*Editor’s Note: This article was updated to reflect the news that Nolan Patrick has not officially retired
At just 25 years of age, forward Nolan Patrick’s NHL career seems like a distant memory. Following a series of ailments from the start of his junior career to the pros, his injuries have taken a toll.
Given Patrick’s selection with the second-overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers, the expectations were always high. Him not living up to those was no fault of his own. Devastated by pushback after pushback, his story is rather unfortunate but deserves to be told.
Injuries in Juniors
Patrick dealt with some health problems well before his NHL career even started. Drafted by the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL) with their fourth-overall pick in 2013, his potential was raved about as he was just entering his teenage years.
Related: Is Nolan Patrick’s Injury History a Long-Term Concern?
Patrick was immensely successful in the WHL, scoring 204 points in just 163 games, winning the Jim Piggott Trophy in 2014-15 as the WHL’s rookie of the year, and becoming a champion of the league in his 2015-16 campaign. Amazingly, he accomplished all this despite consistently suffering injuries consistently in his junior career.
In Patrick’s 2013-14 campaign, he spent most of his time away from the WHL and stayed with his native Manitoba U18 AAA league with the Winnipeg Thrashers. His eventual arrival in Brandon was delayed due to a shoulder injury that plagued him a bit. That limited him to just three games played for his first season in the WHL, but it was unlikely that he would have played much more if he were healthy.
Patrick’s missed time in 2014-15 didn’t stop him from becoming the WHL’s best rookie that season, but it was definitely worth noting. An upper-body injury limited him to just 55 games, and the injuries were starting to become a bit of a theme. Nevertheless, he was already blossoming into one of the top prospects in hockey. With a couple of seasons left before he was eligible for the NHL Draft, there was still more to prove.
In 2015-16, it seemed as though Patrick was fully healthy, and his issues were more so a thing of the past. Scoring 102 points in 72 regular season games and having 30 points in the postseason, he led Brandon to an Ed Chynoweth Cup win as the best team in the WHL and an appearance in the Memorial Cup playoff. Rather soundly, the Wheat Kings were eliminated from the four-team round-robin tournament after losing all three of their games. Later, it was announced that Patrick was dealing with a hernia injury during that run.
Patrick received surgery during the offseason, entering his final season before draft eligibility, but his issues once again got the best of him. Patrick played in just 33 games in his all-important 2016-17 season but did have 46 points to go along with that. The talent was undeniable, but his former first-overall pick projection for the 2017 NHL Draft was in some doubt with all the ailments he had suffered. That is what made him “slip” to the Flyers that season, where the phenom was selected with their second-overall pick after they had moved up from originally projecting to be picking 12th-overall due to some draft lottery wizardry.
Promising Start in the NHL
After being drafted into the NHL, Patrick became a staple of the Flyers’ lineup as early as their 2017-18 season. Transitioning right from the WHL to the NHL, he had no problem doing so. He played in 73 games in that season, scoring 30 points, and helped the Flyers clinch the playoffs after missing them the season prior. His two points in six playoff games didn’t have much of an impact, but the important thing was that he was both healthy and effective for a young player. He missed time due to a concussion, but he was healthy other than that.
His 31 points in 72 games in 2018-19 suggest that Patrick was stagnant after his rookie campaign, but he also showed flashes of talent every once in a while. Limited to third-line minutes more often than not, he did good things with what he was given.
The most impressive part about Patrick at this time was that he was staying healthy for the most part. Not missing long stretches like he did when he was with the Wheat Kings, his Flyers’ tenure had a lot of promise. His superstar-level talent wasn’t necessarily showing, but he had the makings of an important top-six role in the NHL. Finishing his 2018-19 campaign as a 20-year-old, there was no reason to expect otherwise.
Beginning of the End
The downfall of Patrick came prior to his 2019-20 campaign. It wasn’t clear as to just how much time he would miss, but a sudden migraine disorder that popped up made this a serious dilemma, especially considering he suffered multiple concussions in the NHL. Nobody at the time knew how bad it would be, but he ended up missing the entirety of the season.
After missing well over a calendar year due to his migraine disorder, Patrick returned for the start of the 2020-21 NHL season after not playing an NHL game since April 2, 2019. Unfortunately, his regression was not just minor — he became borderline unplayable at even strength.
Patrick was forced onto the fourth line for significant stretches and struggled mightily. His offensive game regressed severely, only scoring two goals and six points at even strength that season. He did so averaging slightly less ice time than he did during his rookie campaign in 2017-18, so something was clearly off.
Following that disastrous campaign, the Flyers decided that enough was enough. They shipped off Patrick as well as defenseman Philippe Myers to the Nashville Predators in exchange for star defender Ryan Ellis. At the same time, Nashville sent Patrick to the Vegas Golden Knights for a young forward with similar injury concerns to Cody Glass.
Patrick Unable to Return to Form
Patrick’s opportunity with the Golden Knights was meant to rejuvenate his NHL career. He improved slightly in 2021-22, but earning bottom-six minutes and having an accumulation of devastating health problems didn’t do him any favors. He only played in 25 games due to yet another concussion as well as an upper-body injury. Things weren’t just looking bleak for him, but cataclysmic. The injury bug never left him alone.
By the time his 2022-23 season rolled around, Patrick was once again absent for an entire season. Fast-forwarding into 2023-24, there was never any indication that he would ever play again, and if he never plays again, it marks a bitter ending to a promising career.
Patrick never asked for all the adversities he faced, but he powered through them as best as he possibly could.