Ryan O'Byrne
| Ryan O'Byrne | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| File:Ryanobyrne.jpg | |||
| Born |
July 19, 1984 Victoria, BC, CAN | ||
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) | ||
| Weight | 228 lb (103 kg; 16 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| NHL team | Montreal Canadiens | ||
| NHL draft |
79th overall, 2003 Montreal Canadiens | ||
| Playing career | 2007–present | ||
Ryan David O'Byrne (born July 19, 1984 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Playing career
O'Byrne attended the private St. Michaels University School in British Columbia before playing for the Cornell Big Red from 2003-06, during which time he tallied 10 goals, 15 assists, and 208 penalty minutes.[1] O'Byrne was selected by Coach Mike Schäfer as an alternate captain for the 2006-2007 season, but decided to leave college one year early to begin his professional career.[2] He played his first NHL game on December 6, 2007, recording two assists against the Boston Bruins.
February 2008 arrest
On February 11, 2008, O'Byrne and teammate Tom Kostopoulos were arrested outside a Tampa Bay, Florida nightclub following the team's rookie dinner for a purse-snatching incident. He was charged with grand theft after police found him with a woman's purse in one hand making a call with her cellphone in the other. Kostopoulos was charged with resisting the officers after he was told to back off while they were dealing with O'Byrne. Both were released on bail -- O'Byrne's was $2,000, Kostopoulos' was $500.[3] The charges against Kostopoulos were dropped a few weeks later, while those against O'Byrne were dropped in July 2008, after he apologized to the victim and agreed to do community service in Canada.[4]
The 'Own Goal'
O'Byrne earned an infamous repuation among Canadiens fans during a game against the New York Islanders on November 24th, 2008. With a delayed penalty coming up to the Islanders, and the Canadiens up 3-2, Montreal goaltender Carey Price left his net for an extra attacker. O'Byrne, while in his own end, threw a pass towards the gaping Canadien net, thinking that Price was still in his crease. The puck soared into the wide open goal to tie the game at 3-3. O'Byrne was subsequently booed by the Bell Centre crowd, and the Islanders ended up winning the game 4-3 in extra time.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2003–04 | Cornell University | NCAA | 31 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 71 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Cornell University | NCAA | 33 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Cornell University | NCAA | 28 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 80 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 129 | 22 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 32 | ||
| 2007–08 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 20 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 33 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 45 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 33 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 45 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||