The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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PATERYN Senior Defenseman Greg Pateryn's Game Has Grown Considerably During His Career BY MICHAEL SPATH P erched in the northwest corner of Yost Ice Arena, on the third level, NHL scouts gather every Friday and Saturday night to evaluate the progress of their draft picks — on Michigan, 11 skaters have been selected in previous drafts — and rate the remaining eligible. When pressed to identify the most impressive player, four of five this season have consistently gone with senior defenseman Greg Pateryn. "Pateryn's biggest step forward this season from last year is the confidence level he has shown in his own game," one of the scouts said, asking for ano- nymity. "He's responded very well to the challenge of providing leadership to a young defensive corps, and that appears to have raised his individual performance level. "His initial skill level — skating, heavy shot, puck handling — was good enough to get him drafted, and he's improved tremendously in each area. He will have to show the same learning curve on the next level, and probably has to accelerate it some because it's taken him four years to really find his potential. "But you look at someone like Steve Kampfer, a former Michigan defense- man from a few years ago, that never really had the 'wow' factor in college, but was solid, and last season he was playing in the playoffs for the Boston Bruins; he helped them win the Stanley Cup. "Pateryn seems to have really worked on his weaknesses, and a kid with some natural ability and a great work ethic will get a chance." Pateryn's game has evolved considerably since his first day on campus four years ago, making the progress head coach Red Berenson believes shows the true value of taking the college path. "That is really the rewarding part of coaching and the point of college hockey … is seeing a kid like Greg Pateryn," Berenson said. "He fought his weight, his conditioning, his foot speed, his agility, and puck handling, and on and on and on. And now look at him. The system has helped him develop, and he's a player now that he'll be playing somewhere professionally next year. "Pateryn is a role model for all of these kids. He's a top student, a hard- working kid, a personable kid, an accountable player and he'll make you ac- countable too. He's a captain, a leader, a senior, and he goes out and does it. He doesn't just talk about it. He does it. He's a good example of what a senior should be like at Michigan." EARLY STRUGGLES Though a Toronto Maple Leafs fifth-round selection in the 2008 NHL Draft — since traded to Montreal — Pateryn was not a polished, college-ready defense- man when he arrived in Ann Arbor late that fall. The Sterling Heights, Mich., native was 18, but he had spent only one season in junior hockey, playing his DECEMBER 2011 THE WOLVERINE 77 O f S u c c e s s