Building Blue: Riley Patterson Accelerated his Improvement in the Summer and has High Expectations for Second OHL Season

Following a season where he led OHL rookies in goals, 18-year-old Riley Patterson is back with the Barrie Colts and looking to build on what he accomplished in his first year.

Patterson called this past summer a crazy one but also said that it flew by quicker than any summer he’s ever experienced. The NHL draft in Vegas was a once-in-a-lifetime experience but Patterson spoke of Canucks development camp being the best part of his summer.

“June was super busy, and it felt like it was just, go, go, go,” said Patterson. “I always want to improve my game and accelerate how I can improve it. I was able to do that in the gym and on the ice while also learning from coaches at development camp. I took all that work into the rest of my summer because I’m always looking for ways to improve.”

It wasn’t just the development camp that Patterson attended with the Vancouver Canucks organization. Because he is a CHL player, the young forward was able to be in the mix at Canucks training camp and had the opportunity to talk to, battle with, and learn from NHLers.

“It was an unreal experience,” said Patterson about attending Canucks training camp. “I tried to ask as many questions as I could. The only way I can put it into words is to say that I enjoyed every second of it. There were times when I just sat and watched the other groups practice because I just wanted to watch how they carried themselves and pay attention to the small details.”

Patterson scored 29 goals last season and is looking to build on that in his sophomore season. He knows he needs to be in the guts of the ice to score goals and is working on finding open ice while attacking. As much as he is focused on building a complete game, Patterson knows that he needs to let his best skills shine and work on them as much as he works on his weaknesses.

One part of his game that Patterson feels most confident in is the mental side. When things aren’t going his way, he reinforces good habits with positive self-talk and even mummers to himself on the bench at times, which he will admit, catches some strange looks from teammates.

“I try to believe in myself and trust myself,” said Patterson. “I put the work in during the summer, and I put the work in every day. I trust that when I go out there, I can do everything to the best of my ability. That comes with self-talk. I have some positive self-talk and tell myself that I deserve to be there and that I’m confident in myself and trust the work I've put in. I'm feeling really strong on the mental side but always continuing to improve it, continue to work on it because it's as important as all the physical skills that we work on.”

Patterson’s Colts are off to a 9-5-0-0 start this season after a year where they went 28-36-4-0 and snuck into the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

It’s a promising start for the Colts, who were a young team last year and brought in some talented older players to join their young group who aims to take a step this coming season.

Patterson is looking to be a driving force that helps the Colts go on a playoff run this season and he is continuing to improve his game with the help of development coaches Mikael Samuelsson and Mike Komisarek, of which he speaks to frequently.

With a focus on a strong mental game and a commitment to attack the guts of the ice, Patterson is looking to continue accelerating the improvement of his game and feels like he is in the right place with the right support to make it happen.