Ryan McDonagh

Ryan McDonagh
McDonagh during the 2011-12 NHL season
Born	June 13, 1989 Saint Paul, MN, USA
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	213 lb (97 kg; 15 st 3 lb)
Position	Defense
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	New York Rangers Barys Astana
National team	United States
NHL Draft	12th overall, 2007 Montreal Canadiens
Playing career	2010–present

Ryan Patrick McDonagh (born June 13, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing for and serving as the captain of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted in the first round, 12th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in 2007, he played college hockey for the Badgers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

McDonagh also competes internationally for the United States and was a member of the men's hockey team at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Playing career

Amateur

McDonagh attended Cretin-Derham Hall High School in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where as a junior he helped lead his team to the school's first state hockey championship. The following season, he was awarded the 2007 Minnesota Mr. Hockey award, which is given annually to the top senior high school hockey player in the state.^[1] He was then drafted in the first round, 12th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens on June 22, 2007, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. He also won a silver medal with Team USA at the 2007 IIHF World U18 Championships.^[2][3] Two years later, he represented the Americans at the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.^[4]

On June 30, 2009, McDonagh's rights were traded, along with Christopher Higgins, Pavel Valentenko and Doug Janik, to the New York Rangers in exchange for Scott Gomez, Tom Pyatt and Michael Busto.^[5]

Professional

On July 6, 2010, McDonagh signed an entry-level contract with the Rangers, forgoing his senior season at Wisconsin and joining childhood friend and former Wisconsin teammate Derek Stepan in New York.^[6][7] After beginning the 2010–11 season with the Rangers' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, he was promoted to the Rangers on January 3, 2011.^[8] He played his first career NHL game against the Dallas Stars on January 7, 2011.^[9][10] He then earned his first NHL point on an assist of a Brandon Prust goal against the Carolina Hurricanes on January 20.^[11][12] On March 20, McDonagh was the victim of an elbow to the head from Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke, who was subsequently suspended for the remainder of the regular season and the first round of the 2011 playoffs.^[13]

On April 9, 2011, McDonagh scored the game-winning goal, the first of his career, against the New Jersey Devils, earning the Rangers the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.^[14]

As a result of the 2012–13 NHL lockout, McDonagh signed a contract with Barys Astana of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He became the first American NHL player to join the KHL as a result of the lockout.^[15]

On July 8, 2013, McDonagh re-signed with the Rangers to a six-year contract worth $28.2 million.^[16] He led all Rangers defensemen with 43 points in the 2013–14 season as the Rangers finished fifth in the Eastern Conference.^[17] The team defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens en route to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final against the Los Angeles Kings, where the Rangers ultimately lost the series 4–1. During the playoffs, McDonagh was tied for the lead amongst defensemen in assists (13) and ranked second in points (17). For his season's efforts, McDonagh was named Rangers' MVP and the recipient of the Players' Player Award, given to the Ranger "who best exemplifies what it means to be a team player." He became just the second Rangers defenseman to hold both awards after Brian Leetch did so in the 2002–03 season.

On October 6, 2014, McDonagh was named the 27th captain in Rangers history, filling the vacancy left by Ryan Callahan the previous season.^[18] Martin St. Louis, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi and Derek Stepan were named his alternates. McDonagh became the fourth-youngest Ranger captain and 11th defenseman to hold the honor. In his first season as captain, he led his team to the Presidents Trophy and were ultimately eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games.^[19]

On May 30, 2015, after the Rangers lost the Eastern Conference Finals against Tampa Bay, it was revealed that McDonagh had been playing the last three games with a broken foot.^[20]

Personal life

On July 19, 2013, McDonagh married long-time girlfriend Kaylee Keys at Our Lady of Victory Chapel in his hometown of Saint Paul, Minnesota.^[21] Former National Football League (NFL) quarterback Steve Walsh is McDonagh's uncle.^[22] McDonagh also has two brothers, one Colin McDonagh who is one year older than him, and a younger brother Quinn McDonagh.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2007–08	U. of Wisconsin	WCHA		40	5	7	12	42		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	U. of Wisconsin	WCHA		36	5	11	16	59		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	U. of Wisconsin	WCHA		43	4	14	18	65		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Hartford Wolf Pack/CT Whale	AHL		38	1	7	8	12		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	New York Rangers	NHL		40	1	8	9	14		5	0	0	0	4
2011–12	New York Rangers	NHL		82	7	25	32	44		20	0	4	4	11
2012–13	Barys Astana	KHL		10	0	3	3	6		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	New York Rangers	NHL		47	4	15	19	22		12	1	3	4	6
2013–14	New York Rangers	NHL		77	14	29	43	36		25	4	13	17	8
2014–15	New York Rangers	NHL		71	8	25	33	26		19	3	6	9	8
2015–16	New York Rangers	NHL		73	9	25	34	22		3	0	0	0	0
NHL totals				390	43	127	170	166		84	8	26	34	37

Medal record
Representing USA
Ice hockey
World U18 Championships
	2007 Finland

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2007	United States	WJC U18			7	0	3	3	4
2009	United States	WJC	5th		6	0	3	3	2
2011	United States	WC	8th		7	0	1	1	2
2014	United States	OG	4th		6	1	1	2	0
Junior totals					13	0	6	6	6
Senior totals					13	1	2	3	2

Awards and honors

Award	Year
All-WCHA Rookie Team	2007–08	[23]
All-WCHA Second Team	2009–10	[23]
New York Rangers Team MVP	2014
NHL All-Star	2015-16

References

1. Minnesota Wild. "Cretin-Derham Hall's Ryan McDonagh Named Mr. Hockey". Minnesota Wild. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
2. "U.S. Roster for IIHF World Under-18 Championship Named". Retrieved 2011-04-23.
3. "2007 USA Player Statistics by Team" (PDF). IIHF. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
4. "2009 USA Player Statistics by Team" (PDF). IIHF. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
5. "Montreal Canadiens acquire Scott Gomez from New York Rangers". ESPN. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
6. "McDonagh truly a happy camper". New York Rangers. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
7. "McDonagh turning pro with Rangers". New York Rangers. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
8. "McDonagh getting first shot at NHL". nhl.com. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
9. "Rangers vs. Stars". Yahoo!. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
10. "Rangers never say die in win at Dallas". New York Rangers. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
11. "Rangers Ward-ed off by a hot goalie". newyorkrangers.com. Retrieved 2011-01-21.
12. "Carolina 4, NY Rangers 1". Yahoo!. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
13. NHL suspends Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Matt Cooke for blindside hit on Rangers' Ryan McDonagh
14. Brooks, Larry (2011-04-10). "Rookie McDonagh nets game-winner for Rangers". New York Post.
15. RIA Novosti (2012-10-11). "Ranger McDonagh First American in KHL Lockout Switch". Ria Novosti. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
16. "Ryan McDonagh re-signs with NY Rangers, inks six-year, $28.2 million deal.". NY Daily News. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
17. "Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh out 3-4 weeks". NHL.com. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
18. "McDonagh named captain of the New York Rangers". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
19. "New York Rangers eliminated by Tampa Bay Lightning". NJ.com. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
20. "Rangers captain McDonagh had broken foot". NHL.com. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
21. "New York Rangers Hockey Player Marries High School Sweetheart in Minneapolis". Style Me Pretty.
22. Botta, Christopher (2012-02-04). "Rangers’ Super Sunday Will Kick Off With a Game Before That Other Game". New York Times. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
23. National Hockey League (2010). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. Triumph Books. p. 316. ISBN 978-1-60078-422-4.

External links

• Ryan McDonagh's player profile at NHL.com
• Ryan McDonagh's career statistics at EliteProspects.com
• Ryan McDonagh's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Ryan McDonagh on Twitter