Greg Pateryn has come a long way from a checkered tenure with the Montreal Canadiens to top four in minutes on the Dallas Stars’ blue line. During the 2017-18 season so far, he’s won the trust of his coaches to the point that he leads all Stars defenders for time on ice quality of competition.
Fans may like to mock head coach Ken Hitchcock’s “big” mantra (affectionately or otherwise), but Hitch has reasons other than Pateryn’s 6’3” stature for liking what he has become. Mike Heika of The Dallas Morning News writes:
“He’s a really competitive player who has a conscience for the team.