When the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup this past season, the city of Pittsburgh celebrated euphorically.  For South Carolina Stingrays forward Patrick Gaul and his family who are residents of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that celebration was held in check.  Gaul’s mother is from Allentown, Pennsylvania and his father from the inner city of Philadelphia.  Growing up with a strong affection for Philadelphia based professional sport teams, there were only three reasons he could even somewhat express interest in the Penguins’ Stanley Cup victory.

“My girlfriend is a Pittsburgh native, and I played with Ian Cole and Bryan Rust at Notre Dame.  I grew up hating the Penguins the most out of any NHL team because they were our biggest rival, but I wanted to show my support to those three.”

Gaul grew up playing hockey within the United States National Team Development Program. It was within that program he had the opportunity to play alongside other players who would eventually turn pro such as Danny Kristo and Jordan Schroeder.  “It was a dream to not only put on that American jersey and represent your country, but I was looked upon as a leader to those guys.”  It was during the 2006-07 season when Gaul was named Assistant Captain for the United States Under-17 Team.

After playing for the United States National Team Development Program, Gaul had to decide what he wanted to do with the next phase of his hockey career.  He grew up in a household where education comes before hockey, so it was a no-brainer to pursue a degree while playing hockey.  “My older brother, Joe, went to Dartmouth College on a hockey scholarship, so I wanted to attend a University on a hockey scholarship as well.  I received some scholarship offers and narrowed the field down to the University of Denver and the University of Notre Dame.”

With multiple family members having previously attended Notre Dame, and the belief that his Grandfather would have wanted him to choose the Fighting Irish, Gaul accepted a scholarship offer with the University of Notre Dame.

“I absolutely loved the school and my teammates, but I felt I didn’t see as much playing time or learn as much about the game as I expected,” noted Gaul, who was limited to only two games during his junior year.  The Fighting Irish earned a birth in the Frozen Four, and lost to an incredibly talented University of Minnesota Duluth team that year.

Gaul did suit up for 32 games in his senior year and was selected by the coaching staff as the winner of the Charles “Lefty” Smith Coaches Award as the hockey program’s unsung hero.

To this day, Gaul still trains at the University during the off-season to work out with the strength and medical staff.  “I attribute my knowledge of injury prevention and physical education to the staff they have at Notre Dame.  I take advantage of any opportunity to use their facilities and learn from the strength and conditioning coaches.  They are fantastic.”

Despite an up and down tenure with Notre Dame on the ice, Gaul graduated with a degree in finance, although at this point in time he is unsure whether he plans to pursue a career in a related field.  For Gaul, one thing is certain.  He wants to stay involved in hockey for as long as he can.  “My father coached hockey in the Pittsburgh area for nearly 30 years.  I would love to get into coaching at some point.”

If Gaul does decide he wants to step away from playing and not get into coaching, his finance degree may allow him to stay involved in the business side of the game he loves.

“Since I love being around the rink and with the guys, I would definitely consider using my degree and combining it with the business aspect of hockey. Ultimately, I don’t see myself just sitting at a desk and doing something with numbers.”

Gaul has time to decide his future career path, as this coming season will be his fifth year playing in the ECHL; all in the same market he believes to be one of the nicest places to play in the league.  The South Carolina Stingrays have housed him for his entire professional career, and although Gaul has had the luxury of going back to the same team for five consecutive seasons, it wasn’t easy to find his way there.

“The season after I finished my collegiate career and was ready to move on to play professional hockey was the same year the National Hockey League locked out it’s players (2012-13).  NHL teams were assigning players to the American Hockey League (AHL) and the trickle down effect was ultimately felt by teams and players in the ECHL and beyond.”  These circumstances left players such as Gaul in unfamiliar territory with an influx of players supply, limiting his options as he tried to advance his pro career.

The journey started that year when he signed with the Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) prior to the season.  “Training camp went well, but after that six or seven guys got sent down from the AHL and I lost my spot.  So my agent got me a tryout with Wichita and the same thing happened there.”

Wichita’s Head Coach called the Mississippi’s RiverKings of the Southern Professional Hockey League who offered Gaul a roster spot.  “I drove from Wichita to Mississippi to play there until the lockout ended in January.  Once it was over, I was informed I was getting called up to Elmira (ECHL).  Just as I got my car packed and I’m ready to leave for Elmira, I find out they no longer need me.” 

A distraught Gaul was then put in touch with South Carolina Stingrays Assistant Coach J.B. Bittner, whom his Dad once coached in Pittsburgh.  Bittner helped Gaul at least get a shot with the Stingrays.  “When I made it to South Carolina, I was told they might only need me for about two weeks.  I was doing well during those two weeks when one of our forwards went down with an injury, which opened up a roster spot for me.  Now, here I am about to start my fifth season for South Carolina.”

Gaul has found a home in South Carolina, which for the average hockey fan would be considered a non-traditional market.  From his experience, he appreciates what South Carolina has to offer.

“Hockey in South Carolina is great. It’s a little different at the beginning of each season because our home games are scheduled to avoid any conflict with the local high school football. As for the fans, our President does a great job ensuring the community is involved and aware of our presence. Last season was our best in terms of attendance. For the most part, the only major difference is that the fans may lack more of the complex knowledge about the game than a typical hockey fan has.”

A big factor for the Stingrays’ high attendance can be attributed to the team’s run to the 2015 Kelly Cup Finals, which saw an increase in publicity for the team throughout the entire community. “That season was the most enjoyable year of my entire career. I have never played on a team that shared the confidence we had, and I firmly believe that’s why we were so successful.”

The 2015 Kelly Cup Finalists went on a 23-game win streak just prior to the playoffs. That win streak combatted the up and down first half of the season, which former Stingrays Coach, Spencer Carbery, was not quite pleased with.  Carbery had the team playing their best hockey of the year in the playoffs.  They won their first round series after being down 3-1 heading into the third period of game 7.  They also won a 1-0 triple overtime game 7 against Toledo, only to lose in game 7 of the Kelly Cup Finals.

“I come back to South Carolina every year in hopes of repeating the success we had in 2015. It’s also easy to come back to a city where the weather is beautiful almost year-round, and where the people are extremely friendly.”

At the conclusion of the 2015-16 season, ECHL players voted on a series of season ending individual award categories through the Professional Hockey Players’ Association Player Voted Awards.  Gaul was voted by players from around the League as the recipient of the Heart, Hustle, and Desire Award for the ECHL’s Western Conference, presented to the player believed to best demonstrate heart, hustle, and desire each and every day, and who is considered by his peers to be the hardest working player in the Conference.  Gaul attributes this recognition to Coach Carbery, who knew exactly how to utilize Gaul’s skill set.  Listed at 5’8” and 185 lbs, Gaul enjoys playing the antagonist role.

“What I do best is annoy guys on the other team, whether it’s on the fore-check or getting in the shooting lanes. I’ve come to realize that if I never play a game in the American or National Hockey League, it will never be because I didn’t work hard enough.  If I might be considered too slow or too small, there’s no reason why I can’t knuckle down and work harder than the next guy.”

Playing by that ideology is exactly why Gaul was recognized by his coaches at Notre Dame and now, by the players he plays against on a nightly basis.  He couldn’t be more thankful for how his hockey career has unfolded, even though it took an unconventional way to get there and in a non-traditional place by hockey standards.