He brings grit, and he gets very involved in the game. You saw what he did at the Olympics with Finland, and he plays very well in the playoffs. He just has that energy that you need. Every team that he goes to, he makes them better.

You could see he had an edge to his game. I liked his grit, the way he got in people's faces. Nothing has changed. We could see this kid was a bit of a mean bastard. He makes you pay a price.

As soon as it gets cooler out you feel like you want to hit somebody. It's just a game that you can't really forget. I mean it's so much fun getting the pads on and practicing with all the guys. You go into game day and all the excitement about it. The band's playing, just getting in there. Being able to throw passes and command an offense. I mean, everything about it. I love it. I love the sport.

He is as competitive as anybody on our team. He gets to pucks very quickly. He's got great grit. That's one of the reasons he's so valuable in the offensive zone. Any time there is a loose puck and Ryan is in the area, you know he's going to come up with it.

I saw rowing in the Olympics and I said, 'I want to do that. That's my sport,' ... I had always been a swimmer, but when I saw rowing, I said, 'That's it.'

I didn't like playing against him. He was a competitive, hard-nosed player. He brings a lot of grit and scoring to the table and that's why we got him.