Ron Ryan

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Biographical details
Born (1938-07-11) July 11, 1938 (age 85)
Welland, Ontario, Canada
Playing career
1959–1962Colby
Position(s)Right Wing
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1962–1964Pennsylvania
1964–1965Merrimack
1965–1972Colgate
1972–1973New England Whalers (assistant GM)
1973–1975New England Whalers
1975–1977New England Whalers (GM)
Head coaching record
Overall84-100-4 (.457)

Ronald Ryan (born July 11, 1938) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey coach and executive.

Biography[edit]

Ryan played junior hockey with the Guelph Biltmores and then enrolled in Colby College. He had 245 points in 73 games with his college hockey team. Ryan earned a graduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania before taking a job as an assistant athletic director at Merrimack College in 1964.[1]

In 1965, Ryan was hired as head coach of the Colgate University hockey team. He took a job with the New England Whalers in 1972, serving as assistant general manager during their initial season of World Hockey Association play. After the Whalers won the Avco Cup during its first year of existence, coach Jack Kelley, who also served as general manager, moved into solely a front office position, and Ryan was hired as head coach. Ryan coached the Whalers to a division title in 1973–74, but his team was upset in the first round by the Chicago Cougars.[2] He was relieved of his coaching duties and replaced by Kelley with five games left in the 1974–75 season, despite having his team sitting in first place once again and having coached the East Division team in the 1974–75 WHA All-Star Game. Ryan then briefly served as a scout, but he was elevated to the position of general manager in December 1975, holding this role for two seasons. Ryan then worked in several other front office roles for the Whalers and later served as president of SportsChannel, a cable sports network.[3]

Ryan joined the Philadelphia Flyers in 1988 as an executive vice president, and was named the chief operating officer of the team in 1991. He was named the team's president in 2003 and held that position for three years until his retirement.[4][5]

Personal life[edit]

He is married to Brenda, a French teacher,[6] and the father of actress Blanchard Ryan, who is also an avid ice hockey fan. She was also married to hockey player Neil Little, whom she divorced, without children.[citation needed]

Awards and honors[edit]

Award Year
All-ECAC Hockey First Team 1961–62
AHCA East All-American 1961–62
ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Second Team 1962

Head coaching record[edit]

College[edit]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Merrimack Warriors (ECAC 2) (1964–1965)
1964–65 Merrimack 6-8-0 6-8-0
Colgate: 6-8-0 6-8-0
Colgate Red Raiders (ECAC Hockey) (1965–1972)
1965–66 Colgate 14-11-1 8-7-1 7th ECAC Quarterfinals
1966–67 Colgate 11-15-0 5-11-0 12th
1967–68 Colgate 12-11-0 9-8-0 10th
1968–69 Colgate 12-13-0 6-10-0 12th
1969–70 Colgate 14-7-3 7-7-3 8th
1970–71 Colgate 7-17-0 4-13-0 15th
1971–72 Colgate 8-18-0 5-14-0 14th
Colgate: 78-92-4 44-70-4
Total: 84-100-4

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

[7]

WHA[edit]

Team Year Regular season Post season
G W L OTL Pts Finish Result
New England Whalers 1973–74 78 43 31 4 90 1st in East Lost in semi-finals
New England Whalers 1974–75 73 40 28 5 (85) 1st in East Fired
NHL Total 151 83 59 9

References[edit]

  • 2010–11 Philadelphia Flyers Media Guide. Philadelphia Flyers. p. 32
  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-12-15. Retrieved 2016-09-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-08-25. Retrieved 2016-09-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-06-21. Retrieved 2016-09-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Ryan named Flyers' president". TSN.ca. June 13, 2003. Archived from the original on June 26, 2003. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  5. ^ "After 18 years, Flyers president Ryan decides to retire". ESPN.com. May 26, 2006. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  6. ^ Keck, William (August 5, 2004). "Blanchard Ryan walking on 'Water'". USA Today.
  7. ^ "Colgate hockey Record Book" (PDF). Colgate Raiders. Retrieved 2014-08-15.

External links[edit]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by NCAA Ice Hockey Scoring Champion
1961–62
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Award Created
ECAC Hockey Player of the Year
1961–62
Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by Head coach of the New England Whalers
197375
Succeeded by
Jack Kelley
Preceded by
Jack Kelley
General manager of the New England Whalers
197577
Succeeded by
Jack Kelley