Terry Ryan, a former NHL player, receives one final call-up on his 47th birthday.
Journalist Garrett Barry works with CTV National News.
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Revised at 8:28 p.m. PST on January 21, 2024
Published at 5:14 PM PST on January 16, 2024.
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Terry Ryan is a bust, as the caustic hockey community would say.
His favorite team growing up, the Montreal Canadiens, selected him eighth overall in the 1995 NHL Draft. Critics referred to the 18-year-old as a junior league star who was tough, focused, and tenacious.
But even with his stellar junior seasons, Ryan was never able to sustain himself at the highest level of hockey. He frequently argued with management, and he now claims that injuries had a significant role in destroying his once promising career.
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Former hockey pro Terry Ryan gets one last call-up on 47th birthday
Garrett Barry
Journalist, CTV National News
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Updated Jan. 21, 2024 8:28 p.m. PST
Published Jan. 16, 2024 5:14 p.m. PST
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Terry Ryan is what the hockey world cruelly calls a bust.
In 1995, he was drafted eighth overall by the Montreal Canadiens — his favourite childhood team. Commentators called the 18-year-old gritty, determined and a star in the junior leagues.
However, despite his impressive seasons in junior, Ryan never remained at the top level of hockey. He often disagreed with management, and he now says injuries were a big factor in derailing what was once a bright future.
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“It was a high ankle sprain,” Ryan says. “So I never went out on my own terms.”
On Sunday, for one night only, Ryan received an opportunity to do it all over again. The 47-year-old suited up for one game with the Newfoundland Growlers of the ECHL — a mid-level professional ice hockey league — dropping the gloves in his professional hockey swan song.
“My last shift, I’ll go out after having stood up for a teammate that’s a good friend of mine,” he said. “And I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
His call up came in the early hours of Sunday morning. Ryan admits he had already drank a few beers, and first thought the calls coming from Newfoundland Growlers players and coaches were prank calls.
“It was my birthday, so the beers were flowing, right?” he said.
Meanwhile, a flu was moving through the team, making the Growlers bench short of players. Hockey Canada regulations dictate that anyone in Newfoundland and Labrador’s amateur hockey leagues would have had to sacrifice the rest of their season to play in one professional game.
Ryan was happy to make that sacrifice.
“I got a cab home right away,” he said. “I had a lot of water, something to eat. I couldn’t really sleep much because I — you know, nervous energy.”
Some things have changed in the sport since Ryan last played professionally in 2003. He said there’s not as much physicality as there used to be.
But Ryan brought that element on his own. With 9:30 left in the third period, having seen a teammate of his just take a big hit, he instigated a fight with Zack Walker, a player 21 years his junior.
“I wasn’t trying to prove a point,” he said on Wednesday, a few days removed from the action. “They also hired me to do a job here, right?”
“It wasn’t for publicity. They needed my services as a professional hockey player. So that was instinct kicking in.”
He wasn’t sure if head coa
Former hockey pro Terry Ryan gets one last call-up on 47th birthday
Garrett Barry
Journalist, CTV National News
Follow |Contact
Updated Jan. 21, 2024 8:28 p.m. PST
Published Jan. 16, 2024 5:14 p.m. PST
Share
Link
X
Reddit
LinkedIn
Email
Terry Ryan is what the hockey world cruelly calls a bust.
In 1995, he was drafted eighth overall by the Montreal Canadiens — his favourite childhood team. Commentators called the 18-year-old gritty, determined and a star in the junior leagues.
However, despite his impressive seasons in junior, Ryan never remained at the top level of hockey. He often disagreed with management, and he now says injuries were a big factor in derailing what was once a bright future.
Top sports headlines, all in one place(opens in a new tab)
RELATED STORIES
Canada’s gold medal bid ends in 4-2 loss to Czechia at U18 women’s hockey worlds
Some Newfoundland and Labrador hockey teams defying ban on end-of-game handshakes
Hughes, Maschmeyer lead Ottawa past Toronto 5-1 for first-ever PWHL win
“It was a high ankle sprain,” Ryan says. “So I never went out on my own terms.”
On Sunday, for one night only, Ryan received an opportunity to do it all over again. The 47-year-old suited up for one game with the Newfoundland Growlers of the ECHL — a mid-level professional ice hockey league — dropping the gloves in his professional hockey swan song.
“My last shift, I’ll go out after having stood up for a teammate that’s a good friend of mine,” he said. “And I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
His call up came in the early hours of Sunday morning. Ryan admits he had already drank a few beers, and first thought the calls coming from Newfoundland Growlers players and coaches were prank calls.
“It was my birthday, so the beers were flowing, right?” he said.
Meanwhile, a flu was moving through the team, making the Growlers bench short of players. Hockey Canada regulations dictate that anyone in Newfoundland and Labrador’s amateur hockey leagues would have had to sacrifice the rest of their season to play in one professional game.
Ryan was happy to make that sacrifice.
“I got a cab home right away,” he said. “I had a lot of water, something to eat. I couldn’t really sleep much because I — you know, nervous energy.”
Some things have changed in the sport since Ryan last played professionally in 2003. He said there’s not as much physicality as there used to be.
But Ryan brought that element on his own. With 9:30 left in the third period, having seen a teammate of his just take a big hit, he instigated a fight with Zack Walker, a player 21 years his junior.
“I wasn’t trying to prove a point,” he said on Wednesday, a few days removed from the action. “They also hired me to do a job here, right?”
“It wasn’t for publicity. They needed my services as a professional hockey player. So that was instinct kicking in.”
He wasn’t sure if head coa
