RYAN’S HOPE TURNS INTO SPECIAL RETURN
‘It was just one of those overwhelming nights,’ Senators winger says on reviewing his emotions after hat trick
Bobby Ryan went back to work with his Ottawa Senators teammates Friday morning at Canadian Tire Centre.
Getting to sleep wasn’t easy for Ryan after the Senators winger’s emotional three-goal effort in their 5-2 home-ice victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. But the 32-yearold Ryan was thrilled it happened and even happier his wife Danielle was in the building to witness it first-hand.
The fans at Canadian Tire Centre were chanting Ryan’s name after he scored in the first period and again when he helped seal the victory with two goals in the third.
Back in the lineup after spending time in the NHL Players’ Assistance program for help with alcohol addiction, Ryan was welcomed by “Bobby, Bobby, Bobby” chants from his teammates as he entered the Senators’ dressing room after the victory. He was awarded the player-of-the-game honour by coach D.J. Smith, returned text messages from family and friends and then got the compliment that meant the most from Danielle.
“For my wife and I just to be able to have a conversation about it at the end of the night and for her to tell me she was proud of me was all I was really looking for,” Ryan said Friday.
After everything he’s been through, these last few months haven’t been easy for Ryan. He entered the program on Nov. 19 after leaving the Senators in
Detroit, returned to Ottawa on Dec. 23, rejoined the team last month at practice and then made his return to game action Tuesday in Nashville. The road has been hard but Thursday was a big next step in what’s been a long journey.
He watched TSN Sportscentre and saw his emotional outburst on the bench in the third period — after scoring the hat-trick goal into an empty net, he couldn’t hold it in any longer. Ryan even got a little choked up watching it himself.
“You (get) kind of torn up a little bit again,” Ryan said. “Generally I have no problem (with suppressing the emotions), but it was just one of those overwhelming nights. There so much buildup, it was such a long time and for it to come to a head, in that sense, it was just overwhelming.”
Putting the emotions aside, Ryan has looked pretty good since he made his return in Nashville, and we’re not saying that just because he had a hat trick against the Canucks. He’s been skating strongly and had good opportunities against the Predators. That’s a big reason Smith put Ryan with youngsters Brady Tkachuk and Josh Norris against the Canucks.
“The first one, I just wanted to find timing down in Nashville and I just wanted to feel the puck again at that kind of pace because you just can’t duplicate it,” Ryan said. “I kind of settled in and made some plays during the latter part of that game — and then I got some familiarity here in our building and that helped immensely. “You just hope it can continue.” By nature, hockey players are creatures of habit and pretty much every day is run on a schedule. While in the players’ assistance program and working toward his return, he was getting to the rink early to do his work and he was a little detached from the rest of the players even though he saw them around the dressing room. Now, it’s back to normal, showing up at the rink with everyone else and being part of the group.
He’s hoping to get back to his routine.
“You get back to practice, you get back to game days and you just kind of really miss the flow of things when you’re stagnant,” Ryan said. “Even though I was here, I was skating by myself and these guys were getting ready for practice and my day was ending.
“It started at 8 a.m. as opposed to 10 a.m. or whatever it might be, so to get back to familiarity has just been much better for me.”
Ryan’s teammates congratulated him on Instagram and he has appreciated the support he’s gotten from everybody in the organization throughout this difficult time. So, what does he say to his teammates?
“Nothing more than ‘thank you,’” Ryan said. “You try to put it into words, and you couldn’t because I would just fall short of what the support in here has meant to me with my journey over the last three months, and guys texting every day, even while I was gone. It meant a ton.
“It kept me focused on what I had to do and to come back, and for us to share it together, is very special.”
When Ryan got home Thursday night, he returned text messages and emails from friends congratulating him on his special night, and it was nice to have a bit of down day to get ready to face the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
“I said to my wife I was kind of wrung out just from the day,” he said. “Game days are long as it is, but then you factor in all the elements from it and I was drained.”
So, what do you do for an encore?
“I don’t know,” Ryan said with a chuckle. “Hope there’s another empty-netter.”