Mike Van Ryn

Why Larry, why did we give this guy away??

New story

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/6835918.htm

Here's a quote from Van Ryn

``But I'm not really sure what happened last year. It was a little bit of a nightmare until the trade. I was extremely disappointed when I went down. I, personally, didn't feel I was playing all that badly. They seemed to think I had lost some of my confidence. I don't know if they thought I lost it because I wasn't playing with Chris, but I definitely wasn't playing the minutes I had played the year before.''

Why Larry, why did we give this guy away??

New story

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/6835918.htm

Here's a quote from Van Ryn

"But I'm not really sure what happened last year. It was a little bit of a nightmare until the trade. I was extremely disappointed when I went down. I, personally, didn't feel I was playing all that badly. They seemed to think I had lost some of my confidence. I don't know if they thought I lost it because I wasn't playing with Chris, but I definitely wasn't playing the minutes I had played the year before.''

Yea, I don't get it at all. The Blues gave up on him WAY to early.

I agree with the trade. We needed depth on scoring for the playoffs. And lets face it Van Ryn doesnt have a physical bone in his body. They told him flat out to check more and its almost like he refused to. Players were pushing right past him. Although the trade didnt go well, i was pleased with it at the time. And i dont think van ryn will be a defenseman worth worrying about losing.

Lidstrom doesn't have a physical bone in his body either. That doesn't stop him from being the best defenseman in the NHL with 3 rings.

Lidstrom can play physical enough to prevent people from getting past him. Im not saying van ryn wasnt a good prospect, but i also dont think he will ever be an all-star for his defensive play.

:rant:

I won't even start on this.

Don't even get me started on this. :rant:

Don't even get me started on this. :rant:

Why ?

I'm a Panthers fan and I'm looking for some opinions on Van Ryn: his upside, his style, etc... ?

Every information will be much appreciated !

Thanks in advance guys !

You'll get varying opinions on his upside. IMO, he's got the tools to be at least a #3.

His style.. he's an offsensive defenseman. He's not bad defensively, but could add some strength.

The Blues ****ed up and gave up on him too early. Perhaps topshelf will end up being right, but I don't think he'll develop as well in Florida as he would have in St. Louis with Pronger, MacInnis, Q and Kitchen.

To me, the mystery is how a guy who the Devils picked in the first round and who the Blues signed to big bucks as a free agent could suddenly have no future after two years.

I agree with degroat. Van Ryn will be a #3 d-man in the NHL for a long time. The Blues blew it. And they didn't even get anything for him. Big mistake.

And they didn't even get anything for him.

Actually, they ended up getting a 5th round pick.

C'mon people, Van Ryn was sinking down the Worcester depth chart all year. The Blues still had Walker, Backman, and Koivisto ahead of him, and Van Ryn was making more than all of them. At 1mil he was bust, and like someone mentioned before the Blues needed to add scoring depth for the playoffs. If the Blues had plenty of better defensemen ahead of him how can you say this was a dumd trade?

Matt

Unless he's significantly changed his game, MVR shys away from contact way too much. No the Rafalskis of the world dont dish out big hits but they certainly are willing to take a big hit to make the play. I didnt see that from MVR. Folks also have to remember that when he was a Blue and paired with Pronger, he single handedly cost the Blues two games. He definitely was not ready for the NHL that season.

As I recall, his one season w/ the team had him paired w/ Pronger. Shoot, I could play D w/ Pronger and only look poor.

I think that he wound up in Qs dog house and wasn't given a chance to get out. Which is my biggest problem w/ Q is that rookies/youngsters make mistakes and wind up sitting, while vets get away w/ it...

He didn't play much at the beginning of last season and I would guess that he didn't click well w/ anyone outside of Pronger... We gave up too much in the trade for Bure, but as others pointed out, he well behind on the depth chart.

I wonder how much $$$$ he was making played into the trade.

Turned out to be a bad trade, because Bure didn't do much (never really recovered from the injury and Q played him on the 4th line???).

You'll get varying opinions on his upside. IMO, he's got the tools to be at least a #3.

His style.. he's an offsensive defenseman. He's not bad defensively, but could add some strength.

The Blues ****ed up and gave up on him too early. Perhaps topshelf will end up being right, but I don't think he'll develop as well in Florida as he would have in St. Louis with Pronger, MacInnis, Q and Kitchen.

Degroat, with all due respect, that is like saying Daigle has the tools to be a #1 center. Tools are one thing. What you do with them is a different story. That being said, I like Van Ryn and believe he will develop into a solid NHL'er. If the Blues hadn't had so much organizational depth at the defensive position I doubt the trade would have happened. It is my impression that the Blues brass thought that Jackman, Walker, and Backmann either already had or would soon pass Mike on the depth chart. Combine that with guys like Jonsson, Sheffelmaier, Byrne,and Stuart making solid progress (not to mention this years picks - Belle & FitzGerald ) at the position so why not deal from strength? Was it a good trade? Probably not. Certainly not in hindsight.

I just figure he was getting lost in the shuffle. Getting an opportunity with another team will be the best thing that ever happened to his career.

jrh