Lester Patrick was a defenseman in the early 1900s, but he also played as a rover and filled in for the goaltender at times. He played a total of 22 elite amateur and professional hockey seasons (1903-22, 1925-27, 1927-28).
Lester was a member of the Brandon Hockey Club when they unsuccessfully challenged the Ottawa Senators for the Stanley Cup in March 1904. In March 1906, Patrick scored two crucial goals for the Montreal Wanderers when they defeated Ottawa to win the Stanley Cup.
Patrick played with Newsy Lalonde, Cyclone Taylor, and Fred Whitcroft of the Renfrew Millionaires in the National Hockey Association (NHA). Lester’s nickname “The Silver Fox” was due to his shock of gray hair. With his brother Frank, he built the first artificial rinks in Canada, and formed the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA).
In addition to being a player, Lester Patrick was also a coach and general manger of several teams. He won the Stanley Cup with the Victoria Cougars as a president, manager, and coach (1925), and the New York Rangers as a manager and coach (1928, 1933, 1940).
The Lester Patrick Trophy, named after him, is an annual award presented for outstanding service to hockey in the United States. It has been presented by the National Hockey League (NHL) and USA Hockey since 1966 to honour a recipient’s contribution to ice hockey in America. Lester Patrick was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947 as a player.
The Patrick family has been called “Hockey’s Royal Family.” Lester was the father of Lynn Patrick and the grandfather of Craig Patrick, both of whom are Hall of Famers. Another son, Muzz Patrick, was a star player who became the coach and general manager of the Rangers.
In the 1970s, Lester’s grandson, Glenn Patrick, also played in the NHL. Another grandson, Dick Patrick, has been president of the Washington Capitals since 1982.
From Historical Dictionary of Ice Hockey by Laurel Zeisler
