Ryan O'Reilly

Ryan O'Reilly (born on February 7, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who plays for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL).

NHL Career
Ryan was drafted 33rd overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche. He became the youngest player in Avalanche history to appear in a regular season game when he surprisingly made the opening night roster for the 2009–10 season.

On October 1, 2009, Ryan earned his first NHL point in his Avalanche debut against the San Jose Sharks, becoming the first non-first round draft pick to immediately make the NHL in his post-draft year since Patrice Bergeron in 2003–04.

On October 15, 2009, Ryan scored his first NHL goal, a game winner against Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens.

On October 19, 2009, following his strong play, the Avalanche announced that he and his fellow 2009 draftee Matt Duchene would spend the entire season with the Avalanche.

Initially leading all rookie forwards in scoring through October, Ryan recorded an assist in a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on October 24th to cap a 7 game point streak that stood as the longest by a rookie throughout the season.

After suffering an offensive plateau midway through the season, O'Reilly anchored his position as a top defensive forward and penalty killer.

He led the Avalanche in ice time on the penalty kill culminating in posting two short-handed goals during a double minor penalty against the Columbus Blue Jackets on February 2, 2010, to become the first Avalanche player in history to achieve two shorthanded goals in a game.

Ryan finished his rookie season with the Avs, scoring 26 points (8g/18a) in 81 regular season games before making his post-season debut in a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals on April 14.

On April 18, 2010, Ryan scored his first career playoff goal, posting the game winning tally in Colorado's Game 3 1-0 overtime victory over San Jose.

He was credited with the goal after inadvertently deflecting Sharks defenceman Dan Boyle's pass attempt from an improbable angle into the net past Evgeni Nabokov to put the Avalanche ahead in the series 2-1.

In his second professional season in 2010–11, Ryan remained entrenched on the shut-down third line for the Avalanche.

On November 19, 2010, he appeared in his 100th NHL game against the New York Rangers in a 5-1 victory.

In scoring 8 goals in his last 18 games, Ryan was able to match his rookie season contribution of 26 points and led the team for a second consecutive season in takeaways with 72.

In the following 2011–12 campaign, having established himself as the leading defensive center on the Avalanche, Ryan developed his two-way game and increased his offensive production playing alongside rookie linemate Gabriel Landeskog.

This was recognized as he was named as the NHL's second star of the week for November 28 to December 4th after contributing with 7 points in 4 games and was leading all Avalanche forwards in ice time.

On January 12, 2012, Ryan appeared in his 200th career NHL game, scoring a goal in a 3-2 overtime defeat to the Nashville Predators.

Despite missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season, Ryan lead the League and set an Avalanche record with 101 takeaways.

He also more than doubled his points output for his previous two seasons combined to topscore on the Avalanche with 18 goals and 55 points.

As a Restricted Free Agent in the off-season, Ryan's protracted contract negotiations with the Avalanche were halted by the expired CBA agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA which incurred the 2012–13 NHL lockout.

With the lockout cancelling the start of the season Ryan (in joining his brother Cal) surprisingly signed a two-year contract with Russian Kontinental Hockey League club Metallurg Magnitogorsk on December 7, 2012.

Unlike the exodus of NHL players joining European leagues on short term contracts, Ryan signed a two-year contract with the conditional opt out clause in returning to the NHL if an agreement with the Avalanche was met.

On December 19, 2012, he made his debut for Magnitogorsk in a 5-3 victory over Atlant Moscow Oblast.

Despite an end to NHL lockout announced on January 12, 2013, Ryan was still unable to come to terms with the Avalanche and initially continued to play in Russia to miss the opening of the shortened 2012–13 NHL season.

On January 24, 2013, (citing an ankle injury suffered through his 12 games with Metallurg), Ryan mutually terminated his contract in Russia and returned for rehabilitation to North America.

At an impasse with the Avalanche a month into the season, Ryan was training with junior OHL team, the London Knights when he ended his holdout on February 28, 2013 by signing a two-year offer sheet with the Calgary Flames worth $10 million.

With a game coinciding between the two clubs on that day, the Avalanche announced during the contest that they opted to forgo compensation and secured Ryan to a contract by matching the Flames offer sheet.

International Play
Ryan made his international debut at the 2008 World U-17 Hockey Challenge scoring 6 points in 6 games as captain of gold winning Team Ontario.

At the age of 17, he gained selection to Team Canada the 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in Slovakia.

Ryan scored 5 points in 4 games as and was named game MVP in the final against Russia as he helped Canada capture the Gold Medal for the fourth time in five years.

The following year, Ryan was selected as the captain of Team Canada, at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships.

In six games, Ryan contributed with 5 points before finishing in fourth place after losing 5-4 in the bronze medal game against Finland.

Personal Life
Ryan is the younger brother of former NHL player Cal O'Reilly.