick as I could and tried to shovel it to the net.

“Luckily it went in.”

Buziak knows he’s not a prolific goal scorer. He said he’s the type of guy who goes into the corner, wins battles and gets to the front of the net.

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve to be where he is.

He’s well aware that playing for head coach John Paddock, a former NHL player and coach, means doing whatever he asks of you.

“I like him as a coach,” Buziak said. “He’s a really good guy. He wants 110 per cent out of his players every shift. I think that’s going to help me out in the long run and it definitely helps out our team.”

On Sunday against Swift Current, Buziak centred the fourth line between Rykr Cole and Bryan Lockner for the first two periods. He didn’t have any shots on goal but in the third period alone he had three hits.

In the third, with the game close, Paddock shortened the bench and Buziak didn’t get a shift.

“Whatever position he wants to put me in, I’ll do,” Buziak said. “Whether I’m third line centre or fourth line centre, I’m just going out there and give 110 per cent out there every chance I get.”

Buziak said he loves being a Pat, especially playing in front of 5,000 fans at the Brandt centre in Regina.

But nothing beats winning.

“Obviously it’s great to be on one of the best teams in the CHL,” Buziak said. “I think that every guy from the top lineup to the bottom has contributed to that. Obviously you’ve got guys like Sam Steel and Adam Brooks, who are two of the top players in the league, that helps, but so far it’s been really good.”

There’s still a long ways to go, with 47 games still remaining in the regular season alone.

But so far, Buziak hasn’t been surprised by anything.

“When I decided to sign here I think was ready to take that step,” he said. “So far it has been exactly how I’ve planned.”

Nathan Kanter is battlefordsNOW’s sports reporter and voice of the Battlefords North Stars. He can be reached at Nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca or tweet him @NathanKanter11