Homegrown Chief
Derek Ryan rises from his bed at his parents’ North Side home – eyes still bleary from the previous night’s late arrival – and heads off to a microbiology lab that starts at 7:30 a.m. on the campus of Spokane Falls Community College.
It had already been a long week for the Spokane Chiefs standout and Shadle Park High graduate – a long one, but typical for a Western Hockey League player. Yet Ryan isn’t a typical WHL player in several ways.
He’s a rarity: a 19-year-old homegrown favorite who is one of only a handful of Spokane players to wear a Chiefs sweater. He is, by far, the most successful of that group.
Ryan will reach a milestone in what will be his final WHL season when he’s introduced before tonight’s game with Tri-City – the final home opener of his three-plus year career.
“It’s going to make me sad that it will be his last time,” says his mother, Nancy. “It’s gone fast. We knew it would.”
Ryan, a late bloomer anyway, has been cheated out of one more playing year because of his Dec. 29 birthday. Hockey birth years determine a player’s eligibility and Ryan was born in 1986, so he’s a “20” in WHL years.
“Every day I think about that … three days later and I’d be a better hockey player,” said Ryan. “Obviously, it’s frustrating, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Ryan is more focused on those things he can control. He’s dedicated himself to make his final WHL season his best, yet he knows he has other obligations that are just as important.
So, despite being exhausted from the long road trip and the flu, Ryan makes his class that morning. The lab is graded on attendance and Ryan was on the road with the team for the preceding class, so he can ill afford to miss another.
Besides, if he had any idea of skipping class, Ryan would have to answer to his parents that night. It’s another way he’s unique from his teammates.
Unlike most of the Chiefs, Ryan has lived at home for his entire hockey career – from his days with area youth teams, to playing for the Spokane Braves, and now the Chiefs. It has led to a balancing act that has its plusses and minuses.
“I’m sure he might have a little more fun if he wasn’t living at home,” said his father, Tim. “We realize how unusual it is and how lucky we are to be able to watch his home games and some of his road games. I’m glad it worked out for him and glad it worked out for us.”
For his part, the son said the arrangement is mutually satisfying. He gets to wake up in his own bed, regularly sees lifelong friends, and enjoys mom’s cooking.
Parental support is vital to players during the inevitably trying times that come over the course of a 72-game season. The season’s opening week is typical of what Ryan and his teammates face.
On Saturday, the Chiefs travel by bus to Cranbrook, British Columbia, for their season opener with the Kootenay Ice. Ryan sparks his team’s 8-4 win by scoring a goal and assisting on another key one with a brilliant play.
Ryan shows his hockey instincts on the assist, which leads to a short-handed goal. In his team’s defensive end, Ryan chips the puck up the middle of the ice and hits teammate Chris Bruton in stride for a breakaway goal. When asked about the play, Ryan said he didn’t actually see his teammate before passing.
“I just looked up at the clock and knew he should have been coming out about then,” said Ryan.
His work done for the night, Ryan and his teammates shower and head back to Spokane in the early-morning hours Sunday.
The team would have a day of rest, but the routine would begin anew Monday:
7:30 a.m.: go to class;
9:30 a.m.: grab a quick bite to eat and head to the Arena;
10 a.m.: participate in the team’s morning workout;
10:30 a.m.: hang out in the players’ lounge for a while to eat lunch and watch “The Price is Right”;
11:30 a.m.: head up to Eagles Ice-A-Rena;
Noon: team meeting and video review;
12:30 p.m.: warm-up exercises;
1:00 p.m.: afternoon practice, which ends around 3 p.m.
After that, Ryan hops into his stylish green Chevy Cavalier and heads for his family’s modest home in the shadow of Shadle Park to spend the rest of the day relaxing and studying.
On Tuesday morning, Ryan and the Chiefs are back on the road. The team heads to Vancouver, British Columbia, that night for a game. Ryan is battling the flu, so he rides in a separate vehicle and has his own hotel room to avoid infecting his teammates.
“I was throwing up the whole time,” said Ryan. “It wasn’t too fun.”
Wednesday is spent getting out of Vancouver by dealing with immigration issues for the Canadian-born players as Ryan rides the bus back with his team. They would arrive back at the Arena after 11 p.m. He heads home, exhausted.
Yet Ryan leaves for class that Thursday morning and will go through his daily routine for the next two days leading up to Saturday’s road trip and game that night against Tri-City. In that game, Ryan sparks the game-tying play with a steal of the puck, though the Chiefs would lose in overtime.
That’s the side of Ryan that Spokane fans know best: the player who has a high energy level and always seems to be in the right spot at the right time – carrying on in the tradition of former Chiefs such as Brandin Cote.
“Off the ice, he’s a pretty relaxed guy,” says teammate J.P. Szaskiewicz. “On the ice, he’s a pretty competitive guy. He’s good.”
New WHL officiating standards this season will only benefit him as a quick and more slightly-built player. Less clutching will be allowed and Ryan has already drawn a handful of penalties from out-of-position defensemen.
Teammate Seth Compton played with Ryan for the past four seasons (one with the Braves and three with the Chiefs) and said, “He’s an awesome teammate. He’s consistent, but he’s really good every night. He might not be the biggest guy, but I think he’s underrated.”
Compton and Ryan have a lot in common. They are both smaller, skilled players from eastern Washington who have made it in a league dominated by the best players in western Canada.
“It’s a lot harder to get noticed by the league when you’re an American,” said Compton.
Ryan knows that firsthand. He never really stood out from his Spokane youth hockey teammates and almost wasn’t a Chief.
Ryan went undrafted as a Bantam but was invited to camp by Lethbridge. He was put on the Hurricanes’ protected player list, but his name was eventually deleted.
The Chiefs, however, were watching him during a 16-year-old season with the Braves when he led the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League in scoring.
“No one wanted him,” said Nancy. “Then, all of the sudden, everyone wanted him.”
Ryan molded himself into a major junior player through desire and hard work. He played for teams coached by his dad and Braves coach Mike Bay, spent his off hours practicing puck handling with a golf ball, played roller hockey in the street with his friends, and stayed in top shape.
There were no guarantees of a payoff, but Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz felt Ryan (nicknamed “Doc” because of his initials) could play in the WHL.
“Ultimately, what matters is what the player thinks,” said Speltz. “And in Doc’s mind, there was no question for him. He just needed the opportunity.”
Ryan proved the team right after it signed him. He scored in his first game as a Chief. He continues to make the most of his chance, having putting himself through torturous workouts the past two summers to improve his strength, quickness and endurance.
Ryan has thrived in the WHL because of a skill set which makes him a constant offensive threat. Ryan’s quickness and good hands allow him to get around opposing players and leave them behind while keeping the puck on his stick.
Though he’s primarily a finesse player, Ryan’s also been known to return rough play with a slash. But as aggressive as he is on the ice, he is just as shy a person away from it.
As teammates goof off between tasks during the day, he stands back and watches amusingly with a wry smile. There is nothing flashy about Ryan – unless you count his attention to his fashion, which his teammates rib him about – and you won’t find him seeking out the limelight.
Ryan is a dedicated student who pulled a 3.9 at Shadle while playing for the Chiefs. He said he’d like to become a pharmacist after his playing days.
“I’ve always been a school guy,” said Ryan, citing calculus as his favorite college subject.
Academics are just one more demand on a player’s time that also includes community outreach, booster functions, and media interviews. To Ryan it’s all worth it, as he’ll receive a year’s paid college tuition and books for every year he’s played in the league.
But Ryan isn’t ready for his playing days to be over. He’d like to play in Europe if there aren’t options in North America. He knows how he plays this season will determine many of his options.
Ryan is coming off a career-high 61-point season in which he was the team’s leading scorer. He would like to better that number and has the support to do it with this year’s forward lineup that includes NHL draft picks Michael Grabner and Adam Hobson. He may not be “the” go-to guy, but he’s certainly a key one.
“Obviously, I need to be a big offensive impact, if not leading scorer – upward 70, 80, 90 points – whatever it takes – improve my defense,” said Ryan. “More importantly, becoming a more physical player and more comfortable in my game. I don’t have a lot of individual goals, just team ones.”
Ryan said mediocrity won’t do in his final WHL season.
“Obviously, Memorial Cup would be nice,” he said. “But I’m not worried about us making the playoffs. I think we have a good chemistry in the locker room and nobody wants to have the no-playoff, long off-season. Everybody’s pretty sick of that.”