James Patrick

James Patrick (born on June 14, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who was drafted by the New York Rangers in 1983 and played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 until 2006.

Playing Career
After a successful collegiate career at the University of North Dakota, James represented Canada at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.

After the Olympics, James signed his first professional contract on March 5, 1984, and made his NHL debut two days later in Minnesota. He scored his first NHL goal on March 17, 1984, in Philadelphia.

James enjoyed ten productive seasons in New York before being traded to the Hartford Whalers and then to the Calgary Flames during the 1993–94 season.

After several years in Calgary, James signed with the Buffalo Sabres as a free agent after the 1997–98 season. Even though he was chosen to play in the 1987 Canada Cup and many other international events, he was never selected to the NHL All Star game.

James ranks high among defenceman in both all times game played (1280) and total points (639). He set a record (since broken) for career games played by a Team Canada player with 40 career games, breaking previous record of 37 games in 2002.

On September 8, 2005, James announced his retirement from the NHL at the age of 42. He was immediately named to the Sabres' staff as a skill development coach. However, he left the team before the season to play in Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga with the Frankfurt Lions.

In 2006, James joined the Sabres as assistant coach and made his debut as a NHL Head Coach in February 2012 when Lindy Ruff was unable to coach due to an injury. After Ruff was fired in February 2013, he stayed remained with the Sabres' coaching staff until the end of the season and then was let go.

After the 2013 season, James re-joined Lindy Ruff as an assistant coach with the Dallas Stars. At the end of the 2016-17 regular season, he was let go when the Stars elected not to renew Ruff's expiring contract after the team missed the playoffs.

Personal Life
James' brother is former NHL forward Steve Patrick and his father, Stephen Patrick Snr. is a former Winnipeg Blue Bomber and politician Stephen Patrick Sr. His nephew is Brandon Wheat Kings player Nolan Patrick.