Derek Ryan
Derek Ryan is an American professional ice hockey forward. His team, the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League, played in the NHL Conference Finals in 2022 but were defeated by the Colorado Avalanche.
Ryan was born on December 29, 1986, in Spokane, Washington, where he started his junior career with the Spokane Braves of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. He then played four seasons of major junior hockey from 2003 to 2007 with the Western Hockey League with the Spokane Chiefs. He played four four seasons with the University of Alberta Golden Bears and was named the CIS (West) Most Valuable Player for 2010–2011 and was named to the 2010–2011 CIS All-Canadian First Team.
He then played hockey in Europe with the Austrian League from 2011 to 2014. He played for one season (2014–2015) in the Swedish Hockey League, where he was the league’s top scorer and most valuable player.
Considered small at 5’ 11”, the NHL had not been interested in Ryan until his success in Sweden. He signed a one-year contract in the NHL with the Carolina Hurricanes in June 2015 and debuted in February 2016. He left Carolina as a free agent in July 2018 by signing with the Calgary Flames. After the conclusion of his contract with the Flames in 2021, he signed with the Edmonton Oilers on July 28, 2021.
Ryan is probably the only Latter-day Saint playing in the National Hockey League.
- Born and raised in Spokane, Washington, Ryan was raised on a foundation of Christian faith and belief in Jesus Christ and the Bible.
- While playing for the Spokane Chiefs, a local junior hockey team, he met and began dating Bonnie Mckinlay, a Latter-day Saint.
- Their relationship continued long distance as Ryan played college hockey and studied at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
- He remembers taking a course in which he learned about different religions worldwide. One month of the class was learning about Christianity, including three or four days on the Church of Jesus Christ. It was his first official introduction to the Latter-day Saint faith, and during that time, Mckinlay suggested he meet with the missionaries if he wanted to learn more, which Ryan did for educational purposes.
- The couple married during his last year in college, then it was off to Europe to play professional hockey with stints in Hungary, Austria and Sweden.
- Each summer, the couple returned home from Europe and stayed with her family. Ryan noticed with interest as the family prayed together, studied their scriptures together and consistently attended worship services on Sundays.
- “It had a profound effect on me,” he said in a video devotional in February 2021. “In hindsight, little seeds of testimony were started to be planted in my heart and mind at this time.”
- Having lost his mother at young age, Ryan was drawn to a belief in eternal families, temple and family history work and other foundational doctrines of the Church.[1]
He joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after living with his in-laws during his off seasons in Austria and participating in the gospel.
- “Coffee was totally my pregame ritual,” he said. “In the NHL and most professional hockey leagues, that’s a pretty normal thing for guys to drink a lot of coffee in order to get ready for a game. So for me to give that up was a huge sacrifice.”
- The first game Ryan played without coffee was in Austria. He remembers going out and how he just “felt terrible, lethargic and tired.” That’s how he also played, he said, and afterward he was upset. “Why am I doing this?” he said.
- Despite the discouragement, Ryan didn’t give up. Within a few games he began to notice a feeling of increased energy, especially in the third period. He also played better overall.
- That sustained energy throughout the game was just one way Ryan felt blessed after joining the Church.[2]
Ryan says he has been “meticulous” when it comes his fitness and taking care of his body. He feels blessed for striving to follow the Word of Wisdom, the Church’s health code.
Derek Ryan and his wife, Bonnie, have two children.
