Ryan: “Every part of my life is just better.”

Sens forward Bobby Ryan has been selected by the Ottawa chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) as the team’s nominee for the 2019-20 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy and he took some time this afternoon to speak with the media about the nomination and reflect on his last 6 months of recovery.

On being named the Senators nominee for the Masterton Memorial Trophy:

Obviously I’m honoured. I think it’s a great thing and a silver lining for the year that I went through and all that but somebody mentioned it to me right away after that game (against Vancouver). One of my teammates told me that I just threw my hat into the ring for the Masterton and I guess that would be cool but it was obviously the furthest thing from my mind and the reason that I had to go get right. To be recognized for some of the work that I put in during the months leading up to my comeback is a very small but fulfilling thing for me.

On this being the hardest season of his NHL career:

The biggest thing was stepping away from the game to start the process of healing and learning about myself. On the ice was one thing and things weren’t going well when I left but that had a lot to do with where I was at in life. It was a very trying year mostly because I thought I was stepping away for 30 days, coming back, practicing and getting right back into things but I learned that wasn’t the case. It just felt like even though I had the largest obstacle to clear in the first 30 days and learning about my issues with alcohol that coming back I just felt like I would have another obstacle every day, then another obstacle every week until I was cleared to be part of the team again. It was just generally a trying year and I have to thank D.J. for keeping me on track. I’ve already thanked my wife publicly so many times and I’ll never forgot to do that but D.J. was great for me too. He’d pull me aside and we’d talk about things and he’d help me keep my head on straight to make sure I was ready to play.

On sharing this nomination with his wife Danielle:

The nomination alone is a very big family thing. We found out yesterday and we didn’t celebrate or anything like that but I think a small part of us knew it was coming since it had been mentioned to us so many times. My wife and I talked very briefly about how far we’ve come in the last 6 months.

On doubting his ability to comeback after taking leave from the team in November:

Right when I left was the hardest time because I knew leaving that I might have played my last game in the NHL. That was the hardest thing to swallow and to get over. Then I’m sitting there in December in California watching games and bothering everyone else around me with the scores and checking on the Sens. I’d watch some of the games and just look at the pace and I couldn’t believe I was taking 30 days off in November and December and I doubted that I’d be able to get my body where I needed to be to play. I have to thank the staff because not only was I able to do that but I was in the best shape of my life for an entire month before I got back up to game speed. I did worry about it but I had an incredible group around me.

On his progress since making his comeback at the end of February:

I was doing great until about 5 days ago because when I had a vasectomy and I haven’t moved in 5 days. I had to take the two weeks off that we were quarantined for obviously but then I got back home and went right back to work. Since we didn’t know what was happening or if we were coming back for the last 11 games, I stayed in really good shape and decided that I was just going to continue it. I didn’t want to lose anything that I had built from January on so I didn’t take any more time off and got right back into a summer program. Every part of my life is just better and where I’m at physically is the best I’ve ever felt. It’s going to be a bit of trial and error all summer because I don’t know how to plan for 7-8 months between games though.

On his aspirations for the rest of his NHL career:

I don’t know what the summer holds and we haven’t had any exit meetings so I’m not sure what the plans are for me going forward with the Sens but I’m going to honour my contract by coming back in shape and being ready to play. I’d like to be a consistent player for the rest of my career and I’d like to never have a drink again during hockey season and I’d love to continue to be a top-6 player because I think I still have that in me and I think I showed that in the 4 games that I played in. If it’s with the Sens, I just want to continue to watch the young kids get better and help them along the path to being a consistent playoff team because all the pieces are there. They’ll continue to get there with all the drafting that they have coming forward too. Play a little mentor for those guys and continue to find ways to be productive on the ice.