It was a steep learning curve for the 19-year-old midfielder from a hockey-mad family.
Initially he was listed as a non-travelling reserve for the Pro-League series which was staged in Christchurch in April.
Otago’s Malachi Buschl also received a late callup having previously made his international debut in 2018.
Black Sticks coach Greg Nicol had told Ward to be ready. If one of the overseas players could not make it back, he was in.
It was a nervous wait.
"I think there was five or six odd days before I got a nice wee call saying I was in. That was pretty cool," he said.
Ward made his debut in the Black Sticks’ second game of the series — a 3-0 loss to Australia.
He started the game from the bench but only had to wait about three minutes before he was out in the middle.
"It was a pretty big step up from any of the hockey I’ve played. It was pretty tough out there against the best of the best.
"The speed and skills of the game was just really, really high. I was just finding my feet and trying to do anything I could to get stuck in," Ward said.
"I expected the step up to high because we were playing Aussie and Great Britain. But it was really high."
He also played in the 6-1 loss to Great Britain and the 4-2 loss to Australia.
Those were not the results the home team had hoped for. But with many leading players unavailable, the Black Sticks were able to blood new players and develop for the future.
It has been a good 12 months or so for Ward. He joined his two older brothers — Finn and Jordan — to help Otago win the National Hockey Championship final 4-2 against Wellington in Dunedin in September last year.
It was Otago’s first senior men’s title since the competition begun in 1908.
Finn and Jordan both scored in the final. But Patrick has the bragging rights now. He has played for his country.
The second-year surveying student is keen to build on the experience and improve his hockey.
"I learned I need to continue growing my skills and my knowledge of hockey. Great Britain and Aussie are teams that have played together for quite a while, and so they knew where everyone was going to be.
"The passing was slick and, as a young team playing against them, it was a wee bit hard to retain the ball and play our game or do what we wanted to do.
"I definitely want to step up my game and continue to be in that squad."
