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T HE DETROIT RED WINGS are not going to win the Stanley Cup this year. Heck, mired in last place in their division, it would be a miracle for them to even reach the playoffs. But for veteran right wing Bobby Ryan, who joined the team last fall after seven seasons in Ottawa and six in Anaheim, the move to Motown has been one of the best and most welcome changes in his 14-year career. "It's been incredible actually," he said by phone recently after a brisk Monday practice at Little Caesar's Arena. "I've had a chance to play top-six minutes when some guys had injuries. My family has settled in. It's been one step in probably what has been the best year of my life." The best year of his life—there's a whole lot packed into that phrase, and we'll get to that. But let's go over Bobby's gig with the Wings first. While the team isn't putting up a lot of W's, Ryan likes what he's contributing to here. It starts with "the guys," and by that he means the core of young players the Wings have assembled — fellow American Dylan Larkin, the captain, plus Robby Fabbri and the two Filips, Hronek and Zadia. They're all under the age of 26, and Zadina is just 21. "The guys know that they're building for the long term and really embrace that. They're super-competitive. Larks is the leader and the other guys are chomping at the bit to get into the lineup every night," Ryan explained, the enthusiasm rippling through his voice. "I think they know they're in for better days ahead, that something bigger and better is coming. That's been really fun to see. I've enjoyed that a lot." Ryan himself has chipped in. He scored four goals in his first three games early in the season when injuries got him some top- six minutes. Since then, he's mainly skated on the third line and the power play. And he brings the kind of grit the Wings need. "I'm kind of that power forward who can shoot that one timer. I'm not as fleet afoot as I was, but I think I still have some good open- ice skill," said Ryan, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2005 NHL Draft. "I generally am pretty smart about getting to certain spots on the ice, I still have pretty good vision and I can still shoot the puck off the rush." R y a n b e c a m e av a i l a b l e l a st y e a r a f t e r Ottawa bought out his contract. When a call came from General Manager Steve Yzerman, Ryan was all ears. "I really like the way he envisioned things and the way he saw me fitting in here," he said. "He just kind of sold me on it." Since he's on a one-year deal, he knows he could be traded for the playoffs. But Wings' coach Jeff Blashill said Ryan possesses a rare talent. "He's one of those guys—and we don't have a ton of them—who can score on one shot. He can be a pure goal scorer. Some guys need lots of volume to score. Some guys just need one shot. He brings that element to our team," the skipper said in a Zoom press conference. It's not the only thing Ryan brings, either. "He's been a highly touted, high draft play- er who has gone the gamut of being a top- line player, a fourth-line player, a healthy scratch," Blashill said. "I think he can really help out the group, whether he's in the lineup or not." Talk about running the gamut — has any NHLer run a gamut like Ryan? Bobby has talked about it plenty over the years. It's no secret and it goes like this. He was born Robert Stevenson and grew up in Cherry Hill, N.J. One night when he was 10, his father beat up his mother badly. Facing charges, his father fled to Canada. Bobby and his mother later followed, and took on new identities. Ryan is his mother's maiden name. Young Bobby showed promise as a hock- ey player and he and his mother moved to California where he could develop as a mem- ber of the L.A. Jr. Kings. His mother worked two jobs, one at the rink so Bobby could skate for free. He credits t wo coaches—James Gasseau and the late Igor Nikulin—with going above and beyond the ca ll, prov iding rides, sup- port, stability. "Those two coaches found a way to get me on the ice every single day," Ryan said. "In my teenage years, something was always kind of in the way to knock down that next barrier. When it's on the ice, it's easy enough to focus on, but when it's off the ice it's a lot harder to overcome. I owe a lot of people a lot of thanks. The coaches. My grandparents. My mom." He's repaid them in spades. In the 2005 draft he became a trivia question—who was PHOTOS BY Getty Images APRIL 2021 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM // 39 "They know they're in for better days ahead, that something bigger and better is coming. That's been really fun to see. I've enjoyed that a lot." —Bobby Ryan Bobby Ryan has done a lot of living since being named the second player selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2005 NHL Draft. Now in his 14th season, the 34-year-old Ryan is mentoring the next generation of NHL players.