Jiří Patera (born February 24, 1999) is a Czech professional ice hockey

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

for the

Abbotsford Canucks The Abbotsford Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The team began play in the 2021–22 season with home games at Abbotsford Centre as the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hocke ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL), while under contract to the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He previously played junior in the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

(USHL) with the

Cedar Rapids RoughRiders The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL). Before moving to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1999, the team was based in Mason City, where they were known as the North Iowa Huski ...

and in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a 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 hocke ...

(WHL) with the

Brandon Wheat Kings The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadians, Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. Founded in 1936, the team was for three decades a successful junior team playing principally in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The Whe ...

, and was drafted in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL entry draft by the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Golden Knights compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division ...

, with whom he made his NHL debut in 2023.

Playing career

Patera began his career within the youth system of

HC Slavia Praha HC Slavia Praha (eng: HC Slavia Prague) is a Czech professional ice hockey team located in Prague playing in the Czech 1st National Hockey League, the second-highest league in the country. Slavia played in the Czech Extraliga from 1994 until ...

, before joining the system of ČEZ Motor České Budějovice in 2016–17; shortly thereafter, he was selected in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL entry draft by the then-expansion team

. He entered junior hockey with the

's (USHL)

in 2017–18, playing 34 games for the club. He then transitioned to the Canadian junior system, joining the

of the

(WHL) in 2018–19. Patera spent two years in Brandon, posting a career .913 save percentage and 2.95 goals against average over 89 total games played, while being named Eastern Conference Goaltender of the Year for the

2019–20 WHL season The 2019–20 WHL season was the 54th season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The regular season began on September 20, 2019, and was scheduled to end on March 22, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America the regular season was susp ...

. Patera signed his three-year entry-level contract with Vegas on 30 June 2020. With the

(AHL) season delayed alongside the NHL season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Patera was loaned to his former Czech club of České Budějovice, where he played 15 games during the 2020–21 Extraliga season. Patera would then join Vegas' AHL affiliate, the

Henderson Silver Knights The Henderson Silver Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in Henderson, Nevada. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team plays its home games at Lee ...

, for the 2020–21 season. During the 2022–23 season, with the Golden Knights suffering injuries to multiple goaltenders, Patera was recalled from the Silver Knights in March 2023. He then made his NHL debut on 12 March 2023, posting his first career win and saving 30 of 33 shots faced as the Golden Knights defeated the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

5–3. Despite only playing in two regular-season games, Patera spent the majority of the 2023 playoffs on Vegas' active roster, serving as the third or fourth-string goaltender behind

Laurent Brossoit Laurent Brossoit (born March 23, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Brossoit won the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023 Stanley Cup Finals, 2023. ...

Adin Hill Adin Hill (born May 11, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hill was selected by the Arizona Coyotes, 76th overall, in the 2015 NHL entry draft. He has also pla ...

, and

Jonathan Quick Jonathan Douglas Quick (born January 21, 1986) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Quick was selected in the third round, 72nd overall, by the Los Angeles Kings at the ...

; as a result, Patera was subsequently a part of the Golden Knights' eventual Stanley Cup victory. As a restricted free agent, Patera signed a one-year extension with Vegas on July 2, 2023. After beginning the season with Henderson, Patera was recalled to the Golden Knights on December 2 due to an injury to

. Patera then made his 2023–24 season debut on December 10, stopping 35 of 39 shots in a 5–4

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...

victory over the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

. As a free agent following the 2023–24 season, Patera signed a two-year, two-way contract with the

on July 1, 2024. Three months later, on October 2, Patera was claimed off waivers by 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 (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

ahead of the 2024–25 season. However, just four days later, Boston also placed Patera on waivers, and he was subsequently re-claimed by Vancouver on October 7.

International play

Patera was named to the Czech under-18 team roster for the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, but did not play. Patera would later appear for the under-18 team in three games at the

2017 IIHF World U18 Championships The 2017 IIHF U18 World Championship was the 19th IIHF World U18 Championship and was hosted by Poprad and Spišská Nová Ves, Slovakia. The tournament was played from 13 to 23 April 2017. Finland entered the tournament as the defending champions ...

, before joining the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

for the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championships, appearing in one game.

Career statistics

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Patera, Jiri 1999 births Living people Abbotsford Canucks players Brandon Wheat Kings players Cedar Rapids RoughRiders players Czech expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Czech ice hockey goaltenders Fort Wayne Komets players Henderson Silver Knights players Ice hockey people from Prague Motor České Budějovice players Vegas Golden Knights draft picks Vegas Golden Knights players 21st-century Czech sportsmen