Nolan Patrick

Lore & Background

Patrick played AAA Bantam Hockey with the Winnipeg Hawks in 2012–13, recording 75 points in 19 games despite missing nearly half the season with a shoulder injury. He was selected fourth overall by the Brandon Wheat Kings in the 2013 WHL bantam draft. After a call-up in December 2013 due to roster injuries, he played three games with the Wheat Kings at the conclusion of his Midget AAA season. In his rookie WHL season (2014–15), he recorded 56 points in 55 games and won the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as WHL rookie of the year despite missing 17 games with an upper-body injury.

During the 2015–16 season, Patrick became the first 17-year-old Wheat Kings player to record over 100 points since 1976–77. He led all players in postseason points, won the Ed Chynoweth Cup, and was named WHL Playoff MVP. After the season, it was revealed he had played through a sports hernia injury suffered on April 27, 2016. He underwent sports hernia surgery.

Named captain of the Wheat Kings for the 2016–17 season, Patrick was widely considered the top prospect for the 2017 NHL entry draft. However, after six games he was sidelined with an upper-body injury that was later revealed to be a complication of the previous season's sports hernia injury. Despite missing most of the regular season and all four playoff games, he was ranked the No. 1 North American skater by NHL Central Scouting.

Rising Through the Junior Ranks

Nolan Patrick's path to professional hockey was shaped as much by relentless preparation as by raw talent. Growing up in Winnipeg, his father converted their family garage into a personal training space, and he spent summers drilling alongside his uncle. That work ethic showed early: as a bantam with the Winnipeg Hawks in 2012–13, he posted 75 points across just 19 games before a shoulder injury cost him nearly half the campaign. Selected fourth overall by the Brandon Wheat Kings in the 2013 WHL bantam draft, Patrick made his senior debut in December 2013 after a wave of roster injuries pulled him up from the Midget AAA Winnipeg Thrashers.

His true breakout came in 2015–16, when the 17-year-old became the first Wheat Kings teenager to surpass 100 points since the 1976–77 season. He anchored the team's Ed Chynoweth Cup run, led all players in postseason scoring, and captured the WHL Playoff MVP award. Unbeknownst to fans, he had been playing through a sports hernia sustained in the Eastern Conference finals, a condition that would continue to plague him into his final junior year.

The #2 Overall Pick and a Promising Debut

By the summer of 2017, NHL Central Scouting had anointed Patrick the top North American skater in the class. Director Dan Marr described him as 'as complete an NHL package as you are going to find,' praising his pedigree, skill set, and measurable impact. On June 23, the Philadelphia Flyers made him the second overall selection in the NHL entry draft, and within three weeks he signed a three-year entry-level deal. His arrival in the league was immediate: he debuted on October 4 against the San Jose Sharks, recorded his first assist on Ivan Provorov's goal in a 3–2 overtime win over Anaheim, and scored his first NHL goal against Nashville just six days later.

A hard hit from Chris Wagner in late October cost him nine games, but he still finished his rookie campaign with 30 points in 73 appearances. The Flyers advanced to the playoffs, where Patrick found his first postseason goal in Game 2 against Pittsburgh. His impact earned him the NHL Network's No. 1 breakout player nod heading into 2018–19, cementing the sense that the Flyers had a cornerstone in the making.

The Migraine Diagnosis and a Season Lost

The 2019 off-season brought an unexpected and devastating twist. While exercising, Patrick began experiencing persistent headaches that steadily eroded his performance. At the Flyers' training camp, the issue was initially labeled a generic 'upper-body injury,' but by September a neurologist at the University of Michigan identified the true cause: a migraine disorder. General manager Chuck Fletcher publicly clarified that the condition was not linked to ice hockey and that it ran in Patrick's family.

Patrick returned to skating in February 2020 and expressed hope of suiting up before the regular season concluded. The NHL's indefinite suspension on March 12 due to the pandemic rendered that hope moot. When the league's Return to Play initiative launched in July, Patrick did not appear on the Flyers' training camp roster, effectively ending his 2019–20 season. The episode marked the first time in his career that a non-contact, non-hockey-related medical condition had removed him from the ice for an entire year.

A Difficult Return and the Road Ahead

Patrick accepted a one-year qualifying offer worth $874,125 in October 2020, and cleared all medical protocols before the 2020–21 training camp. He practiced on a line with Travis Konecny and Carsen Twarynski and scored in the season opener, a 6–3 victory over Pittsburgh—his first NHL game in 650 days. The emotional significance of that goal could not mask what followed. Across 52 of the Flyers' 56 pandemic-shortened games, Patrick managed just four goals and five assists while posting a minus-30 plus-minus.

In post-season interviews he described feeling 'like I came in behind the eight-ball,' explaining that he had deliberately avoided strong contact early in the year because of his migraine disorder. A shot from teammate Philippe Myers in mid-April cost him two additional games. Patrick ultimately played four NHL seasons split between Philadelphia and the Vegas Golden Knights before retiring, a career whose trajectory was defined less by sustained production than by a relentless series of setbacks that kept interrupting his development.

Reader's Guide

Patrick's significance lies in his status as a top prospect whose career was heavily impacted by injuries and a migraine disorder. Drafted second overall by the Flyers in 2017, he was described by NHL director of Central Scouting Dan Marr as 'as complete an NHL package as you are going to find.' His rookie season produced 30 points in 73 games and a playoff goal. However, during the 2019 off-season, he began experiencing headaches and was diagnosed with a migraine disorder, which was not believed to be related to ice hockey and ran in his family.

He missed the entire 2019–20 season and did not join the Flyers' training camp for the NHL's 'Return to Play Plan.' After accepting a one-year qualifying offer in October 2020, he scored in the season opener—his first NHL game in 650 days—but finished the pandemic-shortened season with only nine points and a –30 plus-minus. He told reporters he felt 'like I came in behind the eight-ball' and had avoided strong contact due to his migraine disorder. In July 2021, the Flyers traded Patrick to the Nashville Predators, who immediately flipped him to the Vegas Golden Knights.

He signed a two-year, $2.4 million contract with Vegas but was sidelined with an upper-body injury in October 2021. The Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup in 2022–23 without Patrick and did not ask for an exemption to engrave his name on the Cup. He became an unrestricted free agent on June 30, 2023.

Did You Know?

• Patrick's father Steve played 250 NHL games, and his mother Carrie was named to Canada's 1996 Olympic volleyball team but missed due to a torn ACL.