Interesting piece about Terry Ryan

[crystal ball]

Came across this in my daily Habs blog surfing. It's a story with Terry Ryan and what happened to him after he became a draft hero then a bust. Thought you guys might find it interesting.

http://habsloyalist.blogspot.com/2010/06/flashback-to-draft-past.html

Click to read more...

 

[hototogisu]

"I was in the elevator on the way to my seat with my dad and a couple of more, and Doug Robinson, who was the head scout for Montreal. Montreal was one of the only teams that didn't interview me at all. Nothing. So, I didn't really expect to talk to them. San Jose was picking twelfth and they told me they were picking me," Ryan remembers. "So, anyway, in the elevator, the draft was just starting and I was actually late to my seat. Doug Robinson said "Congrats on a good year. Western Hockey League power forward. I like to see that." I said, "Thanks Mr.Robinson. I think a lot of your organization." And on the way off the elevator he said, "Congrats on a good Memorial Cup." And I said, "Jeez, I didn't play in the Memorial Cup." So, I went a little closer to try and get a read on him, and I said, "Okay, Mr.Robinson, I'll see you." And he said, "Okay, thanks Shane." So, fifteen minutes before they drafted me, the Canadiens thought I was Shane Doan, by appearance."

Haha god, that's disturbing. Shows how important scouting was to us in the 90's I guess.

Really good article. I've always liked Ryan (as a person), he seems like a good guy. Too bad things didn't work out better for him in the NHL. I'm looking forward to reading that book for sure.

 

[Phousse]

Kind of funny since Doan was drafted right before him.

 

[Whitesnake]

It is well known that the player the Habs wanted that year was Shane Doan. Even more disturbing....

 

[Bill McNeal]

Kind of funny since Doan was drafted right before him.

"If that's Shane Doan, then who's that bum I was talking to in the elevator?"
*With the 8th overall pick, the Montreal Canadiens are proud to select...*

 

[Pascal]

good read.

 

[ZUKI]

Thanks ! very good read

 

[Tim Wallach]

I have most often been in total disagreement with the Habs' 1st round picks. In the last 15 years, the only ones I agreed with at the time were Komisarek and Terry Ryan. I guess I was 1-for-2 in that regard.
I thought he was "can't miss." He probably shouldn't have missed.

 

[InglewoodJack]

I have most often been in total disagreement with the Habs' 1st round picks. In the last 15 years, the only ones I agreed with at the time were Komisarek and Terry Ryan. I guess I was 1-for-2 in that regard.
I thought he was "can't miss." He probably shouldn't have missed.

The way Ryan tells it, it's more of a right place at the wrong time scenario. He could have been good, but didn't get the right minutes, and the right time.

 

[Blind Gardien]

It was the right pick to make. I may be officially notorious now for defending it for 15 years, but really, there was only 1 other player we might theoretically have taken who would have made any real difference to the team, Iginla, and even he is so much easier to think of in hindsight than in the draft reality when it already seemed like a reach for Dallas to draft him as high as they did... he was a player on the rise throughout the year, but rising into the top-10 wasn't forseen. Obviously the Habs had their sights on Doan, and Ryan was the consolation prize. But he was the right consolation prize. What a mess the Habs' developmental system was in those days. Maybe scouting too, but not because of that pick. Savard had already been an anachronism for years. The whole thing was going down the tubes, and as Ryan said, he was just pigeon-holed and marginalized right from the start, and that plus all his injury troubles spelled the end. It happens.

 

[Melvin Udall]

Kind of funny since Doan was drafted right before him.

IMHO, the best part for the Habs drafting Terry Ryan was.........Serge Savard passed on Jerome Iginla to pick RYAN!

WOW......................talk about being a great judge of talent!

Looks like some things in the Hab's World don't change - at least not much!

 

[hototogisu]

IMHO, the best part for the Habs drafting Terry Ryan was.........Serge Savard passed on Jerome Iginla to pick RYAN!

WOW......................talk about being a great judge of talent!

Looks like some things in the Hab's World don't change - at least not much!

Nine other teams passed on Iginla as well, so yeah.

 

[DieHardHabs]

good read,

I played pick up hockey in Red Deer, and Ryan would sometimes be out.. amazing hockey players, its too bad what happened to him, awesome guy too

 

[shortcat1]

IMHO, the best part for the Habs drafting Terry Ryan was.........Serge Savard passed on Jerome Iginla to pick RYAN!

WOW......................talk about being a great judge of talent!

Looks like some things in the Hab's World don't change - at least not much!

I have the THE HOCKEY NEWS draft preview magazine for that year and Ryan was rated ahead of Iginla. Not a whole lot ahead but definitely ahead. Ryan was seen as a rough & tough player who scored & Iginla didn't have that hard-nosed quality.

Picking Ryan was very appropriate at the time just like picking Doug Wickenheiser was THE right pick in his draft year.

For a variety of reasons (as you've read in the article, I think), things didn't work out.

 

[Scintillating10]

Picked up Ryan's book yesterday. Reading I don't think he had anything between the ears. To realize what he had in talent. Never met a 'Ho he didn't like. Team be on road trips he'd be out all night getting some hooker to screw him with a banana. Something used to take over him he didn't know when to turn off the fighting valve. Today his body is crippled with injuries from brawling. Never kept in top shape, drank, smoked dope. Never got along with Therrein in Fredericton. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why he was a bust.

Then set out a summer trying to force a trade, but when he career was 99% over. After that suffered high ankle sprain that wouldn't heal.

 

[Blind Gardien]

A lot of books like this with Sean Pronger's, Bernd Bruckler, McCarty, McLennan, etc lately... some I guess a bit more edgy than others. I'd read Ryan's just because he was such a focus of attention for us Habs fans at a certain point, we spent a lot of time making our diagnoses of his case back in the day. Well, I did for sure. Be interesting to see how wrong some of us were.

And Nilan's too. I want to read PK's tell-all 20 years from now.

 

[crystal ball]

Picked up Ryan's book yesterday. Reading I don't think he had anything between the ears. To realize what he had in talent. Never met a 'Ho he didn't like. Team be on road trips he'd be out all night getting some hooker to screw him with a banana. Something used to take over him he didn't know when to turn off the fighting valve. Today his body is crippled with injuries from brawling. Never kept in top shape, drank, smoked dope. Never got along with Therrein in Fredericton. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why he was a bust.

Then set out a summer trying to force a trade, but when he career was 99% over. After that suffered high ankle sprain that wouldn't heal.

Interesting that you picked it up when it's still on pre-order.

 

[Scintillating10]

Interesting that you picked it up when it's still on pre-order.

Amazon

 

[TennisMenace]

Great read, thanks. I remember how hot I was for terry Ryan. He was just what we needed. I still can't believe he didn't pan out. Why would he not go to camp? He lost out on a lot of money too. Strange story.

 

[FF de Mars]

I want to read his book someday.

 

[Beige Van]

I met Ryan once in the late 90's. He was no Rhodes scholar, let me assure you of that..

 

[beowulf]

Interesting that the forward is by Arron Asham.

 

[Price is Wright]

Jason Bonsignore is my favourite draft bust story: http://oilersnation.com/2011/9/1/an...e-on-his-failed-days-with-the-edmonton-oilers

I wonder how much of his story is similar to how Louis Leblanc has been treated.

 

[Strat]

The way Ryan tells it, it's more of a right place at the wrong time scenario. He could have been good, but didn't get the right minutes, and the right time.

I've been saying it to my buddy for YEARS that the way the Habs burnt their prospects was criminal.

They'd bring somebody up, a player who's burning the AHL with his offensive prowess, call him up to the big club, put him on the 4th line with 2 plugs, play him 3-5 min/game, and send him back down citing lack of production. That crap destroys confidence and unnecessarily ruins careers.

It was maddening. Meanwhile, other clubs would take their top-rated draft picks, stick them with talented players on the 1st or 2nd lines and see them turn into superstars.

 

[JusticeBeaver]

Ryan used to deliver red bull to the dominion I worked at in St. John's, was so weird. Seeing a guy, who played for your favourite sports team, asking you to sign a red bull invoice.

Daniel Ryder is another interesting story, drugs ruined him before he got out of junior. Ended up in a mental institution for a while, after robbing a convince store. A friend of mine worked on the ward he was staying, apparently a nice kid, just thrown from a small isolated outport community into a world of drugs.