Family ties bring skate expectations
Patrick, Foote latest in a line of prospects looking to follow their fathers into the NHL
CHICAGO— In a way, it almost seems like as if it was Nolan Patrick’s destiny to play in the NHL.
The presumptive first pick overall in Friday’s first round of the NHL draft is after all the son of one NHLer, and the nephew of another.
“I don’t think we’re different from other families,” Patrick said Thursday as some of the top picks cruised Lake Michigan.
“Just because we’re a hockey family, it doesn’t mean we were talking hockey 24-7.
“But, yeah, my dad and uncle being former NHL players were huge for me growing up. They taught me so much.”
Patrick’s dad is Steve, a right winger who played 250 games for Buffalo, the Rangers and Quebec, retiring in 1986. His uncle was James, who played 1,280 games from 1984 to 2004 for the Rangers, Hartford, Calgary and Buffalo. From the Apps to the Howes and from the Hulls to the Stastnys, the father-and-son bloodlines are a part of the NHL’s DNA. It seems each draft is loaded with high-end talent in which the father has apparently passed the hockey gene on to the son.
Last year, three sons-of — Matthew Tkachuk, Alexander Nylander and Jacob Chycrun — went in the top 16. The year before, Jake Debrusk went 14th.
In 2014, there were more in the first round: Sam Reinhart, William Nylander, and Kasperi Kapanen. Even Leon Draisaitl’s father was a pro in Europe.
This year, Adam Foote’s son Callum will join Patrick in the first round.
“For me, it’s a byproduct of hockey being a great game, and families are playing it,” said Brian Lawton, a former NHLer and former general manager, who sees a competitive advantage for players whose fathers played pro.
“For the most part, the guys that have played hockey, their kids have a competitive advantage, like Tkachuk last year,” said Lawton.
“They didn’t draft him because he’s Keith Tkachuk’s son. They valued that he would get it in terms of what it means to be a professional.”
In Lawton’s view, Matthew Tkachuk benefit from his father’s tutoring, knowing that doing the little things better was the difference between staying in the NHL and returning to junior for another season, a distinct possibility for last year’s fourth overall pick.
“(Keith) was very communicative about his experiences with Matthew. He was a guy that was right on the bubble for staying in the league, and he figured it out.
“He just made a conscious decision, it was right from his dad, to do everything you can to prove your value every day. For Matthew, he was finishing his checks, he had that extra hustle, that extra eighth of an inch. It was what he needed to keep himself in the NHL.”
But something else is at play as well. The playing field these days isn’t all that level. Hockey’s an expensive sport.
“The players who played in the NHL have the financial resources,” said Mark Seidel, chief scout for North American Central Scouting, an independent service.
“The game has become so expen- sive, so specialized. You need financial resources so the kid can do whatever they need, like extra skating.”
As well, the contacts the dad has built up over a career are also to the son’s benefit: the best skating coach, the best skills coach, the best equipment.
And just think of the upbringing: the son playing in the family backyard rink is playing with someone with NHL skills.
“This game is all about relationships,” said Seidel. “Say the kid is in atom, and the dad is an NHLer. The coach is excited. So he gets extra attention.”
It all adds up. By the time the son is ready for the NHL, scouts and teams are ready for him.
“They know he’s been subject of a lot of good coaching,” said Seidel.
“No one was going to draft Max Domi because he was Tie Domi’s kid. But Max Domi was what he was because he was the son of an NHLer.”
Nolan Patrick isn’t sure about all that. The captain of the Brandon Wheat Kings says his parents helped him more off the ice than on.
“I don’t think being the son (of an NHLer) makes me a better player. But they do give me good advice. I just have to do the work to be the player I am, and keep improving.”