Ryan O’Byrne was drafted in the 2003 draft, 79th overall by the Montreal Canadiens. O’Byrne went to St Michaels University in his home province of British Colombia. After this, from 2003 to 2006, Ryan O’Byrne played for Cornell Big Red and left a year early to play pro. He spent a full season with the Canadiens’ affiliate team Hamilton BullDogs in 2006-2007 and split his time between the Bulldogs and Canadiens for the next two seasons, 2007-2008 and 2008-2009. Ryan O’Byrne finally made the Montreal Canadiens in 2009-2010 but played in only 55 games as he was a healthy scratch for the others.

Ryan O’Byrne plays a physical stay at home defenceman type game. During the past several years in Montreal O’Byrne’s confidence seemed to dwindle. Much of O’Byrne’s confidence woes stemmed from his own goal versus the Islanders. When Ryan O’Byrne plays confidently he’s a physical force. But when he is uncomfortable O’Byrne is a turnover machine and seems to shy away from the physical aspect of his game.

The past year or so Ryan O’Byrne seems to have a renewed sense of confidence in his play. Due to this he is physical and a force on the back end for his team. Look for Ryan O’Byrne to fight more this season after his boxing lessons this past off-season.

Some of Ryan O’Byrne’s strengths include his physical game, his willingness to stand up for his teammates and his size on the back end. As far as weaknesses, O’Byrne is prone to turnovers and requires a puck moving defensive partner to be effective.

On December fourth 2009 during the final day of the Canadiens’ Centennial Celebration, Ryan O’Byrne changed from number three to number twenty, so they could retire Bouchard. O’Byrne surprised many by wearing his number twenty underneath his number three then pulling off his number three to reveal his number twenty. Ryan O’Byrne says this was one of his most memorable experiences of his hockey career.

Ryan O’Byrne was convicted of stealing some lady’s purse in Los Angeles. He was charged and made his $2000 bail. Later on the charges were dropped and O’byrne did some community service. Supposedly the lady took some incriminating pictures of team captain Saku Koivu kissing someone causing O’Byrne to steal her purse to delete the photos. Ryan O’Byrne was caught with a purse in one hand and his other hand with the lady’s cell phone, deleting the Koivu pictures.

On November 11th, 2010 Ryan O’Byrne was traded from the Montreal Canadiens to the Colorado Avalanche for Michael Bournival. In his Avalanche debut, Ryan O’Byrne’s ice time was 24:51, the most of his NHL career. He led the team with six hits and blocked four shots.

“It went well. I got a lot of ice, played physical, played hard, blocked some shots and moved the puck,” he said. “That’s my game.”

Author Bio: If you’re a Ryan O’Byrne fan then check out Canadiens Zone for all the latest Canadiens news updates, pregames, post games, trade rumors, lineup changes, player profiles, videos and much, much more.

Category: Sports
Keywords: Ryan O\\\\\\\’Byrne, O\\\\\\\’Byrne, ryan o byrne, o\\\\\\\’byrne, obryne, ryan obyrne, montreal canadiens, canadiens, ha