The Toronto Patriots have a team culture often sought after, but rarely found, in the history of hockey.

To win when it matters most, a team must be passionate, even fanatical, in their focus on the process of getting better as a group on a regular basis.

And while it is no secret that Toronto Patriots’ head coach John Dean is one of the most passionate bench bosses around the Ontario Junior Hockey League, he is also not one to exaggerate, or mince words, when it comes to discussing his players.

“We are so blessed with the unbelievable group of human beings and hockey players that we have here,” he says.

“They have made it really easy for us as a staff to coach, they really help each other, and they hold each other accountable. Any coach who thinks he is the one that can hold his players accountable is wrong; you really find success in this game when players hold each other accountable, so that level of accountability in the room is a huge asset for what we’re trying to accomplish here.”

With a regular spot in the Top 10 of the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s weekly rankings, the high-flying Pats have already surpassed the organization’s record win total of 35, set in the year the club went to the RBC Cup in 2014-15.

The team has three of the Top 15 scorers in Canadian Junior ‘A’ hockey in Andrew Petrucci, Dante Spagnuolo, and Oliver Benwell; Tyler Fassl has the second most wins out of any goaltender in the nation, and the Pats can wrap up the No. 1 seed throughout the OJHL playoffs with four points at the time of this writing.

So, the question of how this group can consistently keep their heads out of the clouds, and firmly on the ground, is one Dean, and his staff with general manager Mark Joslin, and assistant coach Mike Daley, have had deal with on a regular basis.

“I think our guys have done a pretty good job of staying grounded,” Dean says.

“We talk a lot about being a big-picture team, about learning something and getting better every game. Sometimes we think we’re a little better than we are at starts of games, and sometimes we don’t come out of the blocks as hard as we should, but for the most part we’ve made a real effort to learn something every time we are on the ice. That is the approach we have taken in that area, and credit to the guys, for the most part, who have done a great job.”

While winning on the ice is hugely important for the organization, helping players move on in hockey, be it at a North American post-secondary institution or at the Major Junior level, is at the heart of what the club is trying to accomplish.

Six Pats have accepted offers at NCAA schools so far this season, while a seventh has moved on to the Ontario Hockey League, and with a plethora of talent up and down the roster still uncommitted, it stands to reason that the further Toronto can go in the playoffs, the greater chance that number will only go up.

“Of course, team success brings individual success,” says Dean, “but the individual has to rise to the occasion as well.

“The guys that got scholarships from our team are all pretty much in the Top 20 in league scoring, and you like to think that has something to do with our style of play; but every single scout that came and talked to us, did their due diligence to make sure the compete levels were high enough, and make sure their play away from the puck was good enough. The point totals are certainly a factor, but it’s just one factor. The college scouts that committed to our guys did their homework, so I think it’s just credit to our players. The guys on our team have learned to compete away from the puck as well as with it, and you can’t teach some things, but you can teach compete, and all our guys do. There is no formula for it, but scouts like players on winning teams.”

Of the six commits to date (not including Ryan Wells, who departed for the Mississauga Steelheads before the trade deadline), five are forwards, and on a team that has scored 31 more goals than the second most prolific offence in the league, one might forget to look at the defence-corps and the goaltending.

But Dean knows how well his blueline and Fassl have played, and that they would not be in the running for the Brant Snow Trophy for the OJHL’s Regular Season champion without them.

“I am very happy with our defence-corps right now, and I’m excited about what they’ll look like when it’s time for the playoffs,” he says.

“Our team will make a few mistakes being offensively aggressive, I’m not going to lie, but our second effort, and our willingness to compete, makes a big difference for us. Every one of our defencemen can skate, move the puck up the ice, and force the pace of the game. More importantly, when they make mistakes in our own end because they are so aggressive, they recover so fast, because they are so competitive. I think that everyone has kind of settled into their roles too, we have figured out who is who on the back end, and they have embraced those roles extremely well.”

With the final week of games looming, the Pats are in a dog-fight with Dean’s old club, the North York Rangers, and the Georgetown Raiders, the club coached by Dean’s good friend Greg Walters, for the league’s regular season title.

Four games remain, with the final three at home against the Oakville Blades (Feb. 17), Mississauga Chargers (Feb. 19), and Buffalo Jr. Sabres (Feb. 24).

And while it can feel at times like Toronto has rolled over the OJHL this year, the Don Mills-native Dean knows there is a lot of work to be done still.

“It is down to the wire here, every game still counts, every single game,” he says.

“It feels like the Rangers haven’t lost for an eternity, they are a heck of a team, and so are Oakville and Georgetown, so it should be interesting.” - Jamie Neugebauer

Image courtesy OJHL Images