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Training Camp Cuts: 9/30/25

at CDT | by 11 Comments

There’s now one week to go until the regular season opens, meaning six days until opening night rosters are due. Most teams have gotten their last round of sweeping cuts done and now only have a handful of names to trim to get down to 23 players. We’ll keep track of additional cuts as they roll in today:

Carolina Hurricanes (per team announcement)

D Gavin Bayreuther (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
F Noel Gunler (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
F Tyson Jost (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
D Oliver Kylington (released from PTO)
F Kevin Labanc (released from PTO)
D Bryce Montgomery (to AHL Chicago)
F Bradly Nadeau (to AHL Chicago)
D Joel Nyström (to AHL Chicago)
G Nikita Quapp (to AHL Chicago)
F Justin Robidas (to AHL Chicago)
F Ivan Ryabkin (to AHL Chicago)
F Josiah Slavin (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
F Ryan Suzuki (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
F Gleb Trikozov (to AHL Chicago)
F Felix Unger Sörum (to AHL Chicago)

Calgary Flames (per team announcement)

F Clark Bishop (to AHL Calgary pending waiver clearance)
D Hunter Brzustewicz (to AHL Calgary)
D Nick Cicek (to AHL Calgary)
D Artem Grushnikov (to AHL Calgary)
F Samuel Honzek (to AHL Calgary)
F Dryden Hunt (to AHL Calgary pending waiver clearance)
D Yan Kuznetsov (to AHL Calgary pending waiver clearance)
F Sam Morton (to AHL Calgary pending waiver clearance)
G Owen Say (to AHL Calgary)
F William Stromgren (to AHL Calgary)
F Aydar Suniev (to AHL Calgary)

Chicago Blackhawks (per team announcement)

D Kevin Korchinski (to AHL Rockford)

Los Angeles Kings (per team announcement)

D Parker Berge (released from PTO to AHL Ontario)
F Aatu Jämsen (to AHL Ontario)
F Kaleb Lawrence (to AHL Ontario)
F Koehn Ziemmer (to AHL Ontario)

Minnesota Wild (per team announcement)

F Brett Leason (released from PTO)

New York Rangers (per Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic)

F Anton Blidh (to AHL Hartford)
G Talyn Boyko (to AHL Hartford)
F Brendan Brisson (to AHL Hartford, pending waivers)
G Dylan Garand (to AHL Hartford)
D Blake Hillman (released from PTO to AHL Hartford)
D Connor Mackey (to AHL Hartford, pending waivers)
F Bryce McConnell-Barker (to AHL Hartford)
F Brennan Othmann (to AHL Hartford)
F Dylan Roobroeck (to AHL Hartford)
D Brandon Scanlin (to AHL Hartford)
F Carey Terrance (to AHL Hartford)

Nashville Predators (per team announcement)

D Kevin Gravel (to AHL Milwaukee)
F Jake Lucchini (to AHL Milwaukee)
G Matt Murray (to AHL Milwaukee)
F Navrin Mutter (to AHL Milwaukee)
D Jordan Oesterle (to AHL Milwaukee)

Philadelphia Flyers (per team announcement)

D Emil Andrae (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Denver Barkey (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
G Carson Bjarnason (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Alex Bump (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Alexis Gendron (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
D Helge Grans (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Devin Kaplan (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
G Aleksei Kolosov (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
D Hunter McDonald (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
D Ty Murchison (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Anthony Richard (to AHL Lehigh Valley pending waiver clearance)

San Jose Sharks (per team announcement)

F Filip Bystedt (to AHL San Jose)
G Gabriel Carriere (to AHL San Jose)
F Igor Chernyshov (to AHL San Jose)
D Cole Clayton (to AHL San Jose)
G Matt Davis (to AHL San Jose)
D Jake Furlong (to AHL San Jose)
D Braden Hache (to AHL San Jose)
F Kasper Halttunen (to AHL San Jose)
F Oliver Wahlstrom (released from PTO to AHL San Jose)

While not listed in today’s cuts by the team, forwards Shane Bowers, Jimmy Huntington, Oskar Olausson, and Pavol Regenda along with goaltender Jakub Skarek are on waivers today.

Washington Capitals (per team announcement)

D Cam Allen (to AHL Hershey)
F Terik Parascak (to WHL Prince George)
F Patrick Thomas (to AHL Hershey)

Hurricanes Release Oliver Kylington, Kevin Labanc

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The Hurricanes released defenseman Oliver Kylington and winger Kevin Labanc from their professional tryouts, according to a team announcement. The duo is part of a good chunk of camp cuts from the Canes today, although fellow PTO invitee Givani Smith remains with the organization for now.

Kylington signed a PTO after splitting the 2024-25 season between the Avalanche and the Ducks. The left-shot rearguard missed over two months with a lower-body injury in the middle of the season, which, combined with declining play, contributed to him only making 19 appearances. He managed a 1-4–5 scoring line with a -2 rating while averaging just 12:18 per game, recording 18 blocks and three hits.

A second-round pick by the Flames back in 2015, Kylington once looked like a potential top-four piece. He broke out for 31 points and a +34 rating in 73 appearances for Calgary back in 2021-22, but he then missed over a year and a half while on mental health-related leave. His return to the game in January 2024 made him a Masterton Trophy finalist at season’s end. Unfortunately, it looks like that lost time means his days of being an everyday NHLer might be behind him. He was competing with other reclamation-type depth puck-movers like Mike Reilly for an NHL job in Carolina’s camp, but Reilly, along with preseason standout Charles-Alexis Legault, bumped him out of consideration.

Labanc, 29, was in an NHL camp on a PTO for the second straight year. Last season, he attended New Jersey’s camp on a tryout basis and landed an NHL deal with the Blue Jackets immediately after getting released. He’ll hope a similar outcome awaits him this time around.

The New York native was also limited by injuries last year, missing the last two months of the campaign due to shoulder surgery. When healthy, he got into Columbus’ lineup 34 times and scored two goals and 10 assists for 12 points.

The club has 23 skaters left in camp, leaving only two cuts still to make. The final forward spot is likely down to Smith and Juha Jaaska, while Legault is still in the mix to upset Reilly and start the year as Carolina’s seventh defenseman.

Training Camp Cuts: 9/28/25

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The countdown to the NHL season has reached single-digits. Teams will kickoff in just nine days, with the preseason set to last just six more days. That will put the pressure on every team to begin finalize their opening night roster – and quickly expand the list of exciting names on the waiver wire. Each team’s current roster can be found at our Training Camp Roster Tracker. Here is the list of today’s cuts:

Anaheim Ducks (per team announcement)

F Justin Bailey (to AHL San Diego)
D Jeremie Biakabutuka (to AHL San Diego)
D Nikolas Brouillard (to AHL San Diego)
G Vyacheslav Buteyets (to AHL San Diego)
F Judd Caulfield (to AHL San Diego)
G Calle Clang (to AHL San Diego)
F Nathan Gaucher (to AHL San Diego)
F Nico Myatovic (to AHL San Diego)
F Sasha Pastujov (to AHL San Diego)
F Matthew Phillips (to AHL San Diego)
F Yegor Sidorov (to AHL San Diego)
D Konnor Smith (to AHL San Diego)
G Tomas Suchanek (to AHL San Diego)
D Noah Warren (to AHL San Diego)
F Jaxsen Wiebe (to AHL San Diego)
C Jan Mysak (placed on waivers with intent to reassign to AHL San Diego)

Boston Bruins (per team announcement)

F Joey Abate (to AHL Providence)
G Luke Cavallin (to AHL Providence)
F Ty Cheveldayoff (to AHL Providence)
D Jackson Edward (to AHL Providence)
D Colin Felix (to AHL Providence)
D Ty Gallagher (to AHL Providence)
D Loke Johansson (to AHL Providence)
F Jake Schmaltz (to AHL Providence)
D Max Wanner (to AHL Providence)
G Simon Zajicek (to AHL Providence)

Carolina Hurricanes (per team announcement)

G Amir Miftakhov (to AHL Chicago)
G Ruslan Khazheyev (to AHL Chicago)

Chicago Blackhawks (per team announcement)

G Stanislav Berezhnoy (to AHL Rockford)
F Jackson Cates (released from PTO to AHL Rockford)
F Gavin Hayes (to AHL Rockford)
F Martin Misiak (to AHL Rockford)

Colorado Avalanche (per team announcement)

D Ronnie Attard (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Colorado)
F Chase Bradley (to AHL Colorado)
D Alex Gagne (to AHL Colorado)
F Cooper Gay (to AHL Colorado)
G Kyle Keyser (to AHL Colorado)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team announcement)

F Luca Del Bel Belluz (to AHL Cleveland)
F James Malatesta (to AHL Cleveland)
F Max McCue (to AHL Cleveland)
F Luca Pinelli (to AHL Cleveland)
D Corson Ceulemans (to AHL Cleveland)
D Stanislav Svozil (to AHL Cleveland)
G Nolan Lalonde (to AHL Cleveland)
F Hudson Fasching (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Cleveland)
F Brendan Gaunce (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Cleveland)
F Mikael Pyyhtia (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Cleveland)
F Oiva Keskinen (to Tappara, Liiga)
D Brendan Smith (released from PTO)

Dallas Stars (per team announcement)

F Francesco Arcuri (to AHL Texas)
D Tristan Bertucci (to AHL Texas)
F Justin Ertel (to AHL Texas)
F Emil Hemming (to AHL Texas)
G Ben Kraws (to AHL Texas)
D Christian Kyrou (to AHL Texas)
F Ayrton Martino (to AHL Texas)
F Angus MacDonnell (to AHL Texas)
D Connor Punnett (to AHL Texas)
F Harrison Scott (to AHL Texas)
F Matthew Seminoff (to AHL Texas)
D Trey Taylor (to AHL Texas)
G Arno Tiefensee (to AHL Texas)
D Gavin White (to AHL Texas)
D Tommy Bergsland (released from ATO to AHL Texas)
F Sean Chisholm (released from ATO to AHL Texas)
D Aidan Hreschuk (released from ATO to AHL Texas)
F Artem Shlaine (released from ATO to AHL Texas)
F Jack Becker (released from PTO to AHL Texas)
G Antoine Bibeau (released from PTO to AHL Texas)
F Cross Hanas (released from PTO to AHL Texas)
D Michael Karow (released from PTO to AHL Texas)
D Kyle Looft (released from PTO to AHL Texas)
F Curtis MacKenzie (released from PTO to AHL Texas)
F Kaleb Pearson (released from PTO to AHL Texas)

Los Angeles Kings (per team announcement)

F Jacob Doty (to AHL Ontario)
F Jack Hughes (to AHL Ontario)
F Kenta Isogai (to AHL Ontario)

Minnesota Wild (per team announcement)

F Bradley Marek (to AHL Iowa)
F Riley Heidt (to AHL Iowa)
D Kyle Masters (to AHL Iowa)
D Jack Peart (to AHL Iowa)
F Elliot Desnoyers (to AHL Iowa)
F Jean-Luc Foudy (to AHL Iowa)
F Mark Liwiski (to AHL Iowa)
F Ryan Sandelin (to AHL Iowa)
D Mike Koster (to AHL Iowa)
D Will Zmolek (to AHL Iowa)

Montreal Canadiens (per team announcement)

F Vincent Arseneau (to AHL Laval)
F Alex Belzile (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Laval)
D Nathan Clurman (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Laval)
F Lucas Condotta (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Laval)
F Laurent Dauphin (to AHL Laval)
F Jared Davidson (to AHL Laval)
D Marc Del Gaizo (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Laval)
F Will Dineen (to AHL Laval)
F Joe Dunlap (to AHL Laval)
F Mark Estapa (to AHL Laval)
F Sean Farrell (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Laval)
G Jacob Fowler (to AHL Laval)
G Benjamin Gaudreau (to AHL Laval)
F Egor Guriunov (to AHL Laval)
D Joshua Jacobs (to AHL Laval)
G Hunter Jones (to AHL Laval)
F Riley Kidney (to AHL Laval)
D Darick Louis-Jean (to AHL Laval)
G Kevin Mandolese (to AHL Laval)
D Charles Martin (to AHL Laval)
F Filip Mesar (to AHL Laval)
F Israel Mianscum (to AHL Laval)
D Ryan O’Rourke (to AHL Laval)
D Tobie Paquette-Bisson (to AHL Laval)
F Vinzenz Rohrer (to Zurich, NL)
F Joshua Roy (to AHL Laval)
F Xavier Simoneau (to AHL Laval)
F Tyler Thorpe (to AHL Laval)
F Luke Tuch (to AHL Laval)
D Wyatte Wylie (to AHL Laval)

San Jose Sharks (per team announcement)

F Carson Wetsch (to WHL Kelowna)
D Haoxi (Simon) Wang (to OHL Oshawa)

St. Louis Blues (per team announcement)

F Nikita Alexandrov (to AHL Springfield)
F Samuel Bitten (to AHL Springfield)
F Hugh McGing (to AHL Springfield)
F Matthew Peca (to AHL Springfield)
F Juraj Pekarcik (to AHL Springfield)
F Dylan Peterson (to AHL Springfield)
F Simon Robertsson (to AHL Springfield)
F Sam Stange (to AHL Springfield)
F Jakub Stancl (to AHL Springfield)
F Nikita Susev (to AHL Springfield)
F Chris Wagner (to AHL Springfield)
D Michael Buchinger (to AHL Springfield)
D Quinton Burns (to AHL Springfield)
D Marc-Andre Gaudet (to AHL Springfield)
D Samuel Johannesson (to AHL Springfield)
D Anthony Kehrer (to AHL Springfield)
G Will Cranley (to AHL Springfield)
G Vadim Zherenko (to AHL Springfield)
F Justin Carbonneau (to QMJHL Blainville)
D Adam Jiricek (to OHL Brantford)

Tampa Bay Lightning (per team announcement)

F Tristan Allard (to AHL Syracuse)
F Cooper Flinton (to AHL Syracuse)
F Brendan Furry (to AHL Syracuse)
F Ethan Gauthier (to AHL Syracuse)
F Niko Huuhtanen (to AHL Syracuse)
F Spencer Kersten (to AHL Syracuse)
F Connor Kurth (to AHL Syracuse)
F Lucas Mercuri (to AHL Syracuse)
F Reece Newkirk (to AHL Syracuse)
F Milo Roelens (to AHL Syracuse)
F Gabriel Szturc (to AHL Syracuse)
D Charle-Edouard D’Astous (to AHL Syracuse)
D Dyllan Gill (to AHL Syracuse)
D Maxim Groshev (to AHL Syracuse)
D Chris Harpur (to AHL Syracuse)
D Tommy Miller (to AHL Syracuse)
D Matteo Petroniro (to AHL Syracuse)
G Harrison Meneghin (to AHL Syracuse)
G Ryan Fanti (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Syracuse)
F Scott Sabourin (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Syracuse)
D Steven Santini (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Syracuse)
D Simon Lundmark (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Syracuse)

Toronto Maple Leafs (per team announcement)

F Miroslav Holinka (to WHL Edmonton)

Winnipeg Jets (per announcement from AHL Manitoba)

D Dylan Anhorn (released from PTO to AHL Manitoba)
F Jacob Julien (to AHL Manitoba)
G Isaac Poulter (to AHL Manitoba)
F Fabian Wagner (to AHL Manitoba)

Hurricanes Reportedly Among Finalists To Sign Carter Hart

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According to Johnston, Hart “has started to zero in on the most attractive options for where he might attempt to reboot his career.” Johnston specifically named the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes as two front-runners, alongside “one or two” other teams who are “still in the mix” to sign the player.

Johnston reported that Hart’s “main priorities remain finding a landing spot that comes with a clear path to playing time on a team that’s set up for success,” and both Carolina and Vegas certainly fit the bill. The Golden Knights look set to enter the season with Adin Hill and Akira Schmid as their NHL tandem, and Schmid played in just five NHL games last season. Carolina looks to be in a stronger position in terms of their current goalies, with Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov already under contract. But Andersen, 35, has dealt with persistent injury troubles over the last three seasons, and Kochetkov had an uneven season in 2024-25, posting an .898 save percentage. Those two factors could help explain why the Hurricanes are considering adding another goaltender into the mix. Regardless, it appears Hart is getting closer to finalizing the franchise with which he’ll attempt to return to NHL action.

Hurricanes' Jaccob Slavin In Non-Contact Jersey

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  • Following on the heels of last night’s report that the Carolina Hurricanes may hold out All-Star defenseman Jaccob Slavin from their preseason contests, it appears that will be the case. Outside of his absence from preseason action, there haven’t been any specifics regarding Slavin’s injury concerns at the time being. However, Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer reported this morning that Slavin is on the ice in a non-contact jersey.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Slavin And Chatfield Might Not Play This Preseason

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  • The Hurricanes may hold defensemen Jaccob Slavin and Jalen Chatfield out of all of their preseason games, relays team reporter Walt Ruff (Twitter link). Head coach Rod Brind’Amour relayed that this would be merely as a precaution but generally speaking, this would only be done if the player is nursing a minor injury.  Slavin is a well-established top-pairing player on Carolina’s back end while Chatfield quietly averaged nearly 19 minutes per game last season.

Hurricanes Trialing Logan Stankoven As Second-Line Center

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Instability at the second-line center position has been a hallmark for the Hurricanes organization in recent years. After not adding a middleman via trade or free agency this offseason, they’re looking at some higher-ceiling internal solutions. That includes shifting forward Logan Stankoven from the wing over to center a second line between Jackson Blake and Andrei Svechnikov, head coach Rod Brind’Amour said today (via Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer). Brind’Amour wouldn’t commit to Stankoven starting opening night down the middle, but said it was something they’ve discussed as far back as exit interviews last year.

Stankoven, 22, arrived in Carolina from the Stars as the centerpiece of the return for Mikko Rantanen at last year’s trade deadline. He had 14 goals and 38 points in 78 games last year – technically his rookie season after making 24 appearances for Dallas in 2023-24 – to finish seventh in Calder Trophy voting. He had a 5-4–9 scoring line in 19 games to close out the regular season for the Canes before posting a similar 5-3–8 line in 15 postseason appearances. He averaged north of 15 minutes per game in both the regular season and the playoffs.

The British Columbia native played center in juniors and has always been viewed as a high-potential offensive prospect, touted as a potential top-15 pick in his draft year. Yet concerns over his 5’8″, 165-lb frame led to him slipping to Dallas midway through the second round. He’ll never play the most physical brand, but he hasn’t shied away from contact entirely, recording 48 hits and 33 blocks last year.

His performance on faceoffs has been acceptable for a player still in the early stages of his career, having just over 100 games of experience. He’s averaged about two draws per game while playing mostly on the wing thus far, going 98-112 for a 46.7% win rate. That isn’t as much of a concern for the Canes as having someone in the 2C slot who can properly support Svechnikov and Blake offensively. While their first line is getting loaded up with UFA splash Nikolaj Ehlers flanking Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis, getting Svechnikov going after a trying 2024-25 campaign is also a clear goal for Brind’Amour out of the gate. The 2018 No. 2 overall pick had his worst offensive showing since his rookie year last season, limited to 20 goals and 48 points in 72 games.

That’s partially because Svechnikov bounced between lines last year as Brind’Amour looked to keep him and Aho on separate units. A good idea in theory to give the Canes some more secondary scoring, that meant pairing him with checking center Jordan Staal or Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who’s only averaged 33 points per 82 games for his career. Understandably, his scoring dipped.

If Stankoven can’t gel with Svechnikov out of the gate, that would presumably make general manager Eric Tulsky aggressive in looking to patch that hole as soon as possible. Cap space won’t be an issue if they need to make a pickup – they still have north of $10MM in flexibility, per PuckPedia, along with four first-round picks in the next three drafts to leverage. But whether at center or wing, the organization is committed to Stankoven as a long-term fixture in their top nine. He inked an eight-year, $48MM extension this summer that kicks in for the 2026-27 campaign.

Shoulder Rehab Going Great For Jarvis

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  • Hurricanes winger Seth Jarvis told reporters at the NHL Player Media Tour today, including Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin (Twitter link), that his rehab from a shoulder injury has gone great. He opted not to undergo surgery this offseason despite dealing with the issue for the second year in a row, calling it a pain tolerance situation.  Jarvis, who had 32 goals and 35 assists in 73 games last season, also signalled an openness to being tried at center again, an experiment that hasn’t gained much traction over the last two seasons.

Hurricanes Sign Kevin Labanc To Professional Tryout

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The Hurricanes signed winger Kevin Labanc to a professional tryout ahead of training camp kicking off in the next several days, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Sunday.

Labanc will opt to try and stay stateside after being targeted by Russia’s CSKA Moscow earlier in the summer. His agent refuted at the time that Labanc had any interest in heading overseas, evidenced by his willingness to take a PTO instead of opting for more stability overseas.

It’s also the second straight season Labanc, who had a career-high 56 points back in the 2018-19 season with the Sharks, has had to settle for a camp tryout. He landed one with the Devils after the Sharks let him become an unrestricted free agent last summer. It didn’t end up working out in New Jersey, but his performance in their camp was strong enough for the Blue Jackets to pick him up on a one-year, league-minimum deal after he got released.

Labanc wasn’t much more than a fourth-line piece by the end of his tenure in San Jose. Nothing really changed on that front in Columbus, either. He was a serviceable depth forward for the Jackets, providing decent depth scoring – two goals and 12 points – in 34 games while averaging a career-low 10:30 per game. That was all before shoulder surgery ended his season in February.

The 29-year-old certainly isn’t the offensive presence he once was. He only has four goals and 21 points in 80 appearances over the last two seasons. Nonetheless, it’s clear to see why Carolina targeted him to fill a depth role for them.

Despite some eye-popping plus/minus figures on the Sharks over the years, Labanc has actually graded out as a high-end two-way piece lower in the lineup. He was arguably one of the Jackets’ best defensive forwards last season, posting a raw CF% of 52.6 at even strength despite only starting 42.9% of his shifts in the offensive zone. Columbus controlled nearly 4% more shot attempts with Labanc on the ice than without him, a stark contrast for anyone, let alone a player primarily deployed in defensive roles.

Ideally, Labanc can demonstrate enough utility in training camp to earn another cheap one-way deal with the Canes and start the season in a No. 13/14 role. There isn’t a ton of room for him to work his way into an opening-night job. Carolina’s rather full on the wings with their addition of Nikolaj Ehlers, pushing names like Jordan Martinook and Eric Robinson back down to fourth-line projections. There’s also William Carrier in the picture; he’s entering the second year of a six-year deal at a $2MM cap hit. It’s unlikely he ends up on waivers. That means Carolina has a tough competition for a second extra forward spot between Labanc, fellow PTO addition Givani Smith, Tyson Jost, and younger names like Ryan Suzuki.

Derek Ryan Announces Retirement

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Center Derek Ryan has decided on retirement, he told Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now on 880 CHED yesterday.

“I’m retiring. We, my family, are back home in Spokane,” he told Stauffer. “The kids started at their new school here today. I didn’t actively look for a job this off-season. Europe could’ve been an option, maybe other NHL teams, but if it wasn’t going to be Edmonton, I didn’t want to move the family again. As the kids get older that gets harder. We had good roots in Edmonton, and, shoot, I’m almost 40. It’s nice to settle in here in Spokane. We have our house, friends, and family. It’s nice to be home.”

Not only is Ryan from Spokane, but it’s where he began his junior career with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs all the way back in 2004. His three-year run there preceded one of the most unique pathways to becoming an NHL fixture in recent memory.

Undrafted, Ryan opted to enter the Canadian university system when his junior eligibility ran out in 2007. That’s not uncommon in and of itself, but it’s not a pathway many future NHLers undertake. Those who do rarely spend a full four years there, but that’s exactly what Ryan did. He played for the University of Alberta from 2007 to 2011, leading the CIS West in scoring in his senior season with a 17-30–47 line in 28 games.

Ryan, already 25 years old at the time, then decided to make the jump overseas instead of pursuing a professional career stateside. It was in Europe that the 5’10”, 185-lb center unlocked offensive dominance. He spent three years in the EBEL (now ICEHL), Austria’s top league, playing with Villacher SV (2012-14) and Hungarian club Fehérvár AV19 (2011-12). He recorded 199 points in just 158 EBEL games over that span, including a spectacular 2013-14 campaign that saw him lead the league with 38 goals in 54 games to earn MVP honors.

He then made the jump to higher-level European pro hockey in Sweden, a decision that finally put him on the NHL’s radar. He spent one year with the SHL’s Örebro HK, where he erupted for a 15-45–60 line in 55 games to lead one of Europe’s top leagues in assists and points, being named the SHL’s MVP and Forward of the Year.

Ryan finally landed a two-way deal with the Hurricanes – inking his first NHL contract at age 28 – the following summer. He was immediately named the captain of the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, their minor-league affiliate at the time, and was an AHL All-Star with 55 points in 70 games. He also got his first taste of NHL hockey late in the season, scoring his first goal in his first game of a six-game call-up.

That trial run kicked off an NHL career spanning over 600 games, most of which were played after his 30th birthday. He quickly established himself as a defensively responsible third-line pivot in Carolina, scoring 69 points in 153 games for the club while averaging over 15 minutes per night. He reached unrestricted free agency in 2018 and got rewarded by the Flames, signing a three-year, $9.375MM contract to return to the province where he played college hockey.

Ryan’s first season in Calgary was arguably the best of his career. He recorded a 13-25–38 scoring line in 81 games and, while he saw a reduction in ice time, won a team-high 58.2% of his faceoffs and added a +21 rating. That earned him Selke Trophy consideration, landing a fifth-place vote for the only time in his career.

While Ryan’s productivity and usage declined steadily over the course of his tenure with the Flames, that didn’t mean he was in an unfettered downward spiral. He still landed a multi-year deal in free agency from the cross-provincial rival Oilers in 2021, signing a two-year, $2.5MM pact to round out their fourth line.

That kicked off a four-year run for Ryan in Edmonton, the longest of his three NHL stops and a run that concluded just a few months ago. He was a regular from 2021 to 2024, appearing in at least 70 games for his first three years there, but was relegated to the press box for a good chunk of last season and even landed on waivers. He totaled 29 goals and 60 points in 261 games for Edmonton, appearing in 19 games in their run to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final but no playing time last postseason. He scored one goal and six points in 36 NHL games last season and also had eight points in 13 games for AHL Bakersfield after clearing waivers, his first minor-league action in nearly a decade.

Ryan ends his rather remarkable pro career with 82 goals, 127 assists, and 209 points in 606 NHL regular-season games with a +14 rating. He was also one of the better faceoff-takers of the last decade, winning 55.3% of his draws.

PHR congratulates Ryan on his persevering career and wishes him the best in his post-playing future.

Image courtesy of Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images.

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