Ryan Bayda

Ryan G. Bayda (born December 9, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger, who played 179 games in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career Bayda was drafted in the third round, 80th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2000 NHL entry draft. He joined the Hurricanes' AHL affiliate known as the Lowell Lock Monsters, at the end of the 2001–02 season, scoring a goal and an assist in three regular season games and also scoring three goals in five playoff games. He made his NHL debut for Carolina, during the 2002–03 NHL season. Bayda scored his first career NHL goal against Ed Belfour and the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 18, 2003, in a 4-3 Hurricanes loss.

On July 3, 2007, the Hurricanes re-signed Bayda to a one-year, $475,000 contract. This is a two-way contract which also paid him $100,000 at the AHL level.

On July 1, 2008, the Hurricanes re-signed Bayda to a one-year, $475,000 contract for the 2008-09 season. Bayda in his first full NHL season, played a career-high of 70 games and helped the Hurricanes reach the Eastern Conference finals. During the finals on May 22, 2009, Bayda was fined $2,500 as a result of a match penalty. He was assessed for cross-checking Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang in the chin, at the end of game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

On September 3, 2009, Bayda was invited to the St. Louis Blues training camp for the 2009-10 season. Ryan, however, turned down the offer after the Blues signed forward Derek Armstrong and accepted an invitation to the Pittsburgh Penguins training camp instead.

On July 12, 2013, after three seasons with the Nürnberg Ice Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) in Germany, Bayda left as a free agent to join DEL rivals Augsburger Panther on a one-year deal.

In the following 2014–15 season, Bayda was limited to just 6 games, in which he produced 10 points, due to a serious elbow injury. As the season ended, Bayda left as a free agent again and signed a one-year contract with fellow DEL club, the Straubing Tigers on March 26, 2015.

He retired upon the conclusion of the 2015–16 season with the Straubing Tigers and returned to his home town of Saskatoon, where he opened a tattoo removal business.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1996–97 Saskatoon Contacts AAA SMHL 44 22 23 45 18 — — — — — 1997–98 Saskatoon Contacts AAA SMHL 41 29 49 78 100 — — — — — 1998–99 Vernon Vipers BCHL 45 24 58 82 15 14 12 20 32 8 1999–2000 University of North Dakota WCHA 44 17 23 40 30 — — — — — 2000–01 University of North Dakota WCHA 46 25 34 59 48 — — — — — 2001–02 University of North Dakota WCHA 37 19 28 47 52 — — — — — 2001–02 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 3 1 1 2 0 5 3 0 3 0 2002–03 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 53 11 32 43 32 — — — — — 2002–03 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 25 4 10 14 16 — — — — — 2003–04 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 34 7 15 22 28 — — — — — 2003–04 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 44 3 3 6 22 — — — — — 2004–05 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 80 13 27 40 91 9 3 3 6 4 2005–06 Manitoba Moose AHL 59 13 25 38 52 13 1 6 7 27 2006–07 Albany River Rats AHL 55 29 25 54 66 5 3 2 5 4 2006–07 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 9 1 1 2 2 — — — — — 2007–08 Albany River Rats AHL 21 7 10 17 6 — — — — — 2007–08 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 31 3 3 6 28 — — — — — 2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 70 5 7 12 26 15 2 2 4 18 2009–10 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 21 8 3 11 14 — — — — — 2010–11 Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers DEL 52 17 24 41 70 2 1 0 1 0 2011–12 Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers DEL 15 1 1 2 6 — — — — — 2012–13 Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers DEL 50 9 22 31 36 3 0 0 0 2 2013–14 Augsburger Panther DEL 49 18 23 41 36 — — — — — 2014–15 Augsburger Panther DEL 6 4 6 10 6 — — — — — 2015–16 Straubing Tigers DEL 44 13 13 26 49 6 0 1 1 0 AHL totals 326 89 138 227 289 32 10 11 21 35 NHL totals 179 16 24 40 94 15 2 2 4 18 DEL totals 216 62 89 151 203 11 0 2 2 2

Awards and honors Award Year BCHL Rookie of the Year 1999 All-WCHA Rookie Team 1999–00 WCHA All-Tournament Team 2000 All-WCHA Second team 2000–01 All-WCHA Second team 2001–02