Building Blue: Riley Patterson Begins OHL Playoffs on the Heels of 40-Goal Season

The OHL playoffs are upon us, and the Vancouver Canucks’ 2024 fourth-round pick Riley Patterson is a key piece for the Niagara IceDogs as they matchup against Patterson’s former OHL team in the opening round. 

No Canucks prospect put up more points than Patterson did this season. The 20-year-old forward, who made the move to centre this season, finished the regular season with 40 goals and 44 assists in 60 games. 

It was the first season of Patterson’s OHL career in which he was an over-point-per-game player, finishing 11th in the league in points and one of five OHL players to score 40 or more goals this season.

“It was definitely a great season individually. The coaching staff and the players trusted me and put me in the right opportunities. That went great, and I was able to make the most of it. And, yeah, it was a ton of fun to do. I had tons of fun this season growing into this role,” said Patterson. 

IceDogs Head Coach Krys Barch said that the number one thing that sticks out about Patterson is his leadership. 

“He’s been a high-quality individual in our dressing room and has pushed everybody around him to be better,” said Barch. 

“His consistent investment in himself day after day shows leadership through actions, which is very valuable.” 

Following a strong regular season, Barch is giving Patterson a new challenge in the playoffs as the IceDogs, who finished seventh in the Eastern Conference, matchup against the second-placed Barrie Colts. 

“We’ve had some one-on-one discussions with him, and I think it’s now the challenge of putting the team on his shoulders, maximizing every shift, making and keeping himself accountable to the small details on both sides of the puck, and pushing his team as far as he can into the playoffs,” said Barch. 

The IceDogs’ coaching staff had confidence in Patterson from the start of the season and wanted to give him a blank canvas and get him to start painting. 

And paint he did.

Patterson quickly became one of the most dangerous offensive players in the league, being able to score from so many different areas on the ice. The skill that sticks out most to his head coach is Patterson’s release. 

“The combination of accuracy, release and velocity with his shot makes it possible for him to score in a lot of different situations. He’s great at rolling over top, finding traffic, and then he slingshots pucks to the net. From the top of the circles down, he is lethal at finding the back of the net,” said his coach. 

Patterson was also focused on getting his pace up in his third OHL season. The Canucks prospect has always been able to score in the OHL, but with pro hockey in his near future, he wanted to see the pace of his game rise so he would be confident for the next level. 

He has found that level in his game, and it has resulted not only in greater confidence with the puck but also in greater effectiveness as a 200-foot player. 

Patterson has a tough task in the first round as the Colts finished fourth in the OHL with a 45-14-9 record this season. Patterson spent his first two seasons with the Colts, and he’s looking forward to the challenge ahead in the first round of the OHL playoffs.