Well before he backstopped the London Knights to an OHL championship, it was clear that Jake Patterson was special.
Just ask his former goalie coach, Dominic Sorrenti, who helped the young netminder along in one of his goaltending camps.
“I think he might have been eight or nine years old at that time, and I can always picture this big, huge smile on his face. He was just a happy go lucky kid at that time,” Sorrenti told SooToday.
Patterson died suddenly last week at just 31 years of age, leaving behind his three-year-old son Luca – but also many good memories about the kind young man who went on to accomplish great things between the pipes.
“During the goalie school, he always stood out as giving it his all – you could just see at that point something special was going to happen with this kid,” Sorrenti said.
From there, the Sault native spent several years honing his skills in local rinks before he crossed paths with Sorrenti again – when his inkling about the young goalie’s talents proved to be right.
As the goaltending coach during the 2009-10 season with the Sault Ste. Marie North Stars Midget AAA program, Sorrenti saw Patterson accomplish remarkable things, like when his team came up against the Mississauga Reps in the OHF Midget AAA championships.
“Jake, that day, stopped 60 of 62 shots,” Sorrenti said. “The other goaltender was Malcolm Subban – PK Subban’s brother.”
“It went into overtime, and it was just crazy.”
Subban, a future NHLer, stopped a comparatively pedestrian 23 of 24 shots to lead his team to a 2-1 victory – and his .942 save percentage through that tournament was outshone only by Patterson’s .943.
“He was the same nice young man, same happy smile, same good kid, just kind of shy a little bit, and talented – like really talented,” Sorrenti said.
While Patterson never made it to the NHL like some of his teammates and competitors, he went far enough to prove he could stand up to the test during big moments.
After graduating from the local AAA system, Patterson went on to become a netminder for the juggernaut London Knights.
He played a crucial role in the Knight’s second straight OHL championship in 2013, getting the nod over future Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender, Anthony Stolarz, where he took his team to the Memorial Cup on the strength of three straight wins to close out the series.
Among the many now mourning his loss is Max Domi – also a current Maple Leafs player – who took to Instagram to remember his old Knights teammate.
“So many incredible memories with our team. You will be missed, Patty,” Domi wrote.
On Friday, the Knights held a moment of silence for Patterson ahead of their matchup with the Ottawa 67s.
For as far as he went after leaving the Sault, Sorrenti still remembers Patterson as the friendly, happy kid who showed great promise – and went on to prove it.
“You knew that kid was going to do something special,” he said.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money for Luca.