Senior Season — 2014-15 |
San Jose Sharks
2012 NHL Draft
7th Round • 193rd Overall |
An injury in the Big Red's first game of the season forced the 21-year-old Ryan to miss all eight of the team's November games this year, but he was nothing short of terrific the rest of the campaign. Essentially a one-man breakout, Ryan saw as much ice time as humanly possible. The Big Red penalty kill was the nation's best (91.1 percent) at the end of its regular season, with Ryan being a major contributor. He was also a key puck-mover on the Big Red power play, which ranked tied for first in league games with a 20.3 percent success rate. Despite missing six league games, Ryan still ranked tied for fourth in points among defensemen for a team that averaged just 2.05 goals per game in league play. He earned his third All-Ivy League honor, finding a place on the First Team for a second straight season, and he was also placed on the All-ECAC Hockey First Team. He accumulated 78 career points on 19 goals and 59 assists in 123 career games, giving him the most offensive output from a Big Red defenseman since longtime NHLer Doug Murray (84 points) and Mark McRae (98 points) finished their careers during the 2002-03 season. After the season, Ryan signed a two-year entry-level contract with the NHL's San Jose Sharks and played out the season with their AHL affiliate, the Worcester Sharks.
Junior Season — 2013-14One of the top offensive defensemen in the country, Ryan was selected to the All-Ivy League First Team, All-ECAC Hockey Second Team and earned the Nicky Bawlf Award, which is presented annually by the Big Red to its most valuable player. Ryan finished tied for second on the team in scoring with a career-high 24 points, appearing in all 32 games. His eight goals ranked third on the team (and first among defensemen) and his 16 assists were third on the team. He was tied for sixth in the league in points per game for defensemen (0.68). Ryan scored both the team's first and last goals of the season, kicking off the campaign with a first-period goal on the power play Oct. 25 at Neb.-Omaha. He then had his second career three-point game Nov. 8 at Rensselaer. After scoring on the man advantage in the first period, Ryan scored an extra-attacker goal from the point with 1:35 left in the third period while drawing a penalty. On the ensuing power play with another extra attacker, Ryan assisted Dustin Mowrey's tying goal to help the Big Red salvage a 3-3 tie. It kicked off a stretch of 16 points over 12 games for Ryan, including a breakaway pass to Madison Dias for the team's lone shorthanded goal of the season Jan. 17 at Harvard. He then scored the winning goal against Clarkson in Game 1 of the ECAC Hockey Championship quarterfinal series on March 14 at Lynah Rink, then netted the Big Red's last goal in the semifinals against Union. Ryan was nominated for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the top player in men's college hockey.
Sophomore Season — 2012-13Ryan built on a strong debut and emerged as a dynamic playmaker from the blue line, capable of an end-to-end rush, playing the point on the power play, or even killing penalties. As a result, he was an All-Ivy League Second Team selection. Ryan led the team with 20 assists and power-play scoring with 11 points. He also tacked on three late-season goals to bump his point total to a career-best 23, which was highest among the team's defensemen. Ryan was also a noticeable presence in his own zone, leading the Big Red with 60 blocked shots. Ryan's first goal of the season came when he alertly jumped into the play Feb. 2 at Clarkson, taking a pass from John McCarron and scoring just 58 seconds into the game. His second goal game on a wrist shot through traffic against league champion Union on Feb. 23, then Ryan scored the winning goal in the Big Red's 4-0 victory over Princeton in Game 1 of the ECAC Hockey Championship first round series.
Freshman Season — 2011-12Career Highs| Goals | 2 (twice) | at Rensselaer, 11/8/13 |
| Assists | 2 (six times) | last at Harvard, 1/17/14 |
| Points | 3 (twice) | last at Rensselaer, 11/8/13 |
| Shots | 6 | vs. Rensselaer, 2/15/14 |
| Penalties | 3 | vs. Clarkson, 3/15/14 |
| Penalty Minutes | 17 | vs. Clarkson, 3/15/14 |
Ryan set a program record for goals scored by a freshman defenseman with seven — none bigger than a shorthanded goal on a two-on-one early in the second period of the Big Red's victory over top-seeded Michigan in the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal on March 24. A fixture on the team’s top power-play unit, Ryan got his season off to a flying start with two goals and an assist in the opener against Mercyhurst on Oct. 29. For his efforts, Ryan was awarded as the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week. It was actually the second straight year that a freshman potted two goals in his debut for the Big Red — forward Dustin Mowrey did it on Oct. 29, 2010. After the conclusion of the season, the San Jose Sharks selected Ryan in the seventh round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft with the 193rd pick.
Before CornellRyan played one season at Dubuque of the USHL, appearing in 53 games and scoring 32 points on three goals and 29 assists. He helped the Saints win the Clark Cup title in just their first season and compiled five points in 11 games on two goals and three assists. He earned USHL defensive player of the week honors on Oct. 25, 2010 and was named a league mid-season all-star. Ryan, whose mother was a professional tennis player, represented Sweden at the 2010 World U17 Challenge and also played for Sweden in the 2010 World Jr. A Challenge. He finished the season fifth on the team in scoring and led all defensemen in that category, nearly doubling up his next-closest blueliner. Ryan also finished eighth in the league in scoring among defensemen.
