Twenty-year Spencerport resident Nathan Paetsch was named one of two new assistant coaches for the Rochester Americans last week. A 17-year pro including 900 games played in the National Hockey League, Paetsch moves behind the bench after spending the last two seasons as a development coach for the Buffalo Sabres. In that role, he worked closely with the organization’s top defensive prospects, both in Buffalo and Rochester, playing a key role in their overall development process.
“I thank the Buffalo Sabres organization, most importantly Terry Pegula, Kevyn Adams, Jason Karmanos and Adam Mair, for giving me the opportunity to begin my coaching career in player development,” Paetsch said.
“It’s also no secret how important the Sabres and Amerks are to my family and I,” continued Paetsch. “I was fortunate enough to be in the organization as a player for 11 years and two more as a development coach. The opportunity to be back on the Amerks bench in a different role and work with a coach as experienced as Seth (Appert, head coach) is both exciting and special and I’m looking forward to learning each day. We will work tirelessly to bring another Calder Cup back to Rochester while helping our young prospects grow with the ultimate goal of delivering a Stanley Cup to Buffalo.”
Paetsch lives with his wife, Jaclyn, and their two children, Kellen (12), who played with the Rochester Jr. Americans last season, and Mira (10).
“It’s hard to put into words what this organization and city mean to me,” Paetsch said. “Standing on that bench again with family and friends in the arena because my wife is from here and I’ve lived here for 20 years, so not just me but my whole family is excited for the opportunity.”
A two-time Calder Cup winner, Paetsch announced his retirement in December 2020, ending a career spanning the National Hockey League, American Hockey League and the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany.
A native of LeRoy, Saskatchewan, Canada, Paetsch appeared in 258 career games with the Amerks over parts of seven seasons recording 100 points on 23 goals and 77 assists. His seven seasons in Rochester trail only Darryl Sly for the most by a defenseman in the 67-year history of the franchise and he’s one of only 20 defensemen all-time with at least 250 games with the team.
Off the ice, Paetsch was unanimously named the winner of the organization’s McCulloch Trophy for his commitment to the Rochester community on five different occasions, the most by any player. He also remains the only Amerk in franchise history to receive the award, coinciding with being named Rochester’s AHL Man of the Year for his community service, in three straight years from 2018 to 2020.
Paetsch is also a four-time recipient of his team’s AHL Man of the Year award as well as a three-time nominee for the league’s Fred T. Hunt Award, presented annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of sportsmanship, determination and dedication to hockey.
A seventh-round selection (202nd overall) of the Buffalo Sabres in 2003, Paetsch joined the Amerks as a rookie for the 2003-04 season following five years of junior hockey with the Moose Jaw Warriors. In 2004-05 he was the only Amerk to appear in all 80 games that season.
His best season as an Amerk came during the 2005-06 campaign when he posted career-highs in goals (11), assists (39) and points (50) to lead all Rochester defensemen and finish ninth in scoring among all AHL blueliners. For his efforts, he would be named Amerks MVP, becoming just the third defenseman in team history to earn the honors.
In his AHL career, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound blueliner amassed 259 points (52+207) over 651 career AHL games with Rochester, Grand Rapids and Syracuse, while also adding 34 points (5+29) in 104 playoff contests. During the 2016-17 season with Grand Rapids, he became just the 18th player in AHL history to play in 100 or more Calder Cup Playoff games. He retired ranked 25th in scoring among all-time defensemen in franchise history.
“Right now, this is just the perfect opportunity for my family and myself. With my son and daughter, this is just an ideal situation after moving them around their whole life because of my job. This is home base…a dream come true and a perfect situation.”
