Building Blue: Riley Patterson is the OHL’s Player of the Month for December

They say that the third time is the charm, and that popular idiom is often found faithful in the Ontario Hockey League, where we see 2024 fourth-round pick Riley Patterson off to a tremendous start with his new team, the Niagara IceDogs.

The 19-year-old forward has made the move from the wing to playing centre and is building on his success from his previous two OHL seasons.

Patterson is fresh off being named the OHL’s player of the month for December. He picked up nine goals and 10 assists for 19 points in 11 games, and his IceDogs reeled off a 7-4-0 record in the final month of the calendar year.

“It’s a really cool honour to have. It was a good month for us. We had a tough month of November, but came back and had a strong month in December. For myself, I continue to work every day, and I’m definitely seeing the results, and it feels good,” said Patterson.

Patterson is scoring a lot of his goals because of his willingness to go to the net and his offensive awareness to find openings in high-danger areas. He has proven he can score from a variety of areas on the ice with his potent wrist shot, but this season’s success is building more confidence in his game, which is helping his development as he makes strides toward becoming a pro.

“I obviously believe in myself as a player and believe I can do great things, but yeah, I think it’s just the work that I’m putting in within the team’s system. Having great teammates and a creative coaching staff has helped me get to this point,” said Patterson.

Patterson is in his first season with the IceDogs after playing two seasons with the Barrie Colts. He knew things would be different with a new organization. Still, the IceDogs have been so supportive, giving Patterson opportunities to expand his game, and their belief in the young forward is paying off.

He currently sits in fourth for OHL scoring, with 49 points (22g-27a) in 35 games. He has had multi-point efforts in 46% of his games this season, and the move to centre has helped him open up his game.

“I played centre my first year in junior and grew up playing the position, so it was good to play wing for a bit and learn that position because I feel I can be a very adaptable player,” said Patterson. “I love playing down the middle, and Niagara’s coaching staff has put the trust in me to play the position. I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job right now.”

Aside from his scoring prowess, Patterson has been happy with how he has been able to raise his pace in his third OHL season. He likes how the game feels to him, with or without the puck on his stick, and he is trying to continue driving his feet to make plays happen at both ends of the rink.

It’s been a hot start to the season for Patterson, and he put a nice bow on 2025 by being named the OHL’s Player of the Month in December.

We are now onto 2026, and excited to see what Patterson can do as he continues to build and grow his game.