Edgar Arnold Patenaude was born on October 17, 1949, in Williams Lake, British Columbia. He came from a Patenaude family associated with the ranching and sporting history of British Columbia’s Interior Plateau. He became known publicly by the nickname Rusty and developed as a hockey player in western Canada.
Patenaude began his junior career with the Moose Jaw Canucks in 1966. He helped the club win the 1967 President’s Cup, the first championship awarded in the competition that became associated with the Western Canadian junior hockey tradition. He moved to the Calgary Centennials for the 1968–1969 and 1969–1970 seasons, producing more than 130 points across his final two junior campaigns.
The Pittsburgh Penguins selected Patenaude 50th overall in the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft. He began his professional career with one appearance for Pittsburgh’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Baltimore Clippers, in 1970, then played for the Amarillo Wranglers of the Central Hockey League in 1970–1971 and the Fort Wayne Komets of the International Hockey League in 1971–1972.
Patenaude joined the Alberta Oilers for the World Hockey Association’s inaugural 1972–1973 season. The WHA was founded in 1972 as a rival to the National Hockey League and operated through the 1978–1979 season. The franchise used the Alberta Oilers name for its first season before reverting to Edmonton Oilers for 1973–1974; Patenaude remained with the club through the 1976–1977 season.
With Alberta and Edmonton, Patenaude became a productive right wing. He scored 29 goals in the 1972–1973 season and reached a career high of 42 goals and 72 points in 1975–1976. Across five seasons with the Oilers, he recorded 355 regular-season games, 136 goals, and 248 points. He finished his WHA career with the Indianapolis Racers in 1977–1978, scoring 23 goals and 42 points in 76 games. His WHA totals were 431 regular-season games, 159 goals, 131 assists, and 290 points.
Patenaude helped the Moose Jaw Canucks win the 1967 President’s Cup, the club’s first championship in the Western Canadian junior hockey competition.
He recorded 431 regular-season games and 290 points in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1978, including 159 goals and 131 assists.
He scored 42 goals and 72 points for the Edmonton Oilers in 1975–1976, the highest single-season goal and point totals of his WHA career.
Physical Characteristics: Patenaude played right wing and shot right. Contemporary statistical records list him at approximately 5 feet 9 inches and 175 pounds.
