It is common knowledge more time is required to make it in the NHL as a defenseman than it is as a forward. Generally speaking an additional couple of years spent perfecting one’s skating, positional play, coaches’ strategies and developing chemistry with fellow rearguards and goaltenders is the norm. Then there is the organizational depth chart, the hope for an opening on the blueline, the rapport with the coaches and the club’s salary cap situation. An NHL prospect can control most of his personal development, but several outside factors also affect his gaining a full-time NHL spot. For some the process takes even longer. Ukrainian Greg Pateryn more than paid his dues before earning permanent status in the world’s best hockey league.
Since being drafted in the fifth round (128th overall) by Toronto in 2008, Pateryn’s road to an NHL regular shift on defense was full of stops and detours. Shortly after the draft he was traded to Montreal with a second round draft pick for Mikhail Grabovski. He proceeded to enjoy a four-year career at the University of Michigan before signing a two-year entry-level deal with the Canadiens on March 28, 2012. In four-plus years in the Montreal system he played in 82 NHL games and 163 AHL games, seeing the most action with the parent club in the 2015-2016 season (36 games and 49 penalty minutes).
Pateryn made Montreal’s 2016-2017 opening night roster, serving as a depth defenseman, appearing in 24 games before being dealt to Dallas at the trade deadline in February 2017. (The Canadiens traded Pateryn and a fourth-round pick for defenseman Jordie Benn.) He finally got his chance at full-time duty the next season and the 2017-2018 campaign was a career year with the stay-at-home stalwart seeing action in 73 Stars contests, scoring 13 points. In the off-season Pateryn left Dallas as a free agent and was rewarded with a three-year, $6.75 million deal by the Minnesota Wild on July 1, 2018.
Pateryn was signed to add depth to the Wild’s blueline. He was slotted in to the team’s third defense pairing with the expectation he would bring good old fashion toughness the club needed from its defenders.
Circumstances changed during the season when Pateryn was asked to play more minutes against tougher competition on the team’s second defense pairing due to Matt Dumba’s injury (which Dumba sustained in a fight on the ice). Pateryn more than held his own, made few mistakes and protected the front of the net for fellow-Ukrainian goalie Devan Dubnyk. He also dropped the gloves to stand up for a teammate, another asset in short supply with the Wild.
Pateryn proved he’s more than serviceable in his first year with Minnesota. Playing on a team, which probably underperformed in 2018-2019, Pateryn dressed in 80 out of 82 contests and totaled a modest seven points with 41 minutes in penalties.
At the age of 28, 10 years after being drafted into the league, this old-school, barricade-the-door defenseman, who will never be described as flashy, had made it in the National Hockey League.
Off the Ice: Greg Pateryn personal
He first took to the ice in full gear as a little tyke at Fraser Arena in Fraser, Mich., with his father, who played a bit of hockey in high school. Growing up, Pateryn was never motivated or guided by anyone toward a future in hockey. Instead he developed an inner resolve and belief that hard work and solid advice from experts would result in success. He learned to deal with self-doubt, cope with the rollercoaster moments of playing competitive sports.
He treasures his first NHL goal puck, which sits on a plaque in his Minnesota home. The score came on a four-on-four against Buffalo on a pass to the point that Pateryn one-timed into the back of the net. A huge sense of relief was accompanied by some joyous excitement. He’s also proud of the various jerseys he’s worn as a pro player, sometimes reflecting on their different numbers, colors and logos.
Surprisingly in this day and age, Pateryn proudly admits he is 100 percent Ukrainian, fluent in the language and enjoys teasing Russian players with a few random words on and off the ice. All four of his grandparents emigrated from Ukraine and, growing up in Michigan, he only spoke Ukrainian with them. His parents allowed more hybrid English/Ukrainian talk in their house and Pateryn’s Ukrainian is currently a little spotty.
Looking back at his long path to a regular spot on the Wild defensive line, Pateryn believes that everything eventually works out. In struggling times it is important to not get down, but instead find ways to stay positive. It is necessary to eliminate doubts and bad thoughts while remaining positive and focusing on the bright side. It helped that he grasped this inner philosophy at a very young age.
His road trips and off days are spent reading, usually a kindle which was a gift from his wife. Pateryn is partial to Netflix as an avenue of quality mindless time for himself when the brain gets shut off. He prefers murder mysteries, novels by author Dan Brown, thrillers and an occasional James Patterson book. “Altered Carbon,” a science fiction/futuristic drama, was an interesting and cool viewing on Netflix.
Coyotes commit to Chychrun
The Arizona Coyotes have a ways to go before becoming a perennial Stanley Cup contender. Signing promising young players to long-term deals is a major step in the right direction. Getting Ukrainian defenseman Jakob Chychrun to agree to a six-year contract extension in November 2018 is one of those major steps.
Now under team control through the 2025 season, he joins teammates Christian Dvorak and Oliver Ekman-Larsson as members of the Coyotes present and future nucleus. Chychrun becomes a key piece and a core player to team with Ekman-Larsson on the back end to build around.
Only 21 years old with two knee surgeries and three years of NHL service, Chychrun’s been limited the past two seasons while recuperating from twice tearing his ACL. When healthy, he has exhibited the kind of ceiling a top-pair defenseman can possess. In 171 career games (through 2018-2019), he’s tallied 16 goals and 38 assists for 54 points. Chychrun has shown an ability to transition the puck at an elite level and serve as a proficient point-man on the power play.
Chychrun will have to continue to improve his defensive game like any young offensively inclined defenseman still new to the rigors of the NHL. The Coyotes elected to buy into the tremendous potential of their 2016 first-round pick.
Building blocks for an up and coming NHL club include a starting goaltender, some premier defensemen, a 200-foot center and a few sniping wingers. In Chychrun, the Arizona Coyotes have one of those big rocks.
Ihor Stelmach may be reached at [email protected].