Patrick Wiercioch
Patrick Wiercioch | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 12, 1990 Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada |
| Occupation | Ice hockey defenseman |
| Years active | 2010–2021 |
Patrick Wiercioch (born September 12, 1990) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenseman. He competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Ottawa Senators, who selected him in the 2008 draft, as well as the Colorado Avalanche. Wiercioch was born in Burnaby, British Columbia, and grew up in Maple Ridge, British Columbia.
Playing career
Wiercioch took part in the 2003 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament representing a minor hockey team from North Vancouver during his youth.
Amateur
Hailing from Vancouver, Wiercioch played junior hockey in the British Columbia Hockey League with the Burnaby Express during the 2006–07 season, then moved to the United States Hockey League to skate for the Omaha Lancers in 2007–08. The Ottawa Senators picked him 42nd overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
He chose to play college hockey at the University of Denver within the Western Collegiate Hockey Association starting in the 2008–09 season. As a freshman, he tallied 12 goals and totaled 35 points over 36 games, earning recognition on both the All-Rookie Team and Second All-Star Team of the WCHA. In his sophomore year (2009–10), he improved to 27 points in 39 contests, securing a place on the First All-Star Team and receiving All-American accolades.
Professional
Wiercioch launched his professional career by signing a three-year entry-level deal with the Ottawa Senators on April 2, 2010. He made his professional debut during the 2010–11 NHL season with Ottawa’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, establishing himself as one of their top four defensemen and contributing four goals and eighteen points across sixty-seven games. On March 22, 2011, he was promoted to the NHL, making his debut that evening and quickly registering his first NHL point. After appearing in eight NHL games, he returned to Binghamton and played a key role in their Calder Cup championship run with fifteen playoff appearances.
Throughout most of the 2011–12 season and into early 2012–13, Wiercioch remained primarily in the AHL before joining Ottawa following the lockout. He scored his inaugural NHL goal on March 3, 2013, concluding that season ranked fifth in team scoring with nineteen points over forty-two games and second among rookie defensemen league-wide. As a restricted free agent, he agreed to a three-year contract extension with Ottawa on July 23, 2013.
During the 2013–14 campaign, Wiercioch set personal bests with nineteen assists and twenty-three points over fifty-three games despite being frequently scratched while healthy. He reached his milestone of one hundred NHL games played on April 8, 2014. The subsequent season saw a reduction in both offensive output and ice time; nevertheless, he tied for team lead in postseason scoring with four points during Ottawa’s first-round playoff exit. The 2015–16 season continued to reflect challenges offensively and limited playing opportunities, culminating in his release as a free agent after Ottawa chose not to tender a qualifying offer following four seasons.
On July 1, 2016, Wiercioch inked a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche, reuniting with former college teammate Joe Colborne. He began well with early contributions but ended up tallying twelve points over a career-high fifty-seven games while primarily serving in a rotational capacity on an underperforming squad. The Avalanche opted not to extend a qualifying offer come June 2017.
Subsequently, Wiercioch signed a one-year contract worth $650,000 with his hometown team, the Vancouver Canucks, on July 1, 2017. After limited interest from teams within North America following that season, he moved overseas by signing with Belarusian outfit HC Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) on July 9, 2018. He delivered solid performance statistics for Minsk during the 2018–19 KHL season, accumulating eight goals and twenty-five points over fifty-nine games.
Continuing his European tenure as an unrestricted free agent for the 2019–20 campaign, Wiercioch joined Italian side HC Bolzano competing in the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL) on December 11, 2019. After completing one season there, he transferred to Sweden to assist Timrå IK in securing promotion from the HockeyAllsvenskan league to Sweden’s premier division, the Swedish Hockey League.
International competition
Wiercioch made his debut on the international stage after being invited to participate in Canada's selection camps for the World Junior Championships in both 2009 and 2010, although an injury prevented him from competing in the latter tournament. In 2015, he played a role in helping Canada capture the gold medal at the IIHF World Championship, where the team completed an undefeated 10-0 run to claim their first championship since 2007.
Personal details
Wiercioch and his spouse, Kresson, are parents to three children: Paxton, Lachlan, and Leighton.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2005–06 | Vancouver North East Attack | BCMML | 35 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Burnaby Express | BCHL | 42 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 46 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 | ||
| 2007–08 | Omaha Lancers | USHL | 40 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 14 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 22 | ||
| 2008–09 | University of Denver | WCHA | 36 | 12 | 23 | 35 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | University of Denver | WCHA | 39 | 6 | 21 | 27 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 67 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 25 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 57 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 32 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 42 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 53 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 20 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2014–15 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 56 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 28 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2015–16 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 52 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 24 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2016–17 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 57 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 23 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2017–18 | Utica Comets | AHL | 58 | 10 | 27 | 37 | 45 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Dinamo Minsk | KHL | 59 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 34 | |||||||
| 2019–20 | HC Bolzano | EBEL | 19 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |||
| 2020–21 | Timrå IK | Allsv | 11 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 12 | ||
| NHL totals | 268 | 16 | 58 | 74 | 138 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Tournament | Outcome | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Canada | WC | Template:Gold1 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | |
| Senior career totals | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| USHL | ||
| Clark Cup (Omaha Lancers) | 2008 | |
| College | ||
| All-WCHA Second Team | 2009 | |
| All-WCHA Rookie Team | 2009 | |
| WCHA All-Tournament Team | 2009 | |
| All-WCHA First Team | 2010 | |
| AHCA West First-Team All-American | 2010 | |
| AHL | ||
| Calder Cup (Binghamton Senators) | 2011 | |