Derek Ryan (ice hockey)

Derek Allen Ryan (born December 29, 1986) is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Derek Ryan
Ryan with EC VSV in 2013
Born (1986-12-29) December 29, 1986
Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Center
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 Calgary Flames
SAPA Fehérvár AV19
EC VSV
Örebro HK
Carolina Hurricanes
National team  United States
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2007–present

An undrafted player, Ryan played four successful seasons of Canadian university hockey and pursued a professional career in Europe before making his NHL debut at age 29. After being named the MVP of the Swedish Hockey League in 2015, Ryan signed his first NHL contract with the Carolina Hurricanes in June of that year. He played parts of three seasons with the Hurricanes before signing with the Flames in July 2018.

Playing career

Ryan started his junior career with his hometown's Spokane Braves of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) from 2002 to 2004.

Ryan played four seasons of major junior hockey (2003–2007) in the Western Hockey League (WHL), again representing his hometown club, the Spokane Chiefs.[1] With limited NHL interest due to his diminutive size, he went on to play four seasons of Canadian university hockey (2007–2011) with the University of Alberta Golden Bears in the CWUAA conference of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS). For his outstanding college hockey, play he was named the CIS (West) Most Valuable Player for the 2010–11 season, and was also named to the 2010–11 CIS All-Canadian First Team.[2]

Ryan embarked on a professional career in Europe and made his debut in the 2011–12 season in the Austrian League (EBEL) with Hungarian club Alba Volán Székesfehérvár under head coach Kevin Primeau.[3] After placing third in team scoring with 49 points in 50 games, Ryan was signed to an improved contract with Austrian club EC VSV on July 7, 2012.[4] In his second season in Villach, Ryan lead the EBEL with 38 goals and finished with 84 points in 54 games. He was awarded the Ron Kennedy Trophy as the league's most valuable player for the 2013–14 season.[3]

On April 10, 2014, Ryan moved to the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), signing a lucrative contract with Örebro HK.[5] In the 2014–15 season, Ryan's rapid ascent in the professional leagues continued as he became the cornerstone of Örebro's offence and in leading the club to the playoffs, lead the SHL in scoring with 45 assists and 60 points to be selected as the league's Forward of the Year and the SHL Most Valuable player.[3]

Carolina Hurricanes and Calgary Flames

Earning NHL interest after defying initial size concerns, Ryan signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on June 15, 2015.[6] He was called-up to the Hurricanes in February 2016 and made his NHL debut on March 1 against the New Jersey Devils, also scoring his first NHL goal in the game, against goaltender Cory Schneider.[3] Ryan played two full seasons with the Hurricanes, establishing himself as a versatile forward able to play both centre and wing and who could be counted on to play on both the powerplay and the penalty-killing units.

Ryan left Carolina as a free agent to reunite with former Hurricanes head coach Bill Peters in signing a three-year, $9.375 million contract with the Calgary Flames on July 1, 2018.[7] After a slow start to 2018–19 which saw him record only two goals in the season's first 20 games, Ryan managed to find chemistry with wingers Garnet Hathaway and Andrew Mangiapane, with the trio emerging as one of the key reasons for Calgary's first-place finish in the Western Conference.[8] In the playoffs, Ryan recorded one goal in five games as the Flames lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the first round.

Firmly established as the Flames' third-line centre, Ryan continued his strong play into the 2019–20 season – albeit with two new wingers. Hathaway signed with the Washington Capitals in July 2019, with his vacated spot on Ryan's wing being filled by trade acquisition Milan Lucic. Lucic endured a similar dry spell to begin his Flames tenure as Ryan had a year previously; however, the two soon found chemistry on the third line and the second powerplay unit. With Mangiapane moving up to the second line to supplant a declining Michael Frolík, who was eventually traded to the Buffalo Sabres in January 2020, Ryan and Lucic were joined by rookie Dillon Dubé. Ryan scored 10 goals and 29 points in 68 games before the season was halted prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Personal life

Ryan was raised in Spokane by his parents Tim and Nancy (who died during Ryan's second season with the Alberta Golden Bears). He has one sister. He and his wife Bonnie have a son, born in 2013, and a daughter, born in 2016.[3]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2003–04 Spokane Chiefs WHL 11010 41010
2004–05 Spokane Chiefs WHL 7114324639 —————
2005–06 Spokane Chiefs WHL 7224376150 —————
2006–07 Spokane Chiefs WHL 7228315950 63252
2006–07 Kalamazoo Wings UHL 30220 131458
2007–08 University of Alberta CIS 2811142520 —————
2008–09 University of Alberta CIS 2516193516 —————
2009–10 University of Alberta CIS 2814253930 —————
2010–11 University of Alberta CIS 2817304718 —————
2011–12 Alba Volán Székesfehérvár EBEL 5025244920 61346
2012–13 EC VSV EBEL 5427396622 738116
2013–14 EC VSV EBEL 5438468450 9214166
2014–15 Örebro HK SHL 5515456018 60112
2015–16 Charlotte Checkers AHL 7023325524 —————
2015–16 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 62022 —————
2016–17 Charlotte Checkers AHL 958130 —————
2016–17 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 6711182922 —————
2017–18 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 8015233828 —————
2018–19 Calgary Flames NHL 8113253824 51012
2019–20 Calgary Flames NHL 6810192910
SHL totals 5515456018 60112
NHL totals 302518513686 51012
Medal record
Representing  United States
Ice hockey
World Championships
2018 Denmark

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2018 United States WC 9 4 3 7 0
2019 United States WC 7th 7 1 3 4 2
Senior totals 16 5 6 11 2

Awards and honors
Award Year
CIS
All-Canadian Second Team 2009–10 [2]
(West) Most Valuable Player 2010–11 [2]
First-Team All-Canadian 2010–11 [2]
SHL
Guldhjälmen Most Valuable Player 2014–15 [2]

References
  1. "WHL Alumni spotlight: Derek Ryan". Western Hockey League. October 2, 2010. Archived from the original on January 16, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2010.</
  2. "Profile - University of Alberta". University of Alberta. April 1, 2011. Archived from the original on April 3, 2011. Retrieved April 1, 2011.
  3. Prewitt, Alex (February 2, 2017). "After a non-traditional journey, Derek Ryan finds himself at home with Hurricanes". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  4. "Forward Derek Ryan signs for VSV!" (in German). EC VSV. July 7, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  5. "Orebro unveil four new players" (in Swedish). Swedish Hockey League. April 10, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  6. "Hurricanes sign Derek Ryan". Carolina Hurricanes. June 15, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
  7. "Flames sign three players". Calgary Flames. July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  8. Gilbertson, Wes (March 24, 2019). "Flames pass 100-point mark with win over Canucks". National Post.
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