Greg Pateryn Expected To Be Ready For Training Camp

It was a bit of a mystery when Greg Pateryn was ruled out for Minnesota Wild training camp when they got together to prepare for the postseason bubble, with the ominous “out indefinitely with an upper-body injury” tag placed upon him. Turns out, that’s because he had back surgery in June. Michael Russo of The Athletic caught up with Pateryn to talk about a tough year that included core muscle surgery last September which kept him out for all but 20 regular season games, and a microdiscectomy to repair a herniated disc in June.

Despite those injuries, Pateryn is focused on the upcoming season and is expected to be ready for training camp when things finally get off the ground. That’s good news for the Wild who invested $6.75MM in the free agent defenseman when they signed him to a three-year contract in 2018. When he was last healthy, playing 80 games for the Wild in 2018-19, he was a serviceable bottom-four guy who could contribute on the penalty kill and add some physicality to the lineup. Those kinds of players are valuable, even if it’s not the most glamorous role or one that really excites a fan base.

The question now though is what role will be left for him this season. After emerging as a full-time option in Pateryn’s absence, Carson Soucy was given a three-year deal this offseason and should see an increase in playing time. The team still has Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Suter, Matt Dumba and Jonas Brodin locked into top-four roles, with young players like Calen Addison soon to be pushing up from the minor leagues. It’s hard to see Pateryn as anything better than the sixth option on this team, and even that’s assuming that he’s playing over veteran Brad Hunt.

Still, it is at least good news that the 30-year-old Pateryn is back on the ice and ready to compete for a spot at training camp. The challenge now will be getting back to his former level of play and showing—ahead of another UFA summer—that he can still hack it at the NHL level.