Beyond the ‘C’: The Story of Ryan Callahan
AGE |
27
HEIGHT
5’ 11”
WEIGHT
185 lbs.
POSITION
Forward
DRAFTED
127th Overall in 2004
Ryan Callahan is the captain of the New York Rangers. This year I became a bandwagon fan of the Rangers after I started watching the show 24/7 Flyers/Rangers. It was a show following the two teams up to the Winter Classic game in January. My favorite player was a toss-up between Marc Staal, Henrik Lundqvist, and Ryan Callahan. I liked the whole team, but a few stuck out. One of them was Ryan Callahan. He is a great leader and is a perfect fit in New York. This is Beyond the ‘C’: The Story of Ryan Callahan.
Callahan started in the OHL with the Guelph Storm. He played until he was drafted by the Rangers in 2004, where he played on the AHL team the Hartford Wolf Pack. He made his NHL debut on November 28th, but was sent back to Hartford. He was again called up to the Rangers on December 19th, but was sent back again. His third and final call came on March 15th, 2007, after scoring 35 goals in 60 games for Hartford. On March 17, he scored his first two goals on the Boston Bruins’ Joey MacDonald.
He had suffered through some injuries though. One was during the 79th game of the season in 2011. He blocked a shot from Bruins’ captain and big man Zdeno Chara. Here is the video.
Callahan was named the 26th captain of the New York Rangers on September 12th, 2011. This was the season that he scored his 100th career goal in an overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres.
Editor’s Corner:
You guys remember Cait Platt from the Jarome Iginla article, right? She is also the editor for Blue Line Station. Here is what she said about Cally!
“With Ryan Callahan wearing the C, the New York Rangers continue to follow tradition of hard nosed leadership that has brought them to greatness before. Looking at the future with Captain Cally, the Rangers have a full supply of heart and skill in him, only great things can come from the New York Rangers in future seasons.”
With their hard work this year, they finished first seed for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and got pretty close to the Finals. I was rooting for them, but you can’t win every time, right? Maybe they will win again sometime soon, but not within the next 5 years. I think it will be under a different leader.
Closing Argument:
This article was short, because I don’t have much to say about Callahan. He is a good player and he is a good leader. There isn’t much else to say. That’s all there is to it. Will he lead this team to a Stanley Cup? Probably not. He isn’t cut out for it. Next time the Rangers win the cup, they will have a different captain and a different coach, and probably a whole new team.
Hit me up on Twitter to guess who the next captain on my list is.