Royals hire James Patrick as director of player development

Former NHL defenceman and 2022 WHL Coach of the Year James Patrick has been hired by the Victoria Royals as the Club’s new director of player development.

The Royals announced Patrick’s hiring Wednesday morning. Patrick joins the Victoria Royals after spending the past six seasons as head coach of the Kootenay / Winnipeg ICE.

“We are very excited and fortunate to have James join our hockey club” said Royals associate general manager Jake Heisinger. “James has had a positive impact on countless players over his time in the WHL and will be a great resource for Royals players as they pursue their hockey careers.”

In his new role with Victoria, Patrick will shift his focus from behind the bench to the player development department.

With Kootenay / Winnipeg, Patrick helped develop five first-round NHL Draft selections over his six seasons as head coach; his ICE Club won the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as WHL regular season champions in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and captured the WHL Eastern Conference Championship this past spring.

He was awarded the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy as WHL Coach of the Year in 2022 after leading Winnipeg to a League-best 53-10-3-2 record during the 2021-22 regular season.

As a player Patrick, who hails from Winnipeg, Man., recorded 639 NHL points in almost 1,300 appearances with the New York Rangers, Hartford Whalers, Calgary Flames and Buffalo Sabres.

Following his playing career, he served as an assistant coach with both the Sabres and Dallas Stars.

NEWS: The Victoria Royals have named James Patrick as Director of Player Development.

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— Victoria Royals (@victoriaroyals) August 23, 2023