The Regina Pats host Indigenous celebration night against the Calgary Hitmen on Saturday, forward Connor Bear from Ochapowace First Nation explains why that game is important to him.
"Getting traded from the Hitmen, it'll be a big game. Knowing that a lot of people will be coming out from all over, it's a big day for the team and for me," Bear said on the SportsCage.
"Coming from a reserve and Ethan Bear, how he's made it so far, looking up to him, I want to be that role model for younger kids. Have everybody come out and watch great hockey and see the awesome jerseys that are going to be displayed on Saturday night, it feels really good to be a part of that."
This is Bear's second season with the Pats, he started his Western Hockey League career with the Hitmen, who selected him in the sixth round during the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft. Regina traded for Bear and Aleksey Chichkin in exchange for a 2025 fourth-round pick and a 2026 third-round pick in September 2024.
Bear has played 18 reagular games for the Pats in 2025-2026, scoring one goal and registering three assists. His cousin, Ethan Bear, played in the NHL and currently plays for the Bridgeport Islanders in the AHL. Bear is proud of the lengths the Pats go to for Indigenous celebration night.
"Talking to Dante [De Caria], he said that we are going to have a guy speaking Cree for the game, which I thought was pretty cool," Bear said. "I know some people back home actually know how to speak Cree and always like to hear their language being played. It's a big honour to show everybody what our culture is and a great feeling to see it happen."
In recent news, the Pats defeated the Moose Jaw Warriors at home 3-2 in overtime on Sunday. Initially, the game was scheduled for Saturday but was moved to the following day due to poor weather.
"We had no idea what was happening, and the game got cancelled, which was confusing," Bear recalled. "We had a little skate and got ready for the next day and came out with a W."
The Pats had 52 shots on net against the Warriors, and forward Caden Brown scored in overtime for the victory. Bear reflected on the dynamic of head coach Brad Herauf’s guidance behind the bench against Moose Jaw.
"The better we play in the defensive zone, the more chances we'll have in the offence and staying positive on the bench," Bear said. "He's had lots of talks with us about it, we've had talks about each other and amongst the team, it's been helping us a lot, and clearly, it's been working out for us lately."
Regina's next game will be hosting the Saskatoon Blades on Friday. Dante De Caria will have the pre-game show at 6:30 p.m. while puck drop is at 7:00 p.m., and you can hear all the action on 620 CKRM.
