Jiří Patera

Jiří Patera (born February 24, 1999) is a Czech professional ice hockey goaltender for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played junior in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Brandon Wheat Kings, and was drafted in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL entry draft by the Vegas Golden Knights, with whom he made his NHL debut in 2023.

Playing career Patera began his career within the youth system of HC Slavia Praha, before joining the system of ČEZ Motor České Budějovice in 2016–17; shortly thereafter, he was selected in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL entry draft by the then-expansion team Vegas Golden Knights.

He entered junior hockey with the United States Hockey League's (USHL) Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in 2017–18, playing 34 games for the club. He then transitioned to the Canadian junior system, joining the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 2018–19. Patera spent two years in Brandon, posting a career .913 save percentage and 2.95 goals against average over 89 total games played, while being named Eastern Conference Goaltender of the Year for the 2019–20 WHL season. Patera with the Golden Knights during warmups for the 2024 Winter Classic. Patera signed his three-year entry-level contract with Vegas on 30 June 2020. With the American Hockey League (AHL) season delayed alongside the NHL season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Patera was loaned to his former Czech club of České Budějovice, where he played 15 games during the 2020–21 Extraliga season. Patera would then join Vegas' AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, for the 2020–21 season.

During the 2022–23 season, with the Golden Knights suffering injuries to multiple goaltenders, Patera was recalled from the Silver Knights in March 2023. He then made his NHL debut on 12 March 2023, posting his first career win and saving 30 of 33 shots faced as the Golden Knights defeated the St. Louis Blues 5–3. Despite only playing in two regular-season games, Patera spent the majority of the 2023 playoffs on Vegas' active roster, serving as the third or fourth-string goaltender behind Laurent Brossoit, Adin Hill, and Jonathan Quick; as a result, Patera was subsequently a part of the Golden Knights' eventual Stanley Cup victory.

As a restricted free agent, Patera signed a one-year extension with Vegas on July 2, 2023. After beginning the season with Henderson, Patera was recalled to the Golden Knights on December 2 due to an injury to Adin Hill. Patera then made his 2023–24 season debut on December 10, stopping 35 of 39 shots in a 5–4 shootout victory over the San Jose Sharks.

As a free agent following the 2023–24 season, Patera signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Vancouver Canucks on July 1, 2024. Three months later, on October 2, Patera was claimed off waivers by the Boston Bruins ahead of the 2024–25 season. However, just four days later, Boston also placed Patera on waivers, and he was subsequently re-claimed by Vancouver on October 7. After missing most of the 2024–25 season due to injury, Patera made his debut for the Canucks over a year later on November 17, 2025, stopping 33 of 40 shots faced in an 8–5 loss to the Florida Panthers.

On July 1, 2026, having left the Canucks as a free agent, Patera made a return to the Boston Bruins organization in agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract for the season.

International play Patera was named to the Czech under-18 team roster for the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, but did not play. Patera would later appear for the under-18 team in three games at the 2017 IIHF World U18 Championships, before joining the Czech Republic for the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championships, appearing in one game.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2017–18 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders USHL 34 13 13 6 1906 103 1 3.24 .901 — — — — — — — — 2018–19 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 48 22 20 5 2774 153 1 3.31 .906 — — — — — — — — 2019–20 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL 41 24 12 4 2449 104 5 2.55 .921 — — — — — — — — 2020–21 HC Motor České Budějovice ELH 15 2 12 0 759 45 1 3.56 .887 — — — — — — — — 2020–21 Henderson Silver Knights AHL 7 2 4 0 322 19 0 3.54 .888 — — — — — — — — 2021–22 Fort Wayne Komets ECHL 15 7 5 3 908 42 1 2.77 .906 — — — — — — — — 2021–22 Henderson Silver Knights AHL 22 10 11 1 1306 60 1 2.76 .910 2 0 2 116 7 0 3.63 .900 2022–23 Henderson Silver Knights AHL 31 14 15 1 1782 85 0 2.86 .911 — — — — — — — — 2022–23 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 2 2 0 0 120 5 0 2.50 .929 — — — — — — — — 2023–24 Henderson Silver Knights AHL 25 11 10 4 1463 73 0 2.99 .903 — — — — — — — — 2023–24 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 6 1 3 1 317 21 0 3.98 .893 — — — — — — — — 2024–25 Abbotsford Canucks AHL 7 2 2 1 344 16 1 2.79 .899 — — — — — — — — 2025–26 Abbotsford Canucks AHL 30 12 14 2 1736 76 1 2.63 .910 — — — — — — — — 2025–26 Vancouver Canucks NHL 1 0 1 0 57 7 0 7.39 .825 — — — — — — — — ELH totals 15 2 12 0 749 45 1 3.56 .887 — — — — — — — — NHL totals 9 3 4 1 494 33 0 4.01 .892 — — — — — — — —

International Year Team Event Result GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2016 Czech Republic IH18 DNP 2017 Czech Republic U18 7th 3 0 2 0 142 8 0 3.40 .871 2019 Czech Republic WJC 7th 1 0 1 0 40 4 0 6.00 .800Junior totals 4 0 3 0 182 12 0 4.70 .836

Awards and honours Award Year WHL Eastern Conference Goaltender of the Year2020 East First All-Star Team