And then there were four! The Milwaukee Admirals have announced this afternoon that they have signed goaltender Jake Paterson to a one-year, AHL contract for the 2017-18 season. Paterson joins a goaltending depth group that now features Marek Mazanec, Anders Lindbäck, and Matt O’Connor. Paterson spent all of last season in the ECHL with the Toledo Walleye where he was the league leader with 34 wins.

Press Release via Milwaukee Admirals:

Milwaukee, WI—The Admirals have signed goalie Jake Paterson to an American Hockey League contract for the 2017-18 season. Paterson led the Toledo Walleye to the best regular season record in the ECHL last year, going an impressive 34-13-2 on the year with a 2.28 goals against average, a .918 save percentage, and seven shutouts. He led the league in wins, was tied for the league-lead in shutouts and finished in third in GAA, helping to earn him Second Team All-ECHL honors. In parts of three seasons with the Walleye, Paterson boasted a 53-22-4 record with a 2.24 GAA and a .920 save %. The Mississauga, ON native played two games with the Grand Rapids Griffins back in 2015-16, stopping a combined 77 of 83 shots. Paterson and the Admirals will kick off the 2017-18 campaign in Iowa against the Wild on Oct. 7. They will begin the home portion of the schedule on Friday, October 20th at 7 pm against the Hershey Bears at Panther Arena. Individual tickets for next season will go on sale at a future date. However, season tickets for 2017-18 are on sale now and start for as little as $135. For more information, or to purchase season tickets, fans should visit http://www.milwaukeeadmirals.com or call the Admirals office at (414) 227-0550. Don’t forget to follow the Admirals on Twitter (@mkeadmirals) and like us on Facebook.

What first comes to mind here is a question. Is this really going to work, these four goaltenders from the AHL down, or will the Predators be looking to move Mazanec who they earlier told they’re moving away from? That Mazanec scenario is still a little odd to me but, as it stands, the organization has four goaltenders across both the AHL and ECHL Admirals.

The next thing that comes to mind is that Paterson is a goaltender who is darn good that happened to be caught up in a log jam. The Detroit Red Wings selected him in the third round of the 2012 NHL Draft. After completing his time in the OHL he joined the Red Wings pro ranks. That meant him being stuck in the ECHL with Toledo as the Red Wings had Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrázek and the Grand Rapids Griffins had Jared Coreau, Tom McCollum, and Eddie Pasquale.

Paterson has only played twice in the AHL since turning pro full-time in the 2015-16 season. The Griffins have still featured three different goaltenders during that span that weren’t Paterson. He needed a change of scenery. And he is getting that. In those two AHL appearances? Paterson faced 83 shots on goal, lost both games, but still held a 0.928 save percentage. During his two-year spell in the ECHL saw him hold a record of 53-22-2-2 from 81 appearances with a 2.24 goals against average, 0.920 save percentage, and 9 shutouts. He’s good – very good. And the Admirals just clutched him from the forgetful clutches of their enemy that swept them out of the playoffs the past two seasons.

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