It’s no secret that the Hamilton Bulldogs have gotten off to a disappointing start to the 2014-15 season. After overhauling a roster that severely underperformed last year, hopes were high that a team filled with a strong mix of veteran prowess and high potential prospects would lead the club back to the post-season. Yet while it’s still early, 17 games into the season, at 7-8-2 the club is just one point behind the 2013-14 edition with what should be a far superior line-up, and that team finished 13th in the West, 9 points out of the final playoff spot.
Replacing an aging, underperforming Martin St. Pierre, an all effort, no results Mike Blunden, and a bust of a prospect in Louis Leblanc with an in-his-prime T.J. Hensick, recent NHL’ers in Eric Tangradi and Jake Dowell, and a fast-rising prospect in Charles Hudon should’ve immediately upgraded the offense. Add to that AHL stints from NHL calibre forwards like Michael Bournival and Drayson Bowman, and returning leaders on the upswing of their career in Gabriel Dumont, Sven Andrighetto and Christian Thomas, and the team should have come out of the gates blazing.
But they didn’t. One obvious absence from the year prior was Dustin Tokarski, with Joey MacDonald performing well enough to avoid the brunt of the blame, but hardly living up to the standards of the guy now backing up Carey Price in Montreal.
Then you look at the defense. The key players are back, though both Nathan Beaulieu and Jarred Tinordi have spent some time in Montreal, and it now seems like the former is there to stay. In their stead, you have a healthy Darren Dietz and Davis Drewiske right from the get-go, plus the return of Magnus Nygren and toughness from Joe Finley.
While many have decided that the improved roster means all heat should be placed on head coach Sylvain Lefebvre, there is also one key member of the back end not mentioned above, who remains with the team, but has been a shell of his former self rather than making the leap to the next level.
That player, of course, is Greg Pateryn, who entered the season with as good a chance as any to stick as a spare blueliner with the Canadiens, but has underwhelmed right from the onset of training camp. And this on the heels of signing a new two-year deal, the second half of which is one-way with NHL money guaranteed in a year in which he’ll no longer be waiver exempt.
(Photo credit: Brandon Taylor / Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Club)
It wasn’t long ago when an older, less hyped Pateryn was significantly outperforming first round pedigrees Beaulieu and Tinordi as all three were rookies in Hamilton. At 6’2”, 222 lbs, Pateryn has the size Montreal had been looking for on the blueline, and he was the first of the trio to grow into the frame, and thus play the most physically. If that and his defensive positioning were his edges on Tinordi, he also developed a knack for forcing his point shots through traffic in front, putting him on par with Beaulieu in terms of scoring. His balanced, jack-of-all-trades skill set meant Lefebvre trusted him to play big minutes and employed him in all situations.
Pateryn’s play earned him a cup of coffee with the Canadiens in 2012-13, but while he spent time travelling with the team last year, he was not called upon to dress for any games. Still, his play continued to progress at the American Hockey League level, where his 15 goals in 68 games ranked second among league defensemen. He could very well have shared team MVP honours, officially bestowed upon Tokarski, as he was by far the most consistent and dependable member of the squad. This season? His first period powerplay marker in the team’s 15th game was his first goal and only second point of the year.
“The guys were patting me on the back, and making jokes and stuff. It’s just one of those things where my shot is an asset of my game, and I got to be able to use it night in, night out. Tonight I got the monkey off my back, so hopefully good things come from this,” summarized the blueliner, as his contributions to an overtime win not only helped his own stat line, but also his team remain within striking distance of the .500 mark.
What’s been holding him back in his progression, in a word, is speed. His skating is one component of this, adequate for the American Hockey League but a strike against him when facing speedy NHL-calibre opposition. The piece he has more control to improve, however, is his decision-making speed on ice. This is also something he has a better grasp on at the AHL level, where you have a little more time to select a play, but even there, he has noticed opposition keying in on him, which has made it more difficult to produce. “It seems like guys know I can shoot the puck now, so I hear them on the ice saying, ‘one-timer, watch the shot,’ and stuff, so maybe they are coming after me a bit. To be effective from the point, you have to get open for those shots,” explained Pateryn on the adjustments he is trying to bring to his game. “I’m trying to keep my head up, making sure I know where guys are on the ice. So when I get the puck, I can just let it rip.”
If he is to make the jump to the Canadiens, he’ll need to further develop his awareness and confidence in following his instincts to make the correct play as soon as it becomes available. He needs to keep his game simple to avoid bobbling pucks or turning them over.
Has coaching impacted his game? One could argue it isn’t helped. Michel Therrien was quite stern in his regards at the end of training camp, and then a player who spent most of the last two seasons paired with either Beaulieu or Tinordi has been shuffled through a variety of partners by his Sylvain Lefebvre this season.
Pateryn, however, isn’t looking for excuses. “Guys are always moving up and down. It doesn’t matter who you’re going to play with. You gotta be ready night in, night out,” he assured. Still, finding a stable, reliable compliment to his style might be what he needs to continue developing. Which he may finally have, if Montreal’s acquisition of Sergei Gonchar means Tinordi will spend most of his time in Canada’s Steeltown. And Pateryn would welcome the stability. “[Jarred and I] played together in the past, so we have some chemistry already.”
For Pateryn, while it may not be a contract year, this could very well be a career-defining season. At age 24, he has clearly been leapfrogged by Beaulieu and Tinordi in team’s depth chart, and risks to have Darren Dietz and Magnus Nygren fly past him as well. As a waiver-eligible player on a one-way deal next season, he’ll no longer be compared to the prospects in this group, but fairly assessed against any journeyman veterans who could just as easily fill an organizational depth and leadership role. At this stage, he seems destined to follow in the footsteps of a Frederic St. Denis or Dan Jancevski. His window to “make it,” at least with this organization, is quickly closing, and it’s on him to prove he’s worthy of forcing Marc Bergevin to clear a spot for him with the big team.
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