2012 Draft Blog: Ryan Murray

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He captained Canada at the 2011 Ivan Hlinka Tournament and suited up for Canada at the 2010 World Under 18 championship. This December Ryan Murray is hoping to wear the maple leaf once again in Edmonton for the World Junior Hockey Championship for the 20 and under crowd. Murray is also expected to go very high in the NHL draft, with most expecting him to be the first defenceman drafted in June. ISS has him ranked 3rd, and we expect NHL Central Scouting will have him in a similar spot if not higher when it's list comes out.

Each year we're please to bring you blog entries written by players in their NHL draft year. Defencemen Michael Matheson and Cody Ceci introduced themselves in October and now here is the first entry from Everett Silvertips captain, Ryan Murray.


Hi, my name is Ryan Murray, I currently play for the Everett Silvertips of the WHL, and here's a little bit about myself and how the season is going so far.

I'm from White City, Saskatchewan and I live there during the offseason with my three brothers, Nathan, Troy, and Travis, my sister Melissa, and parents Brent and Sharon. My older brother Nathan plays for the Yorkton Terriers of the SJHL, while my younger brothers play for the Balgonie Prairie Storm, the same minor hockey association I went through. My sister currently plays for the Regina Rebels Midget AAA Female team. As you can see, I grew up in a hockey family where the game has mostly come first all my life. Every winter my mom and dad worked hard to always have an outdoor rink in our backyard so me and my siblings could skate nearly everyday. A lot of my fondest memories in hockey happened on those outdoor rinks, and I believe they played a significant part in shaping me into the player I am today.

As for my WHL career, I feel I have gotten to play with a lot of great players and work with really great people here in Everett. Ever since I was drafted at fifteen, the staff and players always made me feel like a part of the Silvertip family. It's my third year here in Everett, and I was excited to get back after a long offseason. With thirteen rookies and two new coaches, we have a whole new look here.

Our head coach, Mark Ferner, is a great coach who really understands the players perspectives. He is always chatting with the guys, and even acts like one of the players sometimes which I think gives the players a feeling of ownership of the team; It isn't Mark's team and we're his players, it feels like we're all on the same level. Our other new coach, Mitch Love, is a Silvertip legend and you can still hear his name chanted during the Canadian anthem at Comcast Arena, and its been nearly a decade since he played here. My team is filled with a bunch of great guys on and off the ice. We all get along really well and its a blast every single day.

For my goals this year, I'd really like to be able to play for Canada at the World Juniors, and help take my team far into the playoffs. Playing for the World Junior team would mean a lot to me, and I know a lot of people would kill to get that opportunity and so I'm going to just work hard and play hard, and see what happens in December.

I'm currently out with a sprained ankle which happened on October 19th. Instead of taking up bus space, the team let me come home to White City for a week while I let it heal. It was nice to come home and see my family friends after being away for two months. Anyways, there's a little bit about myself and my team, thanks for reading!

Ryan Murray is listed at 6'1 and 195 lbs. The defenceman contributed 3 goals and 6 points through the first ten games in the 2011-12 season. He's a consensus top 10 player on every scouting agency ranking that we have seen including #3 by ISS in October. Ryan was the Silvertips' first round pick in 2008. The Saskatchewan product had 27 points in his rookie season in 2009-10 and nearly doubled that last year finishing with 6 goals and 40 assists for 46 points for Everett.