Flames' Ryder rejoins team after leaving for season

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By Craig DeVrieze | Wednesday, July 23, 2008 8:01 PM CDT | () comments

A guarded Daniel Ryder on Thursday said he needed his year away from hockey, but said he also missed his teammates, the games and, even, the bus rides.

Ryder is back on the ice at this week’s Calgary Flames prospects development camp at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary.

In a brief telephone conversation, the 21-year-old center didn’t shed much light on his decision to walk away from the Quad-City Flames six games into his rookie campaign last year.

He indicated he simply needed the year away from hockey to recharge a spent battery.

“It’s great being around the guys again,” he said after spending a year at home in Bonavista, Newfoundland, working a part-time job and keeping in shape in a gym.

A third-round Calgary pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Ryder’s abrupt exit was among the reasons last year’s Flames scored the second fewest goals in the American Hockey League.

His return could be a boon to the offense this season.

Ryder emerged as a third-round steal after his draft selection, scoring 78 regular-season goals and dishing 96 assists in his final three junior seasons with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League.

He also scored 23 goals and delivered 25 assists in a pair of junior postseasons, including 15 goals and 16 assists in 2006, when he won the OHL’s Wayne Gretzky 99 playoff MVP award.

As a Flames rookie, though, Ryder showed signs of his game weariness by passing on the mid-summer development camp in Calgary and then rookie training camp last September.

Essentially, he joined the NHL club just in time to be dispatched to Q-C training camp. He scored a goal and dished four assists during his brief six-game stay and then left for home, citing personal reasons.

Now, he is back, and he said, “Just the time away helped.’’

Q-C coach Ryan McGill said that does appear to be the case.

“He looks like he is fitting in with the group on the ice and off the ice,” said the coach. “Obviously, the next 45 days before training camp will be critical for his fitness levels but he looks like he is enjoying himself.”

McGill said that enjoyment is key.

“That’s what he would he would like to see,” McGill said. “If he doesn’t have passion for the game, he obviously is not going to play.’’

Ryder declined to say he rediscovered his hockey passion during his sabbatical, but he did tell media in Calgary on Monday, “I’m ready for the season now. A full season.”

McGill said Ryder declared himself “ready to go” during a one-on-one conversation on Monday.

“But this is July, and it’s development camp,” the coach stressed. “Hopefully, he can work on his mental toughness come October and November when (he has) to be doing the things he needs to do to become a good player.”

Ryder said he didn’t believe he had anything to prove, but McGill had another thought.

“Maybe to himself or his teammates,” McGill said. “But I don’t think that is an issue at all.”

Craig DeVrieze can be contacted at (563) 333-2610 or cdevrieze@qctimes.com.