Derek Ryan

Derek Allen Ryan (born December 29, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey player.

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 Calgary Flames in July 2018. He signed with the Oilers in 2021 and played for the team and its AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, until his retirement in 2025.

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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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 also established himself as a more than reliable faceoff man; finishing with a faceoff percentage of 55.3% in the 2016–17 season, and 56.48% in the 2017–18 season.

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. 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. Ryan also finished a close 2nd place League wide in faceoff percentage with a percent of 58.2%, only 0.04% less than Jason Spezza. 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.

Edmonton Oilers Following the completion of his contract with the Flames, Ryan left the club as a free agent, opting to remain in Alberta by agreeing to a two-year, $2.5 million contract with rival club, the Edmonton Oilers on July 28, 2021. On February 26, 2022, Ryan scored his first NHL hat-trick in a 4–3 victory over the Florida Panthers. In July 2023, the Oilers extended Ryan's contract, signing him for a two-year, $1.8 million deal. On January 19, 2025, Ryan was placed on waivers for assignment with the rise of young forward Noah Philp. The next day, he cleared and was assigned to Edmonton's AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.

On September 5, 2025, Ryan announced his retirement from the NHL.

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

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2002–03 Spokane Braves KIJHL 49 26 29 55 24 6 3 5 8 0 2003–04 Spokane Braves KIJHL 49 68 57 125 37 7 5 10 15 — 2003–04 Spokane Chiefs WHL 1 1 0 1 0 4 1 0 1 0 2004–05 Spokane Chiefs WHL 71 14 32 46 39 — — — — — 2005–06 Spokane Chiefs WHL 72 24 37 61 50 — — — — — 2006–07 Spokane Chiefs WHL 72 28 31 59 50 6 3 2 5 2 2006–07 Kalamazoo Wings UHL 3 0 2 2 0 13 1 4 5 8 2007–08 University of Alberta CIS 28 11 14 25 20 — — — — — 2008–09 University of Alberta CIS 25 16 19 35 16 — — — — — 2009–10 University of Alberta CIS 28 14 25 39 30 — — — — — 2010–11 University of Alberta CIS 28 17 30 47 18 — — — — — 2011–12 Alba Volán Székesfehérvár EBEL 50 25 24 49 20 6 1 3 4 6 2011–12 Alba Volán Székesfehérvár HUN — — — — — 5 3 7 10 2 2012–13 EC VSV EBEL 54 27 39 66 22 7 3 8 11 6 2013–14 EC VSV EBEL 54 38 46 84 50 9 2 14 16 6 2014–15 Örebro HK SHL 55 15 45 60 18 6 0 1 1 2 2015–16 Charlotte Checkers AHL 70 23 32 55 24 — — — — — 2015–16 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 6 2 0 2 2 — — — — — 2016–17 Charlotte Checkers AHL 9 5 8 13 0 — — — — — 2016–17 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 67 11 18 29 22 — — — — — 2017–18 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 80 15 23 38 28 — — — — — 2018–19 Calgary Flames NHL 81 13 25 38 24 5 1 0 1 2 2019–20 Calgary Flames NHL 68 10 19 29 10 10 0 2 2 0 2020–21 Calgary Flames NHL 43 2 11 13 16 — — — — — 2021–22 Edmonton Oilers NHL 75 10 12 22 8 15 1 2 3 4 2022–23 Edmonton Oilers NHL 80 13 7 20 28 11 1 2 3 0 2023–24 Edmonton Oilers NHL 70 5 7 12 8 19 0 1 1 8 2024–25 Edmonton Oilers NHL 36 1 5 6 12 — — — — — 2024–25 Bakersfield Condors AHL 13 3 5 8 2 — — — — — NHL totals 606 82 127 209 158 60 3 7 10 14 SHL totals 55 15 45 60 18 6 0 1 1 2

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 (West) Most Valuable Player 2010–11 First-Team All-Canadian 2010–11 SHL Guldhjälmen Most Valuable Player 2014–15