By: Jamie Kelly on December 31, 2013
Filed under: New Jersey Devils
When Michael Ryder raised the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins after a hard-fought 2011 playoff run, residents of Bonavista, Nfld. couldn’t help but raise a glass in honor of their native son. After all, this is where the three-time 30-goal scorer developed his wicked wrister that has allowed him to play more than 10 NHL seasons.
From his junior days with the Bonavista Saints, all the way to his formative years in the NHL, Ryder has always been known as a goal-scoring winger who could tickle the twine from virtually anywhere on the ice. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to do this on a consistent enough basis, which is one of the reasons he has bounced between four different NHL clubs (Montreal, Boston, Dallas, New Jersey) including two different stints with the Canadiens.
This isn’t to undermine Ryder’s effectiveness on each team for which he has played. It is very likely the Bruins wouldn’t have won the Stanley Cup in 2011 without the quality secondary scoring Ryder provided by tallying 17 points in 25 contests. The thing that makes Ryder such a unique player is his lightning quick release and his penchant for terrorizing opposing netminders by picking a corner from the high slot. When was the last time you saw Ryder shoot five-hole? The guy loves going upstairs.
And that was no different today when Ryder buried the game-winning goal for the Devils in a 2-1 victory against the Penguins. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound winger received a quick pass from Adam Henrique and wired one to the top corner that left Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury little chance but to stand in the way and hope for the best.
It’s easy to pinpoint the elite snipers in the game. Guys who have otherworldly releases that allow them to score 40-50 goals a season. Names like Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, Alexander Semin and Corey Perry are prime examples of pure goal-scorers who were blessed with immense skill level. But it’s the guys who don’t do it as consistently that are so intriguing because you can see their game-breaking ability and the potential for super-stardom if it happened on a regular basis. Ryder is one of those players.
Here are a few more examples of Ryder’s nasty snapper.
All rights reserved. Transcontinental Media G.P. © 2014
Regards: The Hockey News
Filed under: New Jersey Devils
When Michael Ryder raised the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins after a hard-fought 2011 playoff run, residents of Bonavista, Nfld. couldn’t help but raise a glass in honor of their native son. After all, this is where the three-time 30-goal scorer developed his wicked wrister that has allowed him to play more than 10 NHL seasons.
From his junior days with the Bonavista Saints, all the way to his formative years in the NHL, Ryder has always been known as a goal-scoring winger who could tickle the twine from virtually anywhere on the ice. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to do this on a consistent enough basis, which is one of the reasons he has bounced between four different NHL clubs (Montreal, Boston, Dallas, New Jersey) including two different stints with the Canadiens.
This isn’t to undermine Ryder’s effectiveness on each team for which he has played. It is very likely the Bruins wouldn’t have won the Stanley Cup in 2011 without the quality secondary scoring Ryder provided by tallying 17 points in 25 contests. The thing that makes Ryder such a unique player is his lightning quick release and his penchant for terrorizing opposing netminders by picking a corner from the high slot. When was the last time you saw Ryder shoot five-hole? The guy loves going upstairs.
And that was no different today when Ryder buried the game-winning goal for the Devils in a 2-1 victory against the Penguins. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound winger received a quick pass from Adam Henrique and wired one to the top corner that left Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury little chance but to stand in the way and hope for the best.
It’s easy to pinpoint the elite snipers in the game. Guys who have otherworldly releases that allow them to score 40-50 goals a season. Names like Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, Alexander Semin and Corey Perry are prime examples of pure goal-scorers who were blessed with immense skill level. But it’s the guys who don’t do it as consistently that are so intriguing because you can see their game-breaking ability and the potential for super-stardom if it happened on a regular basis. Ryder is one of those players.
Here are a few more examples of Ryder’s nasty snapper.
All rights reserved. Transcontinental Media G.P. © 2014
Regards: The Hockey News
