CALGARY – All eyes were on James Neal Monday as the veteran winger made a surprising return to practice for the first time in a month.
However, once the puck drops Tuesday against Columbus the focus will likely shift from the Calgary Flames’ priciest free agent signing last summer to its most effective one: Derek Ryan.
Unless Sean Monahan is able to rebound from the illness that kept him out of practice Monday and off the charter on the weekend, Ryan will once again be elevated to centre the Flames’ top line.
It’s a role the 32-year-old Alberta Golden Bears grad has spent the last two games fulfilling for a team he usually plays fourth-line minutes for.
Quite a jump for most NHLers, but when you consider the winding path Ryan took to get here it’s hardly surprising the nomadic centre was Bill Peters’ choice to play between Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm.
After all, when you’re an undersized, undrafted U Sports grad who found ways to thrive in three pro leagues before making his NHL debut at age 29, you clearly have experience embracing and excelling in endless roles.
“That’s the trademark of my whole career,” said Ryan of being Calgary’s chameleon.
“I’ve been able to adapt to play in the Austrian league, which is a super offensive, run-and-gun, three-on-twos, two-on-ones league, to the Swedish League which is 1-0, 2-1 games all the time and super tough defensively as guys don’t give up much. I had a lot of success there and was able to adapt.
“Then from Sweden to the AHL: huge change, ice surface change and the game is way different. I was able to adapt. Then the adapting from the AHL to the NHL too – it’s being able to adapt in every situation and finding ways to be successful.”
Peters is as familiar with Ryan’s evolution as anyone. He coached the five-foot-eight, 185-pound American while both were with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs and was the one who summoned him to try his hand at the NHL in Carolina, where they spent three years together.
After being courted by several teams this summer, Ryan signed a three-year, $9.375 deal to show off his versatility in Calgary where he’s become a fan favourite since Christmas.
“It was adjusting to a different city and organization; adjusting to Janks (Mark Jankowski) and I bouncing back and fourth between the third and fourth line the first 30 games and that wasn’t exactly easy on either of us,” said Ryan of the growing pains he endured earlier this season.
“Once I settled into, ‘okay, this is where Bill wants me to play and this is how I’m supposed to play. How can I adapt in my role to better myself and better the team?’ And once I figured that out I had more confidence and started to play better I guess.”
And now Peters wants him to play a new role with significantly new demands.
“I think I’ve had a lot of success playing the way I have played, but at the same time I can’t exactly play the same way as I would on the fourth line,” he said of his top line duties.
“I’m going to have more opportunities, more minutes, more time with the puck. It’s just making different decisions with the puck. I can make more offensive plays and take a little more risk.
“It’s also different playing with those two guys. They’re going to hang onto pucks more and put pucks in different areas so it’s reading off them differently. It’s more of an offensive game but I try not to change who I am as a two-way forward.”
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An analytics darling whose defensive prowess sees him start the bulk of his shifts in his own zone, Ryan has been a top-10 faceoff man in the NHL the last few years.
He’s also one of the Flames’ chief penalty killers on a unit that leads the loop in shorthanded goals.
Remarkable stuff considering he won scoring titles in Austria and Sweden to go with his league MVP awards at all three levels before he hit the NHL.
“It’s hard to compare playing a top-six role in leagues like those to a top-six role in the NHL, but I think I have enough offensive skill and instincts that I just know what to do in those situations when I am playing with high end skill guys,” said Ryan, who has nine goals, 29 points and a 57 per cent faceoff success rate on his first playoff-bound NHL squad.
“Just make plays and hold onto pucks and put them into positions to score. Obviously, I’ve played that way most of my career.”
So, while many were surprised to see Ryan elevated to the top trio after Monahan left the game on Friday, he wasn’t.
“Not really – I just feel I had been playing well to that point and Bill maybe felt I earned it,” he said.
“I filled in for (Mikael Backlund) when he was injured. That’s kind of the trademark of who I am as a player, especially in the NHL. Just being able to find ways to fit in wherever the team needs me and find ways to contribute and be successful.”
Monahan skated with Sam Bennett (undisclosed injury) and the team’s skills coach long before the Flames practiced Monday, and Peters said afterward they’d both be re-evaluated following Tuesday’s game-day skate.
Both are crucial pieces on a team that can’t change its approach just because it officially clinched its first playoff spot in two years due to Minnesota’s loss Sunday.
After all, the goal of fending off San Jose for the division title will likely be all-consuming for the squad until Game 82 is finished.
“It’s nice to play playoff-style, big games down the stretch for sure, but we all know being first-place would be really nice,” said Ryan.
“It’s interesting for sure.”
As is the career path he continues to pave.
