Ryan Ryker scouting report

[Jayrad28 397]

With the completion of the 74th VHL Season, Hockey fans in Houston had little to cheer about. While the bulls had a dreadful season at the start, they played a little bit better at the end after an influx of free agent signings. The fans in Houston became perplexed with one player in particular though, Eighteen year old Ryan Ryker.

 

 

Ryker signed with the rebuilding Bulls to be closer to family, and at the start of the season, when Houston’s roster card was pretty light on most nights, Ryker always gave 100%. He definitely wanted to prove something to the scouts, who had written him off prior to this season. 
 

Strengths

 

 

Vision And Hockey sense

As someone who watched the bulls religiously this year, I can say that there are few players in the Draft Class better at puck retrieval than Ryker. He wins all his battles and always seems to know where the puck is going to be. That’s due to his hockey sense and vision skills, he reads every play and analyzes every teams pass, making him a terrific forechecker.

 

Shot and Hands

His Puck control and lethal snap shot compliment his hockey sense fantastically.

He used his big frame to push past defenders and get into his favourite shooting lanes and laser home goals.

He had an impressive 29 Goals in the VHLM as a rookie and if he improves on his game that number will surely climb next season.

 

 

Speed

 

When Ryan was 14, his greatest weakness was his skating, so his coach made him join figure skating to stay on the team. He was teased but his skating drastically over the months, and he actually met his future girlfriend and wife while on the highschool figure skating team.

 

 

 

Weakness’s

 

 

Checking

 

Ryker is not a power forward. He has a rather big frame, and his coaches have always tried to get him to use it, but he always focused more on fine tuning his offensive instincts. Who knows, maybe once he turns pro that is something he will work on.

 

Faceoffs

 

Ryker is strictly a winger. He tried to play center in Bantam but he was so bad at faceoffs it was almost hilarious. He made the shift to right wing and has never looked back since, and has vocally protested when asked about shifting to Center to raise his draft stock.

 

 

Fighting 

 

The VHL is a much more aggressive league then its minor league. Ryker isn’t very good at checking, and has never won a fight, so that’s something he should probably work on this offset to bulk up. He once said someone tried to grab his girlfriend’s ass, and in retaliation he tried to fight to guy, and was knocked out instantly.

 

 

 

Ryan Ryker is certainly an intriguing player. He player very well on a bad team, so it remains to see how competitive he can truly be on a team fighting for a playoff spot or a championship. Teams might be weary of that, but he’s definitely a hard worker, and has the work ethic to excel in the big leagues, so it will be interesting to see where he will be drafted.