Cult of Hockey prospect series 2025: #4, Alec Regula
25 years old, 6’4″, 210 lbs., claimed on waivers
Stan Bowman likes a certain kind of d-man, at least if you go by Bowman’s 15 years with the Chicago Blackhawks organization.
The one quality that defines those d-men: puck-moving skill.
The Bowman’s Hawks had a history of drafting puck-movers, many of them relatively non-physical defenders taken in the first or second round, small d-men like Adam Boqvist, Chad Krys, Ian Mitchell, Henrik Jokiharju and Nicolas Beaudin, plus bigger ones like Alex Vlasic, Justin Holl and Carl Dahlstrom.
Bowman’s Hawks — which already had Duncan Keith in the system when he arrived in 2005 — also added numerous puck-moving pros, such as Niklas Hjalmarsson, Brian Campbell, Nick Leddy, Johnny Oduya, Kimmo Timonen, Trevor Van Riemsdyk, Erik Gustafsson, Gustav Forsling, Cody Franson, Jordan Oesterle, Calvin de Haan, and Caleb and Seth Jones.
Not one of these d-men was a Big Bobby Clobber hitter of a d-man, but they could all make sharp passes to forwards like Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Jonathan Toews and Artemi Panarin.
In his short time in Edmonton, Bowman has cranked up the same acquisition strategy, bringing in puck-movers such as Jake Walman, John Klingberg, Paul Fischer, Damien Carfagna, Atro Leppanen, Asher Barnett, and Alec Regula, the subject of today’s post, the Cult of Hockey’s fourth-ranked Oilers prospect. Regula was in the Chicago system from 2020 to 2023.
Alec Regula
Regula’s name came up on Oilers Now today, as former NHL GM and player agent Brian Lawton mentioned he sees a d-man as Bowman’s top trade target heading into the season.
“I am definitely more bullish on their defense than I have been the last few years, and I think that’s a really good thing…,” Lawton said. “Do I think it’s good enough to win a championship? I do. Do I think, knowing Stan Bowman, that he’ll be looking to improve it still? I do. Will he be able to do that? Unknown at this time, but if he expends assets between now and the trade deadline, it’ll be to try, in my opinion, to try to improve that d-corps even more. That’s your surest bet to winning, in my opinion.”
Oilers Now host Bob Stauffer then jumped in with his take on Regula, who is skating with the Oilers regulars. “Alec Regula looks pretty good… Stan claimed him on waivers, and he didn’t play a single game last year (due to a knee injury). Stan has history with him, 6-foot-4 right-shot defensemen that can move the puck.”
Having been off last season, Regula will need some time and the Oilers might well try to move him to the minors and avoid a waiver claim, Stauffer said.
When the Oilers claimed Regula, Edmonton prospect expert Bruce Curlock had this to say about him: “Regula to me is a tweener type of player. He could play in a 6/7 role if the skating develops, but he could also be a very good first-pairing defenceman in the AHL. His game has some similarities to Cody Ceci: a big body, right-shot defenceman with skating issues who can lack a physical edge to his game. However, Regula is a better passer than Ceci and he has some good offensive instincts much like Ceci did on occasion.”
In December 2017, OHL prospect guru Brock Otten said this about the London Knights prospect, who was taking regular shifts with Evan Bouchard: “If you hadn’t guessed from my comments on social media, I’m fully on the Regula train. This guy is a legitimate NHL prospect. Has emerged to become the Knights’ 2nd best defender behind Evan Bouchard and looks to be just hitting the tip of the iceberg in terms of what he’s capable of doing. He’s 6’4, 190lbs, but also one of the youngest players available this year (could he possibly grow more?). And he possesses excellent mobility, gliding up ice with ease. He’s been starting to explore his ability to lead the rush and has looked pretty good doing it. Defensively, he’s definitely raw. Makes some questionable reads. But also makes some great plays by using his mobility to keep forwards wide or break-up plays. Would like to see him use his size more to be physical, especially in the corners, but that could come. As I said, this guy is very raw.”
Bowman’s pro career has been up and down with three cups of coffee in the NHL to date. He had a brilliant 2023-24 campaign in the Boston system, but then came his knee injury. He’s had plenty of time to now rehab it.
Reasonable expectations for 2024-25: Maybe the Oilers keep him out of camp, waiving a veteran like Troy Stecher or Ty Emberson. Much depends on well Regula is moving after a year off. But I expect he’ll get top-pairing minutes in Bakersfield if he ends up there, or bottom-pairing minutes in Edmonton, if he gets a chance. I suspect he will get that chance and will impress with his smarts and puck-moving. The key will be him playing a sharp, safe and efficient game. We’ll see how he does there, but he would not be the first d-man to blossom as an NHLer in his mid-20s.
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At the Cult of Hockey
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Cult of Hockey prospect series 2025
Forwards: Maxim Berezkin (3rd), Josh Samanski (5th), Quinn Hutson (6th), William Nicholl (9th), Roby Jarventie (11th), Viljami Marjala (12th), Connor Clattenburg (13th), Tommy Lafreniere (14th). David Lewandowski (15th)
Dmen: Beau Akey (7th-tie) Atro Leppanen (10th) Paul Fischer (16th), Nikita Yevseyev (18th), Asher Barnett (19th)
Goalies: Samuel Jonsson (7th-tie), Nathaniel Day (17th), Eemil Vinni (20th)