Greg Pateryn started the 2017-18 season on the Dallas Stars healthy scratch list. Now he’s a full-time starter. In just 14 games, he’s quickly established himself as one of the most efficient and consistent defenders on the Dallas blue line.
There are only four American born players currently on the Dallas Stars roster. One of those is defenseman Greg Pateryn. Last Thursday, he celebrated Thanksgiving just like any other American would: with simplicity and relaxation.
“It was good,” Pateryn said of his Thanksgiving holiday. “A lot of good food and a good group. It was nice.”
Pateryn’s Thanksgiving ended up serving as a day of rest in between games. The Dallas Stars played in Colorado on Wednesday night and welcomed Calgary to the AAC on Friday night. Thanksgiving Day on Thursday happened to be a one day break for the team, giving Pateryn one more thing to be thankful for on the holiday.
It’s probably not the only thing that Pateryn was thankful for this year, though. After all, it has been quite an interesting and eventful season for the 27-year-old defenseman.
Gone Puck Wild
Let’s rewind back to late September 2017. The Stars just finished training camp and were in the middle of their preseason slate. The lineup was beginning to come together in preparation for opening night against the Vegas Golden Knights. But there was one problem: the Dallas defense was overstocked.
The team entered the preseason with nine defenders supposedly ready for NHL play competing for six spots. As the six-game slate came to a close, the six defenders became pretty clear. Greg Pateryn was not one of those six.
“Obviously, I knew there were a lot of and I knew I had to work for a spot,” Pateryn said about the preseason contest. “What happened, happened in training camp.”
Pateryn exited training camp as the no. 8/9 defenseman on the Dallas roster and sat at the bottom of the pile. And with the amount of talent that he was up against on the Stars blue line, the thought of finding a gap in the lineup didn’t seem altogether promising.
“I just knew that I had to stick with it,” he said. “I kind of knew that if I put the work in and the time and stuck with my plan that everything would work out.”
And work out it did. After putting in the extra work and dedication, Pateryn earned a spot in the starting lineup against the Edmonton Oilers on October 26. It was the Stars’ tenth game of the year but would prove to be Pateryn’s first start of the 2017-18 season.
“Just never doubting myself,” Pateryn said about how he went about earning a starting spot. “I knew the coaching staff was new and didn’t really have much to go on based on my play and I only had a couple of games in the preseason. I knew that their minds weren’t totally made up about me and that they kind of knew what they wanted to do with me at the beginning of the year. So, I just kept on telling myself that and never doubted myself as we kept going.”
Dallas Stars
Since then, he has played in 14 consecutive games. In other words, he’s been a pretty consistent staple in a revolving Dallas defensive lineup. Dallas Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock has taken time to praise Pateryn’s efforts this season as well.
“He’s just the same every night,” Hitchcock said. “He competes like hell, he’s a great character player, he draws us into the fight, and he’s not afraid of anybody. He’s a really good add for our team right now.”
The thing about Greg Pateryn’s play is that he was able to quickly solidify himself in the starting lineup after sitting for an extended period. Hitchcock matched Pateryn with left-handed veteran Dan Hamhuis, and the chemistry was almost automatic.
The two now play second pairing minutes and pair up at even strength. They also contribute a heavy amount on the penalty kill and have become the Stars’ top PK defensive pairing. In Tuesday night’s game against Montreal, Pateryn skated a total of 4:59 on the penalty kill and was third on the team in overall time on ice at 20:59. Not bad for a player that did not make the initial opening night roster.
“I think just sticking to my game and realizing that I don’t need to go out there and have a highlight reel game the first time I go out there,” he said. “They just want a simple, solid, reliable game out of me and I think I just kept on telling myself that if I stick to that, everything will work out.”
And that’s exactly what Pateryn has been for the Dallas defense this year: simple and solid. At 6-3, 224 lb., he’s one of the bigger defenders in the Stars’ arsenal. He knows how to get physical and is a reliable choice for Hitchcock in any game situation.
Though Pateryn has yet to tally a point this season, his efficiency and effectiveness have come in his defensive play. Mixing his physical yet cautious approach on defense with Hamhuis’s two-way style is paying off in dividends for Dallas.
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“He’s one of the easiest guys to play with,” Pateryn said of Hamhuis. “He’s always in position and I never have to cover for him. We just work off of each other really well. We’re at the point where we know where each other are on the ice and we talk a lot out there. He picks up little things on the ice that I don’t see and dispatches them over to me.”
The Dallas defense is currently playing at an average level, giving up 2.96 goals per game (16th most in the NHL). But with Pateryn in the lineup, things look to be turning in the right direction, though it may be a slow turn.
“I think it’s a game of inches out there,” Pateryn said. “Teams nowadays are too good and as soon as you make a mistake, they look to capitalize on it. I think we can tighten up in some certain areas, but I think we’re coming together more and more. I like where things are going, but we have to keep pushing forward and keep committing to that defensive style.”
One of the biggest standouts in Pateryn’s game this season is not just his immediate effectiveness or his simple approach. It’s his resiliency when the going gets tough.
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The Dallas Stars have been a “fight back” team for a majority of the 2017-18 season. Pateryn’s effort involves a similar theme.
For example, the Stars clawed back from three different deficits in Friday night’s game against the Flames. In his own regard, Pateryn clawed back from a -2 rating and finished the night with a +1. He started out in a hole but fought his way back into the mix and ended on a positive note. That’s what the Dallas Stars need in a starting defender, and it’s what they are getting in Pateryn.
It has been an interesting nine months for Greg Pateryn. He was traded to the Dallas Stars by Montreal in exchange for Jordie Benn just before the 2017 trade deadline in late February. At the time, he had played in less than 100 NHL games in four seasons and was considered a bit of a long shot.
With the new coaching style put in place over the summer, the Dallas defense experienced significant change. Pateryn was not a part of that change in the beginning, but he’s made himself a part of the solution now. That effort is becoming clear to Ken Hitchcock.
“He’s a real pro,” Hitchcock said. “He could have taken it the wrong way because he was placed at 8 or 9 at the end of training camp. But he stayed there, did all of the extra work and he worked hard with Rick and he went to film sessions. He acted and behaved like a 5/6. And the way he battles and claws and fights for the team, he’s not going to come out. He’s not going to allow himself to come out based on his character and his compete level, and it’s brought our team into a whole other level.”
Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill clearly did his homework when acquiring Pateryn last season. What seemed like a long shot seventh defender has turned into a powerful asset for the Dallas future. If he can continue this level of play, the Stars defense will continually get better.
Greg Pateryn is a precise and determined defender. He gets the job done in the simplest way possible and at the most effective rate. He can play big minutes in a variety of scenarios and give the team a reliable face on the ice. With that trust, the Stars can find further success as a unit.
The 2017-18 season is just now starting to get interesting for the Dallas Stars. A big part of their success (though you may not notice him) is due to the Sterling Heights, Mich. native on the blue line.
Next: When The Going Gets Tough, The Dallas Stars Are Getting Going
Pateryn is proving to be one of the Stars’ most consistent defenders, and he’s doing it with an enjoyable and relaxed mindset. That’s not too shabby for a guy that started the year in the press box.