Regina Pats No.1 in Canada and still not satisfied

The Regina Pats have reached the midway point of the season as they head into their game against Calgary Friday night.

They will do so with a comfortable lead on top the WHL standings.

The team hasbeen consistently ranked the number one team in Canada over the last few months lofty heights for a franchise not used to being the team everyone else is chasing.

As an organization, it's uncharted territory as the Pats have not enjoyed this kind of success in decades, on the ice and at the gate.

They have sold out the Brandt Centre forfour straight games, which has never happened outside the playoffs.

Yet coaches and management are not happy.They continue to tinker with a roster, which dominates game after game and has won the last three contests by scores of 6-2, 7-2 and 8-0.

They have made three trades since Christmas and have made no promises they won't make more by next Tuesday's trade deadline.

It makes for an uneasy atmosphere in the players' room, at least for the next few days.

"I think every guy has a little bit of nerves. You never know. It's a business. It's tough. You just have to put it in the back of your head and play as good as you can and show them that you're worth it," said forward Nick Henry, whose own services were acquired from Everett prior to this season.

Nobody wants to leave a team which is the class of the league at the moment and is destined to go far in the playoffs.

Management has shown it's not shy to make moves in search of the right formula. Earlierthis week, they traded Rykr Cole and Riley Woods to Spokane for experienced forward Wyatt Sloboshan, who will turn 20 later this month.

It got the attention of the room in a hurry.

"It was pretty weird. Ryker's been here for twoand a half years, I think, and Riley's a hometown boy. It's a business; that's how hockey is," said Henry.

If there's an untouchable, it would be Sam Steel who has been the poster boy of the Pats' rebuild since he was taken second overall in the 2013 bantam draft.

"It's an exciting but a tough time of year because it's tough to see those players go," said Steel, who shares the league lead in scoring with teammate Adam Brooks.

"The guys that we've traded so far have been great players and great teammates, but at the same time, we're trying to build a team to go all the way, so it's exciting."

But for the Pats' hockey operations staff, consisting of John Paddock and Dave Struch, it has to be a fine balancing act.

Struch says they have to be careful they don't mess up the chemistry.

"We're constantly talking about it, flip flopping on a number of different things daily and you hope at the end of the day, you feel good about the things you've talked about and you stick to the process," said Struch, who coached the trade happy Saskatoon Blades when they hosted the Memorial Cup in 2013 ateam that was swept in the first round of the WHL playoffs.

"In Saskatoon, we kept getting older, we put together pieces from a whole bunch of different teams and added experience. This group we have here, the trades we've made, Zablocki, Henry, Leschyshyn, Hobbs we've inserted those guys into the situation at a young age so they've been a big part of the development."

They don't want to spoil what they have going this season while considering the future. There's a strong possibility the Pats' will host the 100th Memorial Cup in 2018.

Regina made the CHL shortlist along with Oshawa and Hamilton.

Pats' ownership will present its bid on Feb. 25 with the winning bid to be announced soon after.