Brayden Pachal (born August 23, 1999) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

currently playing for the

Henderson Silver Knights The Henderson Silver Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in Henderson, Nevada, that began play in the 2020–21 American Hockey League (AHL) season. The team plays its home games at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. The tea ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL), whom he serves as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of, as a prospect for the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. Founded in 2017 as an expan ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL).

Playing career

Pachal began in Junior A hockey with the

Estevan Bruins Estevan is the eighth-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is approximately north of the Canada–United States border. The Souris River runs by the city. This city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Estevan No. 5. History The ...

of the

Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Open to North American-born players 20 years of ...

(SJHL), before joining the Victoria Royals of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL) for the 2015–16 season. Pachal spent a season and a half with Victoria, before being traded to the Prince Albert Raiders during the 2016–17 season. Pachal would then spend the next two seasons with Prince Albert, being named captain of the team ahead of the 2018–19 season; the same year, Pachal would lead the Raiders to their second WHL Championship. As an undrafted free agent, Pachal was signed to a three-year entry-level contract by the

on September 20, 2019, joining Vegas' then-

(AHL) affiliate

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

shortly afterward. On January 20, 2022, in the midst of the 2021–22 season, Pachal was named captain of the

, Vegas' new AHL affiliate. Pachal made his NHL debut with Vegas on March 15, 2022. As a restricted free agent, Pachal signed a one-year contract extension with Vegas on July 28, 2022. Pachal recorded his first NHL point on December 15, 2022, with a secondary assist on

Reilly Smith Reilly Smith (born April 1, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger and alternate captain for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). Growing up in Toronto, Smith played junior hockey with St. Michael's ...

's empty-net goal against the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

Family

Pachal is a grandson of Vern Pachal, who played for the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

and at the minor professional level in the early 1950s in the

Eastern Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart, ...

and

. His cousin

Clayton Pachal Clayton Edward Pachal (April 21, 1956 – February 7, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre. He played 36 games in the National Hockey League between 1977 and 1978 with the Boston Bruins and Colorado Rockies. Biography Born in York ...

played in the NHL for the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

and

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pachal, Brayden 1999 births Living people Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chicago Wolves players Estevan Bruins players Fort Wayne Komets players Henderson Silver Knights players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan People from Estevan Prince Albert Raiders players Undrafted National Hockey League players Vegas Golden Knights players Victoria Royals players