SWIFT CURRENT -- You're in kid.

Top prospect Jordan Weal was expecting to be a spectator when he arrived at the Brandt Centre prior to Saturday's game between the Regina Pats and Swift Current Broncos. Weal found out differently when Pats head coach Curtis Hunt informed him that he would be making his WHL playoff debut as a last-minute replacement for suspended forward Brett Leffler.

"I wasn't really expecting to get into that game," said Weal, who played his second career postseason contest on Tuesday in Swift Current. "Warming up before the game, I was just realizing, 'Wow, I'm getting this opportunity to play in the WHL playoffs.' The tempo is so high and everyone is all fired up and the crowd is into it. Your adrenaline is going but once you get that first shift all your nerves go away. You're playing hockey and doing what you love to do."

Weal, a standout in training camp last fall, played three games earlier this season during the Pats' annual West Coast trip. The 15-year-old Vancouver product was called up again last week after his midget team, the Vancouver North West Giants, was eliminated from the playoffs.

Weal only had the benefit of two practices with the Pats before Saturday's game. He also suited up one night earlier for Regina's playoff opener, but that was to participate in a shootout promotion during the first intermission against three other Pats prospects.

Weal won the competition, but that experience did little to prepare him for his trial by fire in Game 2.

"It is tough because when you get to the next level there's a lot more systems,'' he noted. "You have to play your own game and at the same time you have to go by the systems. But the guys are great on the bench if I need help. They'll give me advice and tell me what to do."

Weal comes to the Pats with impressive credentials, having led the B.C. Major Midget league in scoring this season with 39 goals and 100 points in 40 games. He won the scoring title by a whopping 34 points.

Unfortunately for Weal, the season came to an abrupt hault when his team was upset in a league semifinal by the Cariboo Cougars of Prince George. Vancouver had been among the favourites to win this year's Telus Cup national title after finishing second at the prestigious Mac's international tournament in Calgary and posting a 36-2-2 record in league play.

"We had a really good team and I really wanted to try to get to the national championship," said Weal. "It would have been great but that's done and I have to let that go and think about what's happening here with the Pats."

Weal isn't sure what his role will be when Leffler and Jordan Eberle return from their suspensions. Either way, he's eager to do his part.

"Curtis had a talk with me," Weal explained. "He just said, 'Do what you do best, hustle in the corners and make the players around you better and you'll do fine out there.' "

Big things are projected for Weal, who is regarded as one of the steals in the 2007 bantam draft. The fourth-round pick has already been compared to Pats sniper Jordan Eberle, whose size was a contributing factor in him slipping all the way to the seventh round in the 2005 draft.

"He's had a lot of success in this league," Weal said of Eberle. "If I'm going to meet that (standard) I'm going to have to step up my game and maybe get some advice from him to see how he did so well in his previous year."

Although the future is now for Weal, the 5-foot-8, 150-pounder isn't expected to become a regular with the Pats until next season.

In the meantime, he has some work to do.

"It has been a great experience to come up and get used to the speed of the game," he added. "I'm hoping over the summer I can gain 10 or 15 pounds and come back even stronger so I can help the team out even more."

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