Brayden Pachal (born August 23, 1999) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Vegas Golden Knights, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2023.
| Brayden Pachal | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Pachal with the Henderson Silver Knights in 2023. | |||
| Born |
August 23, 1999 Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Calgary Flames Vegas Golden Knights | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2019–present | ||
Playing career
editPachal began in Junior A hockey with the Estevan Bruins of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), before joining the Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League (WHL) for the 2015–16 season. Pachal spent a season and a half with Victoria, before being traded to the Prince Albert Raiders during the 2016–17 season.[1] Pachal would then spend the next two seasons with Prince Albert, being named captain of the team ahead of the 2018–19 season;[2] the same year, Pachal would lead the Raiders to their second WHL Championship.
As an undrafted free agent, Pachal was signed to a three-year entry-level contract by the Vegas Golden Knights on September 20, 2019, joining Vegas' then-American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Chicago Wolves shortly afterward.[3]
On January 20, 2022, in the midst of the 2021–22 season, Pachal was named captain of the Henderson Silver Knights, Vegas' new AHL affiliate.[4] Pachal made his NHL debut with Vegas on March 15, 2022.[5]
As a restricted free agent, Pachal signed a one-year contract extension with Vegas on July 28, 2022.[6] Pachal recorded his first NHL point on December 15, 2022, with a secondary assist on Reilly Smith's empty-net goal against the Chicago Blackhawks.[7] Pachal then made his NHL playoff debut on April 27, 2023, in the series-clinching Game 5 of the Golden Knights' first-round series against the Winnipeg Jets.[8][9] Vegas then went on to win the Stanley Cup Finals; despite Pachal only playing ten regular-season games and one playoff game, the Golden Knights requested an exemption to have Pachal's name engraved on the Stanley Cup alongside the rest of the team.[10]
At the conclusion of his contract, and again as a restricted free agent, Pachal signed a further two-year extension with Vegas on June 28, 2023.[11] After making the Golden Knights' opening-night roster for the 2023–24 season,[12] Pachal scored his first NHL goal on October 12, 2023, against the San Jose Sharks.[13]
After 17 games with Vegas during the 2023–24 season, Pachal was placed on waivers on February 3, 2024, and claimed by the Calgary Flames the following day.[14]
Family
editPachal is a grandson of Vern Pachal, who played for the University of Alberta and at the minor professional level in the early 1950s in the Eastern Hockey League and American Hockey League. His second cousin Clayton Pachal played in the NHL for the Boston Bruins and Colorado Rockies.[15]
Career statistics
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2014–15 | Estevan Bruins | SJHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2015–16 | Victoria Royals | WHL | 40 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 29 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 2016–17 | Victoria Royals | WHL | 35 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 30 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 68 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 100 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2018–19 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 66 | 15 | 36 | 51 | 113 | 23 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 28 | ||
| 2019–20 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 48 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Fort Wayne Komets | ECHL | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Henderson Silver Knights | AHL | 24 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 2021–22 | Henderson Silver Knights | AHL | 65 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 90 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2021–22 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Henderson Silver Knights | AHL | 55 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 90 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | Vegas Golden Knights | NHL | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 33 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 62 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 59 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||
Awards and honours
edit| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| WHL | ||
| Champion | 2019 | |
| East Second All-Star Team | 2019 | |
| AHL | ||
| All-Star Game | 2023 | [16] |
| NHL | ||
| Stanley Cup champion | 2023 | [17] |
References
edit- ^ "ROYALS COMPLETE TRADE WITH RAIDERS". victoriaroyals.com. Victoria Royals. January 9, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ Punkari, Lucas (August 24, 2018). "Pachal named Raiders captain". Prince Albert Daily Herald. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ "Golden Knights Sign Defenseman Brayden Pachal To Entry-Level Contract". nhl.com. September 20, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ "BRAYDEN PACHAL NAMED CAPTAIN OF SILVER KNIGHTS". Henderson Silver Knights. January 20, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ "Estevan's Brayden Pachal makes NHL debut with the Vegas Golden Knights Tuesday night". sasktoday.com. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
- ^ "Vegas Golden Knights Sign Defenseman Brayden Pachal to One-Year Contract". NHL.com. July 28, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
- ^ "Vegas Golden Knights - Chicago Blackhawks - December 15, 2022". NHL.com. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- ^ "Winnipeg Jets - Vegas Golden Knights - April 27, 2023". NHL.com. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- ^ "Monumental Firsts: Captain Brayden Pachal's NHL Playoff Debut". Henderson Silver Knights. May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ "Names Engraved on Stanley Cup". NHL.com. July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
- ^ "VGK Sign Defenseman Brayden Pachal to Two-Year Contract Extension". NHL.com. June 28, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
- ^ Gotz, Ben (October 10, 2023). "Golden Knights begin season with special lineup". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
- ^ Willberg, David (October 13, 2023). "Estevan's Brayden Pachal scores first career NHL goal". SaskToday.ca. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
- ^ "Flames Claim Brayden Pachal". Calgary Flames. February 4, 2024.
- ^ Matheson, Jim (April 25, 2019). "Raiders captain Brayden Pachal has intangibles NHL teams should like". The Edmonton Journal. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ "Silver Knights Captain Brayden Pachal Named to AHL All-Star Classic". Henderson Silver Knights. January 27, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ "Golden Knights' Stanley Cup win cements Las Vegas as a big-time sports city". CNBC. June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database