2. The Walleye are certainly in the market for improving on defense after struggling down the stretch with games where they could not give their goaltenders, Grant Berd and Jack Ryan, the support needed for them to win games. It’s important for teams to make up the difference, lest they lose their windows to not ensuring that a position is as strong as it should be. As much as the game is a team sport, champions often defend more than they do not. Without solid defense, you cannot begin to approach the idea of winning games that matter at the major league level, least of all the SHL.
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14. Jack Ryan appreciates all the offseason time he can get, and Thunder Bay is the ideal location for a man raised with fishing in his veins. Though his modus operandi is often on rivers in Maryland and Virginia, the massive Lake Superior provides enough of a playground for him to operate, going out with local fishing bands to enjoy a quiet day of relaxation, exercise, and shared camaraderie. “It’s helpful to clearing your mind, resetting. It can really get you back to factory settings if your year has been a tough one, or month, or week. Whatever gets you back to where you want to be mentally.”
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16. Ryan has his mind set for success, and he knows he can’t settle for being complacent. He’s talked at length about his drive to win a Four Star Cup, to be the best goaltender in the league, and continuing that momentum in the SHL and his Minnesota career. Ideally he wants to do that while remaining true to his solid, all-around game, ensuring that his skills do not outpace each other, everything operating at peak efficiency for him. This, he feels, makes his successes a factor closely tied to his effort level, and failure a failing of preparedness. “Being at my best is my responsibility. It’s not something I can say I want to do, or something that is an obligation, I have to be at my best, it’s a matter of being true to how much I want to achieve in my career. Otherwise, I’m lying to the fans, the team, my teammates, the coaches, and I’m lying to myself. Can’t do that, can’t settle for that.” By that logic, last season was an admittedly tough one for Ryan. He sees that at times, his mentality needed adjustment. “You have to admit on occasion that you just aren’t good enough on some nights. Not that you have to like that, but you have to admit it. I still have a long way to grow, a long way to go in my career. It’ll mean more hard work to ensure I can perform against the best teams, the best players, that I can match the great goalies at the other end of the ice on any given night.” On why he thinks he needs to achieve these goals, Ryan says it comes from his time in the Marine Corps. “We got the job done, whatever it was, and we achieved everything we needed to in that time, we couldn’t shave off goals, we didn’t settle. Either we got it done and won or we didn’t, and I was taught that we don’t settle for second-best. I never forgot that, I’ll keep that as a part of my game forever. So when I say I want to achieve everything I can at every level that I play, I mean that, I mean that I want to achieve as many wins as I can, as many accolades as I can, while also being as good a teammate as I can be. That’s what being consistent, being driven is all about.” Ryan wasn’t able to achieve much in his limited freshman starts, and the Walleye were a young team that in many ways were learning as much about winning as Ryan was. “It’ll be difficult on occasion, it’s always hard to a degree. It’s about who responds well to that adversity at the end of the day. I need to be the best I can be, and I’ve gotten into that before, but you look at the goalies that have won championships, won hardware for their teams, they learn how to win, and then they apply those lessons, they apply those teaching moments to their advantage, and then they go and win.” All eyes point to whether Ryan can make those key steps forward along with his team as they look to get closer to the goals both the Walleye as a whole and Ryan share.
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eddiesnothere
