by Michael Ham-Fan, Staff Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine
MONTREAL, QC. — Greg Pateryn fills a need on the Habs defense. Playing to his potential, Pateryn can offers toughness and stability on the defensive end. He is what they call a typical stay-at-home defenceman, something the Canadiens simply do not have in their current lineup.
Pateryn has been playing very reliable hockey since his last recall. He showed signs of nervousness in his first few of call-ups, but he has, since then, stabilized. In fact, I found that Pateryn was playing really good hockey at the time that the Canadiens acquired Jeff Petry and consequently sent Pateryn back to Hamilton. I truly believe that he has surpassed his fellow teammate Jarred Tinordi in the Habs’ depth chart on defense as Pateryn has shown better instincts and hockey vision.
Greg Pateryn, a 5th round selection in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and a 2010 second round pick (traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for Robert Lang) was acquired by Bob Gainey on July 3, 2008, in return for forward Mikhail Grabovski. He was initially pegged as a long-term project.
Nearly seven years later, Pateryn is ready to give his best shot at making the NHL. NBC analyst Pierre McGuire, described Pateryn’s style of play to Mitch Melnyk on TSN 690 Radio this way:
“Pateryn is a defensive stalwart that will bring stability to the blue-line.”
Pateryn played four seasons with the University of Michigan and McGuire is very familiar with NCAA defencemen as an ex-scout and he has predicted with some accuracy the impact of theses college defensemen at the NHL level, in the past. Notably, he predicted that Torrey Krug would be a very efficient offensive defenceman when many had overlooked the undrafted Bruins’ prospect.
From what I have seen of Pateryn with the Bulldogs and with the Canadiens, I tend to agree with McGuire. Pateryn is at his best when he is totally comfortable and calm in the defensive zone. He has the vision to make the “simple play” and he is also very hard-hitting when the time comes to deny zone entries to attacking forwards. He is listed at 6-foot-2, 222 lbs., which gives him very good strength to throw big hits. He is not the fastest skater but, for the style that he plays, it does not hinder his effectiveness.
Pateryn has not only shown in his minor career that he is a defensively reliable player but he has shown flashes of good offensive instincts, especially last season when he put up 15 goals and 19 assists in 68 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs. The 24-year-old defenseman is known to have a good shot and has seen time on the power-play with the Bulldogs. Not bad for a player that I have been qualifying as stable and purely defensive.
In our 2013-’14 end-of-season report card (published on our sister site Bulldogs Hockey Report) Pateryn was the top-ranked defenseman receiving a grade of ‘A’ and the label “Hamilton’s most consistent defenseman.” Following his strong season in Hamilton, Pateryn signed a two-year contract extension with the Canadiens last May.
I feel that it would be wise to give a long look at Greg Pateryn before deciding what to do with him, whether this chance comes this season or in the next one. His current status on the Habs’ depth chart reminds me of the time when, current Ducks defenceman François Beauchemin was a Habs prospect back in 2002. Beauchemin was a third round picked that the Canadiens viewed as a good tough defenseman but (mis)evaluated that his footspeed wouldn’t allow him to play a long career in the NHL.
Beauchemin only played in one full game with the Habs and I still remember that post-game analysts were saying that it was probably his first and last NHL game ever. He has, since then, played in 660 more games at the NHL level and even developed an offensive game with his hard shot. Pateryn is physically in the same mould, but he does not have Beauchemin’s puck control and keeps his game simplier because of that.
With that said, I am convinced that the current organization will evaluate him well and give him a chance to prove his worth. General Manager Marc Bergevin sees great importance in having a group of good defenceman, formerly being one himself.
Pateryn has a personality type that is a reflection of his style: calm and reserved. He is very mature for his age and seems like a genuinely good locker-room guy.
With Alexei Emelin‘s imminent return from injury, Pateryn will very probably be the one that will be taken out. This won’t be a knock on him, and if he keeps playing the way he is right now, he will have left a very good impression on the coaching staff. If anything goes wrong defensively, he will be the best option for coach Michel Therrien. Pateryn offers a defensively-stable style that is unique in the Habs’ organization.
On top of that, if he does go back down with Hamilton, he will have the chance to play a big role in the playoffs in the AHL, which will be a valuable experience for him.
You are welcome to browse our archives to catch up on Greg Pateryn:
Greg Pateryn with the Hamilton Bulldogs
Greg Pateryn with the Montreal Canadiens
Sources :
theAHL.com : http://theahl.com/stats/player.php?id=4661
HockeyDB: http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=99569
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