James Patrick (ice hockey)

James Patrick (born June 14, 1963) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is currently the head coach for the Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League (WHL).

James Patrick
Born (1963-06-14) June 14, 1963 (age 60)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
Played for New York Rangers
Hartford Whalers
Calgary Flames
Buffalo Sabres
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 9th overall, 1981
New York Rangers
Playing career 1983–2006

Playing career edit

After a successful collegiate career at the University of North Dakota, Patrick represented Canada at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. After the Olympics, Patrick signed his first professional contract on March 5, 1984 with the New York Rangers, and made his NHL debut two days later in Minnesota. Patrick scored his first NHL goal on March 17, 1984, in Philadelphia. Patrick enjoyed ten productive seasons in New York before being traded to the Hartford Whalers and then to the Calgary Flames during the 1993–94 season.

After several years in Calgary, Patrick signed with the Buffalo Sabres as a free agent after the 1997–98 season. Though he was chosen to play in the 1987 Canada Cup and many other international events, Patrick was never selected to the NHL All Star game. He ranks high among defencemen in both all times game played (1280) and total points (639). Patrick set a record (since broken) for career games played by a Team Canada player with 40 career games, breaking the previous record of 37 games in 2002. On September 8, 2005, Patrick announced his retirement from the NHL at the age of 42. He was immediately named to the Sabres' staff as a skill development coach. However, he left the team before the season to play in Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga with the Frankfurt Lions.

Coaching career edit

Patrick joined the Buffalo Sabres as assistant coach in 2006. He made his debut as head coach in February 2012, when Lindy Ruff was incapable of coaching due to an injury. After Ruff was fired in February 2013, Patrick remained with the Sabres' coaching staff until the end of the season, and then was let go.[1]

After the 2013 season he re-joined Ruff as an assistant coach with the Dallas Stars. At the end of the 2016–17 regular season, Patrick was let go when the Stars elected not to renew Ruff's expiring contract, after the team missed the playoffs.[2]

On June 6, 2017, it was announced that Patrick was named as the head coach for the Kootenay Ice of the Western Hockey League (WHL).[3]

On November 6, 2023, Patrick was named the next head coach of the Victoria Royals, following the dismissal of Dan Price.[4]

Personal life edit

Patrick is half Ukrainian and half English. His father, Stephen (born as Stepan Patrebka), was the child of Ukrainian immigrants from the Lviv region, and played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.[5] Patrick is the brother of Steve and the uncle of former player Nolan Patrick.

In 2014, Patrick was charged with assault stemming from a domestic incident, while working as an assistant coach for the Dallas Stars.[6]

Career statistics edit

Regular season and playoffs edit

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1979–80 Notre Dame Hounds SMHL
1980–81 Prince Albert Raiders SJHL 59 21 61 82 162
1981–82 University of North Dakota WCHA 42 5 24 29 26
1982–83 University of North Dakota WCHA 36 12 36 48 29
1983–84 Canadian National Team Intl 63 7 24 31 52
1983–84 New York Rangers NHL 12 1 7 8 2 5 0 3 3 2
1984–85 New York Rangers NHL 75 8 28 36 71 3 0 0 0 4
1985–86 New York Rangers NHL 75 14 29 43 88 16 1 5 6 34
1986–87 New York Rangers NHL 78 10 45 55 62 6 1 2 3 2
1987–88 New York Rangers NHL 70 17 45 62 52
1988–89 New York Rangers NHL 68 11 36 47 41 4 0 1 1 2
1989–90 New York Rangers NHL 73 14 43 57 50 10 3 8 11 0
1990–91 New York Rangers NHL 74 10 49 59 58 6 0 0 0 6
1991–92 New York Rangers NHL 80 14 57 71 54 13 0 7 7 12
1992–93 New York Rangers NHL 60 5 21 26 61
1993–94 New York Rangers NHL 6 0 3 3 2
1993–94 Hartford Whalers NHL 47 8 20 28 32
1993–94 Calgary Flames NHL 15 2 2 4 6 7 0 1 1 6
1994–95 Calgary Flames NHL 43 0 10 10 14 5 0 1 1 0
1995–96 Calgary Flames NHL 80 3 32 35 30 4 0 0 0 2
1996–97 Calgary Flames NHL 19 3 1 4 6
1997–98 Calgary Flames NHL 60 6 11 17 26
1998–99 Buffalo Sabres NHL 45 1 7 8 16 20 0 1 1 12
1999–00 Buffalo Sabres NHL 66 5 8 13 22 5 0 1 1 2
2000–01 Buffalo Sabres NHL 54 4 9 13 12 13 1 2 3 2
2001–02 Buffalo Sabres NHL 56 5 8 13 16
2002–03 Buffalo Sabres NHL 69 4 12 16 26
2003–04 Buffalo Sabres NHL 55 4 7 11 12
2005–06 Buffalo Sabres NHL 25 2 5 7 17 4 0 0 0 0
NHL totals 1,305 151 495 646 776 121 6 32 38 86

International edit

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1982 Canada WJC 7 0 2 2 6
1983 Canada WJC 7 0 2 2 4
1983 Canada WC 9 1 1 2 10
1984 Canada OLY 7 0 3 3 4
1987 Canada WC 8 0 1 1 2
1987 Canada CC 6 0 1 1 2
1989 Canada WC 10 2 2 4 8
1998 Canada WC 6 0 1 1 0
2002 Canada WC 7 0 2 2 0
Junior totals 14 0 4 4 10
Senior totals 53 3 11 14 26

Coaching record edit

Team Year Regular season Post season
G W L OTL SL Pts Finish Result
KOO 2017–18 72 27 38 5 2 61 4th in Central Missed playoffs
KOO 2018–19 68 13 45 7 3 36 5th in Central Missed playoffs
WPG 2019–20 63 38 24 1 0 77 2nd in East Playoffs cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
WPG 2020–21 24 18 5 1 0 37 no standings[a] no playoffs[a]
WPG 2021–22 68 53 10 3 2 111 1st in East Lost in East Final
WPG 2022–23 68 57 10 1 0 115 1st in East Lost in WHL Final
KOO/WPG Totals 363 206 132 18 7 437
VIC 2023–24 0 0 0 0 0 0 in B.C. TBD
VIC Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0
WHL Totals 363 206 132 18 7 437

Awards and honours edit

Award Year
All-WCHA Second Team 1981–82 [7]
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1982 [8]
All-WCHA First Team 1982–83 [7]
AHCA West All-American 1982–83 [9]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b The 2020–21 WHL regular season was shortened, started late, then was cancelled early, and no playoffs were held, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Winnipeg Ice were in a mathematical position to finish anywhere from 2nd to 4th in the East Division when the season was cancelled.

References edit

  1. ^ "Sabres fire assistant coaches Patrick, Adams". TSN. May 9, 2013.
  2. ^ Fox, Luke (April 10, 2017). "NHL Black Monday Roundup: L.A. Kings clean house". Sportsnet. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  3. ^ Howard, Devin (June 6, 2017). "New ICE head coach excited to work with junior players". The Drive FM. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  4. ^ Trozzo, Tony (November 6, 2023). "Royals Name James Patrick Head Coach". chl.ca/whl-royals. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  5. ^ The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame - Steve Patrick Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Stubits, Brian (7 May 2014). "Stars assistant coach James Patrick charged with assault in Texas". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  7. ^ a b "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  8. ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  9. ^ "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  10. ^ "James Patrick". Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame - Honoured members database. Sport Manitoba. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  11. ^ Cohen, Russ; Halligan, John; Raider, Adam (2009). 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes and Colorful Characters. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0470736197. Retrieved 2020-02-04.

External links edit

Awards and achievements
Preceded by WCHA Freshman of the Year
1981–82
Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by New York Rangers first round draft pick
1981
Succeeded by
Preceded by Buffalo Sabres captain
December 2003
Succeeded by