Local product wraps up career with Kings
By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter
Doug Taylor Photo
A product of the Strathmore Minor Hockey Association, Grasdahl always wanted to one day suit up in a Kings uniform, ever since seeing his older brother, Brennan, play three seasons with the Kings from 2010-2013.
“I watched a lot of his games and it seemed like fast-paced hockey,” said Ryan. “I wanted to stay in town so I could have a chance at playing for them one day.”
Ryan debuted with the Kings as an 18-year-old in 2014 when the team returned to the HJHL. As a teenager, the highest level he played was in 2010-11 when he played three games with the Wheatland Athletic Association bantam Warriors.
“I was pretty nervous to put the jersey on and play in my first home game. It was a big jump for me, playing against guys that had played midget AAA, AA or Junior A in the past,” said Ryan. “I remember one of my first games with the team I got completely run over. After that, I remember thinking, okay this is the big leagues now. I need to keep my head up.”
“At the start of his career, there was definitely an adjustment period for him,” said Kings former head coach Jeremy Blumes. “But the thing about Ryan is that he works hard, cares about his performance and his team’s performance and made a lot of improvements in his rookie year. He developed into one of our more reliable guys back there.”
It didn’t take Ryan long to adjust to the Junior B lifestyle. He became a steady presence on the blue line, playing in 117 games and recording 12 goals and 35 points to go with 191 penalty minutes.
“He’s a big, strong guy and a force on our back end. He’s sound defensively and a big part of what we’re trying to accomplish this season,” said Kings Head Coach Shadoe Stoodley. “When he is working hard, he is one of the tougher guys to go up against in our league.”
Things weren’t always smooth for Ryan. In his second season with the Kings, former head coach Emilio Fuoco anointed him captain for his hometown team. Following the head coach and front office turnover that summer, Ryan’s captaincy was given to his teammate of two years, Keenan Ogle.
“There were a few issues between us last year,” said Stoodley. “He wasn’t happy about not being captain anymore, rightfully so, but once we got to know each other and started getting along, we became close and he’s a valued member of our dressing room.”
Ryan was able to push those issues aside and helped lead the Kings to their second-best record in franchise history last year, as the Kings went 16-18-4, while he netted a career-high eight goals.
The Kings have made the playoffs each year with Ryan bolstering the back end. While last year’s run came up short with being upset by the Banff Academy Bears, Ryan remembers being on the other side of that equation in 2014-15, when the Kings won a playoff round for the first time in franchise history.
That year, the Kings finished fifth in the Southern Division and knocked off the fourth-seeded Medicine Hat Cubs in two games in the opening round.
Up next, the Kings took on the division-leading and future HJHL champions, the Coaldale Copperheads, in the second round.
The Kings gave the Copperheads all they could handle, pushing them to the brink in Game 7, before falling 6-4 at the Coaldale Arena.
“That series was an absolute battle the whole way through and it was fun to be a part of something like that,” said Ryan.
With only four regular season games remaining, the realization that the local product’s Junior B career is coming to a close is beginning to set in.
“It’s obviously going to suck when it comes to an end,” said Ryan. “I got to spend a few years with the same guys in the locker room and have had some great memories together. It’s been a great team to be around for four years and that’s the biggest thing that I can take away from my time here.”
Not only a productive career on the ice, Ryan used his time with the Kings to attend the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology to complete his carpenter apprenticeship.
He will have years of reliable work down the road, but right now, Ryan is focused on righting the course of his team as they barrel towards another playoff run.
“I’ve never won a championship in my life, so I really want to know the feeling of winning it all in the end,” said Ryan. “I can’t think of a better way to wrap up my career than with a league title.”