Ryan is adjusting to his new role
Young defenseman has seen ice time fall
SAN JOSE >> Coach Pete DeBoer talked extensively at the start of the season that some players were going to have to sacrifice some ice time this year simply because the Sharks had more depth throughout their lineup.
In that sense, no player has been affected more through the first five-plus weeks of the season than defenseman Joakim Ryan, particularly in recent third periods.
Ryan averaged 16:45 of ice time in 62 regular-season games in his rookie year in 2017-18, but that’s down to an average of 10:47 in the 16 games he’s played this season.
In four of the past five Sharks’ games prior to Friday’s 4-0 loss to St. Louis when he was a healthy scratch, Ryan’s last shift has come midway though the second period or early in the third.
That’s just the new reality right now for a young defenseman like Ryan, 25, when he’s part of a corps that includes two Norris Trophy winners and three other blueliners with longer NHL résumés. And the leash has been especially short when the Sharks have been tied or trailing late in games.
“You just have to make sure that you’re mentally staying into it and engaged and staying sharp so you don’t have a little drop off when you go out there,” Ryan said. “But I’m not going to lie and say it’s easy. It’s definitely tough and kind of a new situation for me. I’ve never really had this before anywhere I’ve played. So it’s new and yeah, it’s definitely tough.”
DeBoer said he hadn’t finalized his lineup for today’s game against the Calgary Flames, but Ryan was back on a defense pair with Brent Burns for Saturday’s practice. Ryan was scratched in favor of Tim Heed for Friday’s game in St. Louis, but Heed was back on a pair with Radim Simek on Saturday.
Thursday against Dallas, Ryan had an NHL career low 5:21 of ice time as he was benched after Gemel Smith scored at the 7:42 mark of the second period to give the Stars a 3-1 lead. Ryan and Melker Karlsson had trouble defending a Stars’ 3-on-2, and Smith had a tapin goal beside the net after a pass from Jason Dickinson.
After that, DeBoer mostly used Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun besides Burns at even strength.
“When he’s playing his best, he’s skating. He’s skating defensively, he’s skating offensively,” DeBoer said of Ryan. “It’s not necessarily points and joining the attack. It’s using you best asset, which for him is feet.
“There’s always things you can do better, but for me, that’s the big thing. Getting out there and playing with energy and skating and using your feet, which is your best asset.”
• Tomas Hertl, who has missed the last three games with a concussion he suffered Nov. 3 against Philadelphia, skated Saturday on a line with Logan Couture and Timo Meier. Hertl still had to do some testing later Saturday but was optimistic he could play against Calgary as the Sharks start a six-game homestand. He was skating on the Sharks’ trip but was still not feeling 100 percent.
• With Hertl practicing, the Sharks had Joe Pavelski centering the top line with Evander Kane and Joonas Donskoi on the wings. Joe Thornton centered the third line with Kevin Labanc and Marcus Sorensen. In fourth line jerseys were Antti Suomela, Barclay Goodrow, Melker Karlsson and Rourke Chartier. UP NEXT
Flames at Sharks, today, 6 p.m., NBCCA