(S36 Class) Ryan Sullivan - Player

[Phil 5,119]

D - Ryan Sullivan

Birthplace: Dallas, Texas

Height: 6'8"

Weight: 250 lbs

Jersey Number: 4

Drafted: S28 CAL (1/3)

Username: Advantage

 

It is not very often that one comes across a defenseman who is very prolific at both ends of the ice. We often hear the terms "offensive-defenseman" and "defensive-defenseman" but what if a player comes along who can score just as easily as he can be a play-maker, and in turn, just as easily as he can be a shut-down defenseman? This is what makes Ryan Sullivan such a unique player. He paints a perfect picture of the fine balance between offense and defense from the point of view of a defenseman.

 

Sullivan was drafted to the Calgary Wranglers in Season 28 in a draft that featured a very strong first round. He was drafted third overall, which was no real surprise, given that the two drafted ahead of him (Rybak and Labatte) were products of two VHL Hall of Fame Builders (Slobodzian and Sterling, respectively). Despite this, Sullivan proved throughout the course of his career that he could keep up with the future Hall of Famers and was actually inducted the same year as Labatte in one of the easiest decisions the Board of Governors ever have had to make.

 

Career Awards:

Season 28 - Bourque Trophy
Season 29 - Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy
Season 30 - Continental Cup (Calgary)
Season 31 - Victory Cup (Calgary)
Season 31 - Sterling Labatte Trophy
Season 31 - Mikita Trophy
Season 31 - Dustin Funk Trophy
Season 33 - Devon Marlow-Marta Trophy (New York)
Season 33 - Sterling Labatte Trophy
Season 34 - Sterling Labatte Trophy
Season 34 - Alexander Beketov Trophy
Season 35 - Terence Fong Trophy (Helsinki)

Season 29 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S29 (CAL) - 72GP / 19G / 55A / 74P /+27 /111PIM / 198HIT / 199S / 88SB / 1GWG

After spending a year developing in the VHLM, earning himself a Bourque Trophy for top VHLM Defenseman, Sullivan entered the VHL in style, collecting more than a point per game and just under 200 hits. He topped the scoring charts for rookies and when combined with the fact that he out-scored fellow teammate and draftee Rybak by a large margin (28 points) and finished third on his team in points and third in hits, it is no surprise that he was awarded the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy for Rookie of the Year.

 

Calgary, who were a young team, finished bottom of the conference with 36 wins and 78 points, although they had a better record than all but Davos in the European Conference. Sullivan's instant production was a sign of greater things to come and the GM was very pleased with the decision to have allowed him to play an extra season in the minors. 

 

Season 30 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S30 (CAL) - 72GP / 10G / 51A / 61P / +34 / 150PIM / 239HIT / 141S / 105SB / 3GWG
Playoffs:
S30 (CAL) - 11GP / 2G / 8A / 10P / +5 / 36PIM / 35HIT / 24S / 16SB / 0GWG

Some would say that Sullivan suffered a bit of a sophomore slump this season but others would not be so quick to judge. Despite dropping off quite a bit in his points production, being 7th on the team in scoring, Sullivan played smarter. He knew, with the dynamic duo of Chershenko and Rybak along with Jenkins and Boomcheck, that he would not have to be relied on to put up points. So he upped his defensive game, laying out more hits, having a better plus/minus rating, and blocking more shots.

 

Calgary's record improved by 18 points and although they finished third in their Conference, they made it into the playoffs to play Davos due to the Cross-Over rule the VHL had implemented for that season. They swept Davos out of the way and went on to play the Bears in the finals. The series went all the way to Game 7 and early in the game, Sullivan assisted on the opening goal. Calgary added an insurance marker in the second period and went on to capture Sullivan's first Continental Cup!

 

Season 31 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S31 (CAL) - 72GP / 20G / 101A / 121P / +74 / 132PIM / 194HIT / 261S / 127SB / 2GWG
Playoffs:
S31 (CAL) - 5GP / 3G /4A / 7P / +5 / 16PIM / 16HIT / 26S / 11SB / 1GWG

Sullivan capitalized on the 132 goals scored between Chershenko and Rybak, collecting a monstrous 105 assists, earning him the Mikita Trophy. To go along with his 121 points, he had a +74 rating, just under 200 hits and 127 shots blocked, which also earned him a Sterling Labatte Trophy for Top Defenseman for the first time in his career. His astonishing season also earned him the Dust'n Funk Trophy, awarded to the most improved player. The Wranglers not only topped their Conference but also won the Victory Cup with 123 points and just 8 regulation losses. They scored the most goals (307) and let in the fewest (135) in a dominating performance. After waiting one round to play in the Conference Finals, Calgary came out rusty and ended up losing to New York in just 5 games. Sullivan still managed to earn the most points on Calgary, with the highest plus/minus, most shots blocked, and scored their only game winning goal.

 

Season 32 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S32 (CAL) - 72GP / 32G / 61A / 93P / +11 / 167PIM / 323HIT / 292S / 149SB / 6GWG
Playoffs:
S32 (CAL) - 5GP / 2G / 3A / 5P / -3 / 36PIM / 34HIT / 15S / 5SB / 1GWG

Calgary went through some very interesting changes in the off-season. They shipped off Alexander Chershenko to New York and managed to acquire Shane Lynch as a piece from a trade with Davos and also managed to convince Damon Wolfe to sign with Calgary  from Free Agency. GM Jason Glasser was trying to give Sullivan some more support on the defensive end. The pairing of Wolfe and Sullivan gelled instantly and Sullivan put up some career-high numbers to this point. He managed 323 hits along with 32 goals and 149 shots blocked - all his personal best. He earned 93 points while Wolfe kept pace with 91. This was a formidable pairing. Sullivan also led the league in powerplay points that year with an incredible 46, showing how devastating he can be with some space. Calgary had the "advantage" they needed going into the playoffs, topping the Conference with 106 points (4 more than New York) and earning a bye for the second consecutive season. It was written in the stars that they would have a re-match with New York. The Americans took the series in 5 once again and it was another disheartening end to an otherwise great season for Sullivan and the Wranglers..

 

Season 33 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S33 (NYA) - 72GP / 26G / 81A / 107P / +48 / 210PIM / 308HIT / 320S / 119SB / 6GWG
Playoffs:
S33 (NYA) - 13GP / 1G / 10A / 11P / -2 / 63PIM / 56HIT / 42S / 21SB / 1GWG

In the off-season, Sullivan was traded to New York in a straight-up swap for netminder Skylar Rift. The reason for this deal was mainly because Sullivan's player agent, Chris Miller, was to be appointed the GM of New York, and with Sullivan still active in the VHL, it would be a conflict of interest to keep him in Calgary. So Sullivan found himself reunited with Chershenko and playing for the rival team throughout his VHL career. Clearly Sullivan took a shine to the Big Apple. He posted 107 points, producing higher numbers than Chershenko and had another +300 hit season with +100 shots blocked, helping New York to the top of the NA Conference with 113 points. For his efforts, he was awarded his second Sterling Labatte Trophy. After waiting for the third straight year for the Conference Finals to start, Sullivan saw the series from the other side. This time, the series when to Game 7 and OT, where half-way through the period, Sullivan took matters into his own hands, creating space and shipping the puck off to Schwarz Esq, who found N. Chershenko to put New York into the finals. Unfortunately for them, they were bested by Riga in 6 but that was just Sullivan's second appearance in the finals and an experience he will not likely forget.

 

Season 34 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S34 (NYA) - 72GP / 20G / 86A / 106P / +28 / 177PIM / 265HIT / 326S / 160SB / 1GWG
Playoffs:
S34 (NYA) - 7GP / 3G / 5A / 8P / 0 / 44PIM / 57HIT / 24S / 12SB / 0GWG

In the off-season, the Americans acquired two huge stars in Phil Rafter and David Smalling to help give them the edge in order for them to win the Cup. Sullivan's offensive production was, once again, torrid. He managed for the third time to usurp the century point total, scoring 106 points and finishing first among defensive and also earning the  newly named Beketov Trophy with 86 assists. Even more impressively, he managed 160 shots blocked, an incredible amount for an individual on a competing team to tally. The new signings Rafter and Smalling were in their final season and were showing their age, putting up relatively disappointing offensive numbers and because of this, New York only just managed to sneak into the playoffs with 94 points - 2 behind the Legion. There, they met Sullivan's old friend, Calgary, once more.  The series went to 7 games but New York's Cup hopes met a brick wall when, despite out-shooting the Wranglers, they couldn't put the puck past Satan and lost 2-0. Sullivan had just one more shot at earning another Continental Cup. On a positive note, however, he did take home his third Sterling Labatte Trophy.

 

Season 35 Statistics:

Regular Season:
S35 (HEL) - 72GP / 21G / 65A / 86P / +32 / 113PIM / 241HIT / 288S / 100SB / 7GWG
Playoffs:
S35 (HEL) - 12GP / 6G / 10A / 16P / -2 / 26PIM / 56HIT / 43S / 26SB / 0GWG

Since Sullivan announced his retirement, GM Miller was able to trade him off to Helsinki in order to retool his team and have a quick turnover back to a Championship side. Helsinki had finished on top of the European Conference in back-to-back years, had won the Cup last season, and where hungry looking for the repeat. With a top line of Osborne, Tordahl, and Zhumbayev, backed with the goaltending skills of Tukio and a defensive pairing of Sullivan and Weber, Helsinki were a force to be reckoned with. For the third straight year they topped the EU with 110 points, only just missing out on the Victory Cup to Quebec, who accumulated 113 points. Sullivan finished third in team scoring and among defensemen with 86 points, he had 241 hits to lead his team and managed 100 blocked shots. He also recorded a career-high 7 game-winning goals and the Titans were looking very serious about repeating. In the Conference Finals, Helsinki met with Cologne. It was a close series that featured all the games being decided by one or two goals. Helsinki won out in 6 games and went on to face Quebec for Sullivan final shot at another Continental Cup. The Titans quickly went down 0-2 but battle back to even the series at 2, with Sullivan being awarded second star for his 3-point performance. They lost Game 5 in OT but could not fight back and ended losing in 6.

 

Career Totals:

 

Regular Season:

504GP /  148G /  500A / 648P / +254 / 1060PIM / 1768HIT / 1827S / 848SB / 26GWG

Playoffs:

53GP / 17G / 40A / 57P / +3 / 221PIM / 254HIT / 174S / 91SB / 3GWG

Sullivan, in that final playoff run, finished tied for first in points on his team, led his team in hits and had one of the highest plus/minus ratings and shots blocked totals. Despite him being in his final year, he was a leader to the very end. He was the type of player who just had a big presence on the ice. His teammates would play better when he was out there, just for the simple fact that he was on the ice. It was like he was his team's security blanket. Finishing his career with 3 Sterling Labatte awards, 2 Beketov/Mikita Trophies, a Stolzschweiger Trophy and a Funk Trophy, his collection of personal accolades is a testament to the impact he had on the ice. Sullivan's fantastic offensive abilities combined with his rock-solid defense was a key reason behind what made him such a great player and is a reason his name has been placed in the hallowed halls of the VHL Hall of Fame (and in more ways than one). In Season 42, to further honour Sullivan, the VHLM renamed the Bourque Trophy to the Ryan Sullivan Trophy, to be awarded to the Top Defenseman in the league, ensuring that his name will never be forgotten, nor his exceptional talent.

Edited June 10, 2015 by Phil

[Advantage 2,891]

Well done Phil.  Appreciate you getting this done

[Munk 1,298]

I remember making a sweet sig for sullivan.. i think thats how we became friends.

Let me find it

[Phil 5,119]

Well done Phil.  Appreciate you getting this done

 

Took longer than I anticipated when I got hired for the job - but this was well overdue. 

 

Congrats on getting Sullivan to the HoF.

 

Also - I threw in 2 puns at your expense. Don't know if you caught them

[Advantage 2,891]

Took longer than I anticipated when I got hired for the job - but this was well overdue. 

 

Congrats on getting Sullivan to the HoF.

 

Also - I threw in 2 puns at your expense. Don't know if you caught them

Brick wall, security blanket, rock-solid...I thought all three were references lol.

Edited June 13, 2015 by Phil

[Phil 5,119]

Brick wall, security blanket, rock-solid...I thought all three were references lol.

 

ooo good. They are - but I meant the two obvious ones: Brick Wahl and "had the 'advantage' to win the cup" lol