Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) student-athlete Cruz Pavao has signed a Western Hockey League (WHL) Scholarship and Development Agreement with the Tri-City Americans after they selected him in the first round, 13th overall at the 2023 WHL Draft.
The Calgary, AB forward joined the CSSHL in 2021/22 with the Edge School U15 team. That season he would lead all skaters with 31 goals while finishing second with 50 points en route to capturing CSSHL MVP honours. He would add 19 points in 5 playoff games as Edge captured the 2022 CSSHL U15 Western Championship.
This season Pavao would lead his team with 67 points in 23 games, good enough for fifth among all U15 Prep skaters. He would add an additional 11 points in four playoff games as Edge made it to the semi-finals of the 2023 CSSHL Western Championships.