In October Greg Pateryn was just “sticking with it.”
He was the eighth defender on the Stars depth chart, hadn’t played a single game, and was essentially a glorified practice player that helped goalie coach Jeff Reese warm-up Kari Lehtonen before morning skates.
It seemed pretty clear, the Dallas Stars didn’t have any plans of Pateryn making an impact in the lineup. Even in the preseason, when the Stars had a somewhat open competition on defense, Pateryn was only in the lineup for a pair of games and never had a real chance to impress.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to stick with it and be patient,” Pateryn said back in October. “And it seems to be how I start the season most times. But I always end up finishing the seasons a lot stronger, so I think it’s something I keep in mind.”
His persistence paid off and six weeks later Pateryn was answering questions on Tuesday morning about leading the Stars defensemen in ice time in recent games.
Since he first stepped into the lineup on Oct. 26 the 27-year-old righty has played an incredibly simple game. He and Dan Hamhuis aren’t flashy by any means, and as the season has progressed Pateryn has started playing frequently in high-leverage situations and has become one of the most important penalty killers (especially with Marc Methot injured).
“Keeping it simple. As cliche as it sounds, that’s what works,” Pateryn said. “Especially in this league, with guys that are so good, you’ve got to keep it simple and wait for breakdowns on their end. And you can’t give them anything and I think that’s where Hammer and I have found success.”
Communication has also been key. Even before he became a lineup regular Pateryn would discuss the game with Hamhuis — they sit near each other in the locker room — and when Pateryn entered the lineup there was instant chemistry with a pair of disciplined, not-so-flashy defenders.
“It makes it easy to read off each other,” Hamhuis said. “There was a lot of communication earlier, but now I’ve think we played so many games together, it’s becoming a little more automatic and you know where the other guy is going to be.”
The Stars are already a good defensive team, overall this is how they’ve done in limiting shots in high danger areas (blue is good):
When Pateryn is on the ice teams have had an even harder time getting to the net.
Designed or not, the Hamhus-Pateryn pairing has unlocked more opportunities for the Stars top pairing of Esa Lindell and John Klingberg. With Pateryn and Hamhuis picking up heavy minutes in the defensive end, Lindell and Klingberg have been given more freedom and the luxury of additional offensive zone situations.
“There is trust between that pair and the coach, we now play them against top players and we have no issues playing them,” Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. “You’ve got two smart veteran competitive players that know how to play against top players. They don’t give up easy, they don’t get caught out of position and I think they’ve been a real blessing for us, to be honest with you.”
And when Pateryn adds an occasional goal, like he did against Colorado on Sunday, it’s just an added bonus.
“I always get one a year, so I’m just a shot away from a career high,” Pateryn said.
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