Ryan O'Byrne
O'Byrne in 2013
Born (1984-07-19) July 19, 1984
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight 234 lb (106 kg; 16 st 10 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
Played for Montreal Canadiens
Colorado Avalanche
Toronto Maple Leafs
HC Lev Praha
HC Ambrì-Piotta
HV71
NHL Draft 79th overall, 2003
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 2006–2016

Ryan David O'Byrne (born July 19, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2007 - 2013 with the Montreal Canadiens, Colorado Avalanche and the Toronto Maple Leafs. During this time, O'Byrne founded the Ryan O'Byrne Charity Camp, a non-profit hockey camp for youth.[1] At the conclusion of the 2013 season, O'Byrne went on to play in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), Swiss National League (NL), and Swedish Hockey League, before retiring from a ten-year professional hockey career in 2016.

After returning to Cornell University to complete his undergraduate degree,[2][3] O'Byrne earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.[4][5] Staying close to sport and wellness, he worked as a Brand Manager at Gatorade before joining digital physical therapy startup SWORD Health.[6]

Playing career

Amateur

O'Byrne was born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia and attended St. Michaels University School. After playing two seasons of junior in the BCHL with the Victoria Salsa and Nanaimo Clippers, O'Byrne opted to play U.S. collegiate hockey at Cornell University.

Prior to his freshman year at Cornell, Ryan was drafted in the third round, 79th-overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.[7] In his sophomore season of 2004–05, O'Byrne helped Cornell regain the ECAC Championship with a 3–1 win over Harvard before losing in the West Regional Final to the University of Minnesota.[8]

In his junior year, O'Byrne entrenched himself as a top defender within Cornell's ECAC leading defence corps to be selected as a First Team All-Ivy player.[9] Despite missing nearly a month to injury, O'Byrne led all Big Red defenceman with 7 goals and 13 points in 28 games and was named in the All-ECAC Third-Team.[10] O'Byrne was selected by Cornell Coach Mike Schäfer as an alternate captain, but decided to forgo his senior year to begin his professional career signing a two-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens on August 9, 2006.[11]

Professional

O'Byrne played 308 regular season and 25 playoff games in the NHL for the Montreal Canadiens, Colorado Avalanche, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

After attending his first Montreal training camp, O'Byrne was assigned to American Hockey League affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs, for the 2006–07 season. As a stay-at-home defensive-defenseman, Ryan produced 12 assists in 80 regular-season games with the Bulldogs. During the playoffs, he scored his first professional goal, which clinched the series over the Rochester Americans, advancing the Bulldogs to the Conference Semi-finals. In the Championship Final, he then produced his second game-winning goal a game three win over the Hershey Bears en route to claiming the Calder Cup.[12]

In the following 2007–08 season, O'Byrne made his NHL debut, recording two assists, in a 4–2 victory over the Boston Bruins on December 6, 2007.[13] Ryan missed a month of the season after suffering a broken thumb, before returning to health and scoring his first NHL goal in a 6–4 defeat to the San Jose Sharks on March 4, 2008.[14] He finished the season, while splitting time between Hamilton and Montreal, to finish with 33 games.

O'Byrne during his tenure with the Montreal Canadiens.

O'Byrne was then re-signed to a three-year contract with the Canadiens on July 16, 2008.[15] He made the Canadiens opening night roster for the 2008–09 season, appearing in 37 games for five assists, with two stints in the AHL.

In his second game of the 2009–10 campaign with the Canadiens, Ryan suffered a knee injury causing him to miss 20 games. Upon his return, O'Byrne established himself as a regular within the defence corps. On December 4, 2009, he changed his jersey number to 20 due to retiring of the number 3 in honour of Emile Bouchard for the Canadiens Centennial celebrations. Similar to Ray Bourque's homage to Phil Esposito in Boston, Ryan wore the number 20 jersey underneath his number 3 jersey and as a surprise, unveiled his new number during the banner hanging and presented Bouchard his jersey as a token of being the last to wear the number 3 for the Canadiens.[16] O'Byrne finished his first full NHL season, appearing in a career high 55 games and 13 post-season games as the Canadiens reached the Eastern Conference finals.

To begin the 2010–11 season, O'Byrne was a depth defenceman on the team's blueline. In the final year of his contract he was traded by the Canadiens to the Colorado Avalanche for forward prospect Michael Bournival on November 11, 2010.[17] In his first game with the Avalanche, Ryan recorded a career high in ice time in a 5–1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on November 12, 2010.[18]

During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, O'Byrne served as an assistant coach for the Victoria Grizzlies of the BCHL as a coach,[19] but left the position to join the Florida Everblades of the ECHL to get some ice time and effectively work in his position as the NHLPA's representative for the Avalanche.[19] He rejoined the Avalanche at the conclusion of the lockout.

In the midst of the 2012–13 season and in the final year of his contract at the trade deadline, O'Byrne was dealt by the Avalanche to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft on April 3, 2013.[20] On April 8, 2013, O'Byrne scored his first goal as a Maple Leaf.

His last NHL game was the Leafs-Bruins Game 7 in which the Leafs surrendered a 4–1 lead in the third period, and they would go on to lose 5–4 in overtime.

After experiencing a first round defeat to the Boston Bruins with the Leafs, O'Byrne was released to free agency. O'Byrne agreed to his first contract abroad, signing a two-year contract with Czech-based HC Lev Praha of the Kontinental Hockey League on September 2, 2013.[21] In the 2013–14 season, O'Byrne enjoyed a largely successful season in Prague as a mainstay stay-at-home defenseman. In 43 games he contributed with 2 goals and 9 points before helping Lev Praha advance to the Gagarin Cup finals in the playoffs.

O'Byrne's intention to fulfill the second year of his contract was terminated as Lev Praha declared bankruptcy and folded immediately in the off-season. On July 7, 2014, he opted to remain in Europe but moved to Switzerland in signing a one-year contract with HC Ambrì-Piotta of the National League A.[22] After one season with Ambri, O'Byrne moved as a free agent to the Swedish Hockey League, signing a two-year deal with HV71 on July 30, 2015.[23]

On July 21, 2016, O'Byrne announced his retirement from professional hockey to attend the Kellogg School of Management.[24]

Ryan O'Byrne Charity Camp

While playing professionally, O’Byrne founded and ran the Ryan O'Byrne Charity Camp (ROCC), an annual five-day hockey camp for 60 children aged 9–12 years in Victoria, BC.[25][26][27] All proceeds from the camp were donated to KidSport Victoria, an organization that helps unprivileged children enroll in sport. [28] The camp also included the Lorelei O'Byrne Awards, named in memory of Ryan's mom, in which a pair of recipients based on passion for sport and financial need attended the camp at no charge. [29] Several other NHLers from the area — including Tyson Barrie, Jamie Benn, Matt Irwin, Manny Malhotra, Paul Bissonnette and Boyd Gordon — also volunteered at O'Byrne's annual camp. [30]

Post career

After retiring in 2016, O'Byrne returned to Cornell University to complete his undergraduate degree and graduated in January 2017.[2][3] After completing his undergrad degree, O'Byrne earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.[4][5] After graduation, O'Byrne worked in marketing at Gatorade in Chicago.[6]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2000–01 Victoria Salsa BCHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2001–02 Peninsula Panthers VIJHL 41 4 16 20 42 — — — — —
2001–02 Victoria Salsa BCHL 52 2 9 11 91 — — — — —
2002–03 Victoria Salsa BCHL 32 3 6 9 94 — — — — —
2002–03 Nanaimo Clippers BCHL 9 2 4 6 24 — — — — —
2003–04Cornell UniversityECAC3102271—————
2004–05Cornell UniversityECAC33371068—————
2005–06Cornell UniversityECAC28761369—————
2006–07Hamilton BulldogsAHL80012121292225732
2007–08Hamilton BulldogsAHL2026849—————
2007–08Montreal CanadiensNHL331674540000
2008–09Montreal CanadiensNHL370553820002
2008–09Hamilton BulldogsAHL1815635—————
2009–10Montreal CanadiensNHL55134741300010
2010–11Montreal CanadiensNHL30004—————
2010–11Colorado AvalancheNHL640101071—————
2011–12Colorado AvalancheNHL7416757—————
2012–13Florida EverbladesECHL16291110—————
2012–13Colorado AvalancheNHL3413454—————
2012–13Toronto Maple LeafsNHL8112660004
2013–14HC Lev PrahaKHL43279512224660
2014–15HC Ambrì–PiottaNLA1302216—————
2015–16HV71SHL282357830000
NHL totals 308 5 34 39 369 25 0 0 0 16

Awards and honours

Award Year
Calder Cup 2007
All-ECAC Hockey Third Team 2005–06
ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team 2006 [31]

References

  1. ↑ "Ryan Speaks About his Upcoming Summer". mikehighhockey.com. March 12, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Ryan O'Byrne now hitting the books, not forwards". ESPN.com. August 10, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Ex-Hab Ryan O'Byrne pursues diploma instead of pucks". montrealgazette.com. December 16, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Former NHLer aspires to wear a different kind of hockey uniform". theglobeandmail.com. November 6, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Catching up with former Avs: Ryan O'Byrne". coloradohockeynow.com. October 7, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  6. 1 2 "Ryan O'Byrne". linkedin.com. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Five Cornell players selected in NHL draft". CornellBigRed.com. June 22, 2003. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Cornell wins 11th ECACHL Championship with 3-1 win over Harvard". CornellBigRed.com. March 19, 2005. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Moulson, O'Byrne named in First-Team All-Ivy". CornellBigRed.com. March 1, 2006. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Moulson, O'Byrne capture All-ECACHL honours". CornellBigRed.com. March 16, 2006. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Canadiens sign O'Byrne to two-year deal". Montreal Canadiens. August 9, 2006. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Super-size Me". Montreal Canadiens. May 6, 2007. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Canadiens beat Bruins seventh consecutive time, stops three-game slide". CBS Sports. December 6, 2007. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Thornton, Campbell score big goals in Sharks' 6-4 win over Montreal". Yahoo! Sports. March 4, 2008. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  15. ↑ "O'Byrne inks three year deal". Montreal Canadiens. July 16, 2008. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  16. ↑ "O'Byrne Happy To Give Up The Famous 3". Times Colonist. Archived from the original on December 13, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  17. ↑ Dater, Adrian (November 12, 2010). "Avs defenseman O'Byrne brings size, hunger to improve". Denver Post. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  18. ↑ "Jones leads Avalanche past Blue Jackets 5-1". Yahoo! Sports. November 12, 2010. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
  19. 1 2 Dheensaw, Cleve (November 30, 2012). "O'Byrne heads to ECHL for play time". Times Colonist. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
  20. ↑ "Maple Leafs acquire O'Byrne from Avalanche for pick". The Sports Network. April 3, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Former Leaf, Canadien O'Byrne signs with Praha in KHL". The Sports Network. September 2, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
  22. ↑ "Maxim Noreau off to Colorado, Ambrì-Piotta signs another Canadian". swisshockeynews.ch. July 7, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Ryan O'Byrnes to boost the defense" (in Swedish). HV71. July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  24. ↑ Ryan O'Byrne (July 21, 2016). "Retirement announcement". Twitter. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  25. ↑ "NHLer Ryan O'Byrne's camp raises money for KidSport". Times Colonist. August 8, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  26. ↑ "O'Byrne Starts Charity Camp". ECAC Hockey. January 27, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  27. ↑ "SMUS in the News: Victoria's O'Byrne Starts Charity Camp". SMUSpaper. January 28, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  28. ↑ Lachlan Ross (August 9, 2013). "Victoria's NHL stars wow juniors at Ryan O'Byrne Charity Camp". Independent Sports News. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  29. ↑ Tim Wharnsby (April 17, 2013). "Leafs Defenceman Ryan O'Byrne Inspired by his Mom". CBC Sports. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  30. ↑ Sandie Gauthier (March 12, 2012). "The Ryan O'Byrne Charity Camp - Ryan speaks about his upcoming summer camp". SB Nation. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  31. ↑ "All-Tournament Honors" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
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