Comparisons to Stanley no shock to Ride
Now officially signed by the Windsor Spitfires, Bronson Ride knows the comparisons will be impossible to avoid.
A 6-foot-6, 200-pound defenceman, the 16-year-old Ride carries much the same frame and plays the same position as former Spitfire Logan Stanley, who landed in Windsor in 2014 as the club's first-round pick.
“I've heard that a few times,” Ride said of the comparisons to Stanley, who was a first-round pick of the Winnipeg Jets in 2016. “I've watched him a bit and I can see where people see that.”
But in the seven short years since Stanley was drafted by the Spitfires, the minor hockey landscape has changed dramatically and Ride's size was not nearly as imposing at that level.
“In minor hockey, players of his size, it's hard to be physical now,” Spitfires' general manager Bill Bowler said after the announcement of Ride agreeing to a standard player agreement and education package. “Once he gets to our league and plays kids closer to his size, we'll see more physicality.”
To be effective at the minor hockey level, Ride had to focus on improving the other parts of his game.
“I was always more cautious of (hitting) because you don't want to be seen as the 6-6 guy running around and more eyes are on you from the refs,” Ride said.
His ability to develop other facets of his game played a big role in why the Spitfires jumped at the chance to select him 20th overall in June's Ontario Hockey League Draft.
“We see a well-rounded defenceman with tremendous upside,” Bowler said. “He can play in all situations and at that size, to see what he'll look like in a couple of years, is exciting.”
In time, Stanley turned into more of an offensive threat with the Spitfires, but Ride has already shown flashes of that in his game. The games in his minor-midget league were wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic, but Ride had seven goals and 31 points in 28 games in bantam major for the Oakville Rangers in 2019-20 and he continued to flash at showcase events leading up to the draft.
“I don't want to be tagged as a defenceman that can't skate,” Ride said. “I want to be known as a good skater with a good hockey IQ. I think my IQ and playmaking ability are some of my biggest strengths in being able to see the ice and see everything.”
At pick No. 20, Ride was essentially a second first-round pick for the Spitfires with Niagara's having forfeited its first-round pick for recruitment violations. He was only available to Windsor because the Spitfires held Barrie's second-round pick in this year's draft from an earlier trade with Hamilton. That pick turned into the top pick of the second round because of the league's draft lottery format after the 2020-21 season was cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“For a guy with that type of mobility at that age, you rarely see it,” Bowler said. “For people his size at his age, he's ahead of the curve.
“He will generate on both sides of the puck. He doesn't mind rushing the puck or driving the net, if necessary. He can lead the rush or join the rush. He's a kid we targeted early and to be sitting there at 20, he was just a great pickup.”
For Ride, the club's Sept. 4 report date for training camp cannot come quick enough.
“I'm so excited,” Ride said. “The draft has settled in for me, but now I'm more looking at the season and getting to training camp. I'm nervous and excited, but more excited.
“It's a high that the Spits made me the fourth defenceman (drafted) and I'm going to a team where I know they're going to help me develop and that is just awesome.”
I don't want to be tagged as a defenceman that can't skate. I want to be known as a good skater with a good hockey IQ.