Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Partch off to fast start with LV

When Darren Partch was 15, he went off to boarding school.

He had his classes, studying, and lectures. And, he had hockey. Lots of hockey.

"When I was 15, my folks found a hockey academy up there. It was called the Banff Hockey Academy, up in Alberta. I was there for two years and graduated high school there," said Partch. "You wake up at 7 or 8, go skate for a few hours, go to school, and either leave for your game, or you play your game, or are basically practicing every single day."

Call it Hockey High.

Partch, now 23, was acquired by the Las Vegas Wranglers last month as a stopgap solution to a glut of offensive injuries. But he has been a pleasant surprise for Las Vegas, scoring six goals with a plus/minus of plus-7 in 10 games. He'll look to score his seventh goal with Las Vegas when the Wranglers take on the Alaska Aces tonight at the Orleans Arena.

Not too bad, considering in 29 games with Long Beach before being released by the Ice Dogs, Partch had only six goals and a minus-3 rating.

Partch started out on roller-blades, playing roller hockey at just 6 years old in Agoura Hills, Calif., in eastern Ventura County. By the time he was 8, Partch was on ice and excelled so much, his parents sent him to Banff.

After graduating from BHA, Partch redshirted a year at the University of Alaska-Anchorage. He transferred to Division-III Plattsburgh State, N.Y., where he helped the Cardinals to the Division III Frozen Four in 2002.

Soon, he found himself at the Santa Fe ice rink, trying out to be a Las Vegas Wrangler. But Partch instead wound up closer to home, with Long Beach.

"In mid-August if you had asked me where I was going to play I thought it was Las Vegas... Gully had seen me at a free agent camp, and picked me to come out to rookie camp and for preseason. Long Beach was the team I was talking to before after my college season. I had taken interest in both teams and decided to go to Long Beach because it was closer to home."

But Partch didn't mesh well with his teammates, nor with the Ice Dogs' system.

"I just think that Long Beach is a real hard-working hockey club, they don't score a lot of goals and I think that he got into a little bit more freewheeling system," Wranglers coach and general manager Glen Gulutzan said. "In Long Beach, they're pretty tight-checking, hardworking defensive type team. Here, we're a little more high scoring, I think he just kind of fit in with what we're doing more than what Long Beach is doing."

Partch was cut by the Ice Dogs in late January. The next day, he heard from Gulutzan.

"I was still in Long Beach, I was heading home back to Agoura Hills to figure things out," Partch said. "It was pretty fortunate that Gully called me the next day, I left that day, jumped in my car and headed out here."

Gulutzan said familiarity and location played an important role in his pursuit of Partch.

"The biggest thing was that we needed some players, and he was available," Gulutzan said. "We had so many injuries, he was a guy I'd seen at free agent camp in fall, so he was a player that I knew a little bit about. He was close, so he was kind of a logical choice."

The biggest difference for Partch between Las Vegas and Long Beach has been the attitude in the locker room.

"I think, as far as the team game at Long Beach, winning in Las Vegas is contagious. In Long Beach, losing was contagious," he said. "You almost accepted losing. The guys weren't always upset that we'd lose by a goal or two. Here, if you're down by a goal, things aren't going well, everyone's pissed off and everyone wants to win. There's more of an urgency to win in Las Vegas."

The Wranglers' pressure to win and open-ended offense allowed Partch to capitalize on what some observers characterize as just being in the right place at the right time.

"I think I've done just as good in 10 games here as I had in about 25 games with Long Beach," Partch said. "It just comes down to team effort... I'm in the right spots at right time, and coaching has a lot to do with it as well."

Gulutzan said he was surprised by Partch's knack for finding the back of the net.

"I wasn't expecting that," Gulutzan said. "I knew he had some skill but I didn't realize he's a guy who can really find open spots and score goals.

Partch credits his new teammates for the increase in his offensive output.

"With me, even the guys I play with have better hockey sense, and actually work harder," Partch said. "Team chemistry and playing with guys that know where to be, they kind of feel for each other on the ice. That has a lot to do with it. I didn't have any chemistry with any of my linemen (in Long Beach)."

It can't hurt that Partch is still fighting for a spot on the Wranglers' roster. With at least two injured forwards expected back by the end of the month, Gulutzan may be forced to trade away Partch or another forward to accommodate the impending surplus.

"We're going to get a lot of guys back at certain point, barring any more injuries. Like I told Darren and most of my players: Come the end of March, we're going to put together best possible 20 guys to get into playoffs," Gulutzan said. "I'm sure I'll have some hard decisions to make. But it's up to guys who wants to battle hardest and do what we're trying to do to earn a spot in our playoff roster, just because we have so many players."

Partch said he understands his time on the Wranglers could be limited, and is doing his best on the ice to extend his stay.

"I understand that. Gulutzan even told me that. His exact words were, 'I'm going to play my best players,' " Partch said. "I feel if I'm doing my job, doing all the little things, and scoring goals, and playing good defensively, I will somehow earn myself a spot on the team."

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