The Portland Winterhawks have debuted several rookies for this short season; among them is Ryder Thompson. To this point in the season, the 16-year-old defenseman has appeared in six games for the Winterhawks.
Putting in work in the off-season
The Manitoba native had some luck in the off-season, namely having the ability to get some time on the ice in a team setting. “It was a lot in the offseason. I was off the ice from March until mid-June, and then the RINK Hockey Academy opened up back in June, and they brought all the teams back. So I was able to skate from there from about mid-June to about mid-July, and then I was pretty much just on the ice from there on out, and I was just working out at the rink as well as doing my own workouts, so I was trying to do as much as I could.”
Coming into the season
Prior to the WHL’s return, the 5’11 defenseman appeared in eight MJHL games with the Waywayseecappo Wolverines. He used his time with Waywayseecappo as an adjustment period to junior hockey before he arrived in Portland. “That was huge, actually, getting to play with Wayway there. There were a lot of bigger guys and older guys, all stronger, faster, and that was kind of my first little look at junior hockey. It was a good adjustment coaching-wise and playing against the older guys. I thought that was huge coming into Portland. So it was a good adjustment for knowing what I need to do when I got here.”
He brought some new lessons with him from the Wolverines as he made his way to Portland for the season. ” I thought it was a pretty big change from playing midget hockey for sure. A lot more things are critical, like going back for pucks, making a good first pass, things like that.”
Something else that Thompson has been working on following his time in the MHJL is his offensive game. “I’ve always been trying to work on my offensive game. The coaches emphasize that, so I’m really trying to work on that with Portland. They really have emphasized offensive d instead of just defense, so I’m really just trying to work on that, but I think that’s something that’s been critical for me.”
He posted three assists through his eight games with the Wolverines, adding one more through his first six with the Winterhawks. As the season progresses, Thompson will look to prove himself as an offensive asset from the blue line.
Early season thoughts
While there was no pre-season this year, there was little time for teams to get acclimated to the WHL setting before games began. Thompson “It was different, no pre-season this year, but at the end of the day, there wasn’t much we could do besides working and just trying to get as much done as we could in the little amount of time that we had.”
Thompson has been soaking in the experience, using the early part of the season as a familiarization period. “I’m feeling pretty good. I kind of got my feet wet for the first time in the first two games, and I think it feels pretty good. It was quick-paced. Guys are a lot bigger and stronger.”
Speaking of those first two games, Thompson says he went into them, planning to use both as a bit of a learning experience. “I just wanted to go out and see how it went and go from there. Now, I know what it takes to stay in the lineup and contribute to the team. It’s been good, and now I just gotta put my head down and get to work.”
Helping hands
While the rookie has said that everybody in Portland has been great, Thompson specifically named two teammates as ones who have taken him under their wing a bit this season. Off the ice, “Reece Newkirk. He drives me every day to the rink, and he’s been nothing but great to me super nice guy, and he’s a very good role model.” Meanwhile, on the blueline, Thompson went on to say, “Defensive-wise, I have Nick Cicek. He’s been guiding me, showing me the ropes. It’s been pretty good. He’s been awesome, too, so I’m really grateful for that.”
Goals for the season
With just under two-thirds of the season left to play, there is plenty of time to reach some personal goals. Thompson seems focused on improvement for this season. Specifically, he is looking forward to playing some more hockey and, “Just developing as a player and as a person here in Portland, and I’m just trying to elevate my game to the next level so that I can come in as a 17-year-old and be really impactful for sure, so that’s my goal.”
Some of the assets Thompson says he can find in his arsenal are how he will accomplish this all, “I would say my strength is my hockey IQ. I feel like I see the ice fairly well, and I think that I make a pretty good first pass, and I know where the guys are. Another thing is that I can chip in offensively, but I would say that defense is probably my number one role. I like to think that I can play some power-play minutes as well PK minutes, and I could just kind of be a role player and go where my team needs me in to in order to win.”
How his hockey journey started
The decision to start playing hockey was not entirely Thompson’s choice to start. He was the classic brother who always wants to do what his brother is doing. “When I was younger, I didn’t really have it in mind, but it’s what my brother was doing, and I always wanted to do what he was doing, and that’s how I got into it.”
While it may not have been his choice to start, the sport drew him in after a short-lived fight against it. “We were going to sign up for some sports, and he chose hockey. Unfortunately, I didn’t choose hockey. Right as we were leaving, my parents asked if that’s what we wanted to do, and I said no, but then I joined hockey, and ever since then, I’ve absolutely loved it and just wanted to make a career out of it. To be honest, I don’t really remember what was coming through my mind at the time. I was still young, but I can’t remember what my first choice was.” Maybe it is good that he didn’t get his pick as hockey has panned out nicely so far.
What if…
While Thompson has been spending his time on defense for a while now, would he want to try a different position if he could? No, he likes what he gets to do.
“If I could play a different position? I would say no, I actually really like playing defense because you get the chip in offensively and defensively. People say we’re kind of like the quarterbacks of the ice, so I like being a defenseman.”
If he absolutely had to choose another position, he does have a preference, “I’d probably pick a center. I just find they have a pretty cool job, to break out of the zone the kind of be the head man taking draws and then just chipping in offensively as well.”
Playing during this unprecedented season
One of the big questions of the season is how the atmosphere is during games without fans, so of course, the topic came up.
“It’s definitely been noticeable, but once you get into the game like it’s not a big adjustment or anything at all, the bench plays a huge role in the energy, and so everyone’s been super positive on the bench, and that’s created lots of energy, so it makes up for the fans.”
Despite this, Thompson mentioned that he still can’t wait to have fans back in the arenas.
On the topic of playing division-only games this season, he mentioned, “It’s a bit of an adjustment just play against the same four teams. I was kind of looking forward to playing some Canadian teams and going on that Eastern swing, but there’s obviously nothing we can do about it. So I am looking forward to playing against these same four teams going to create some rivals, so it should be a pretty fun season.”
As far as the shortened season, Thompson has said he is just taking it one game at a time. The drive to win has not dwindled, even without a plan for playoffs.
“I wouldn’t really think of it as a compacted season even though it’s a small amount of games over a short period of time. I know there’s no playoffs right now, so it’s kind of seems it kind of seems developmental because it is fast, but at the same time, everybody here wants to win, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
