Patrick Kaleta

Patrick Kaleta (born on June 8, 1986) is an American professional ice hockey right winger currently playing for the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL).

He was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth round (176th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

From 2007 to 2013, Patrick played for the Sabres before a protracted dispute with the NHL over his playing style led to his dismissal.

Junior Playing Career
Patrick played most of his minor hockey with Hamburg Hawks and the West Seneca Wings. He played high school hockey for St. Francis HS in Athol Springs.

It was there he was discovered by the Peterborough Petes of the OHL who selected him in the 2nd round (31st overall) in the 2002 OHL Draft.

Patrick spent his junior hockey career with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL where he compiled 147 points and 460 penalty minutes over four seasons.

In the 2006 OHL playoffs, He scored 8 goals and added 10 assists as Peterborough reached the Memorial Cup.

In June of 2006, Patrick signed his first professional contract with the Buffalo Sabres.

NHL Career
On February 21, 2007 (partway through his first professional season), Patrick was called up from the Rochester Americans by his parent club in Buffalo.

In his first NHL game on February 22, 2007 (against the Ottawa Senators), he earned his first NHL point, an assist on a goal by Clarke MacArthur and his first NHL fight against Ottawa's Chris Phillips.

On February 10, 2008, Patrick scored his first NHL goal against the Florida Panthers.

On December 12, 2009, he recorded his first 2-goal game on against the New York Rangers, a 3-2 victory for Buffalo. He scored the game winner on a short-handed breakaway, beating Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist high on the glove side.

Patrick has earned a reputation as a hard hitter, usually playing on the Sabres' fourth line along with the team's enforcers (Andrew Peters and Adam Mair during their time in Buffalo and currently Cody McCormick and John Scott).

He describes his style as such: "I try to play a clean, hard-nosed game. A lot of people don't like that."

Patrick is just the third (depending on definition) native of the Buffalo Niagara Region to play for the hometown Sabres in the regular season. He spent the most time and played the most games for Buffalo.

Early in the 2011-12 season, on November 3, 2011, Patrick was suspended for 4 regular season games for a head-butt on Philadelphia Flyers forward Jakub Voracek. This marked the third time in less than 2 seasons that he was caught head-butting.

On March 3, 2013, Patrick hit New York Rangers forward Brad Richards into the boards from behind. He was assessed a five minute boarding major and a game misconduct.

The next day, Patrick was given a 5-game suspension from the league due to repeat offenses.

On October 13, 2013, Patrick made an illegal check to the head on Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson. He was not penalized on the play, but was given a 10 game suspension by the NHL Department of Player Safety.

On November 2, 2013, after failing to find a trading partner and the end of the suspension, the Sabres placed him on waivers.

Former Sabres general manager Darcy Regier implied that the league had pressured the Sabres to expel Patrick from the league.

Patrick cleared waivers and was assigned to the Rochester Americans, where he will remain until (as Regier puts it) he makes significant changes to his playing style.

Shortly after his arrival in Rochester, Patrick injured his anterior cruciate ligament which will keep him off the ice for the rest of the season.