Ryan Murray NHL Prospect Biography
Name: Ryan Murray
Age: 18 Years Old
Country: Canada
League: Western Hockey League (WHL)
Team: Everett Silvertips
Position: Defenseman
Number: #27
Pros
Physical Ability: Ryan Murray does possess the physical ability that you look for in an enforcer.
Durability: Murray rarely gets injured.
Awareness: Murray displays outstanding awareness from an offensive and defensive standpoint. Murray’s awareness from an offensive and defensive standpoint is a reason why Murray is such an effective two way defender.
Learning Rate: Ryan Murray has embraced leadership roles that have been presented to him. Murray capitalizes on key opportunities that are presented to him.
Hockey IQ: Murray is a sharp player. He is very smart and instinctive. Murray has good field vision and play recognition ability for a two way defender. This is crucial because two way defenders have to have the field vision, play recognition, and awareness to anchor both ends of the ice.
Intangibles: Ryan Murray has the intangibles and leadership package that you look for in a top 5 pick.
Shooting Power: Murray displays tremendous shooting power for a defender. Murray can execute a wrist shot or a slap shot in effective fashion.
Shooting Accuracy: Murray has the shooting accuracy that you look for in a defender. He can put precise touch on a slap shot or a wrist shot to execute necessary shots.
Passing: Murray is good at setting up passes for his teammates.
Aggressive Play: Murray plays the game of hockey very aggressively.
Body Checker: Murray will deliver bone crushing body checks.
Shot Blocker: Murray can block shots by utilizing his shott blocking and stick checking abilities.
Grinder: Murray is one of the best grinders in the WHL. He rarely picks fights with opponents. When Murray chooses to fight another opponent he usually wins the fight.
Disciplined: Ryan Murray was drafted at the age of 14 in the 2008 WHL Bantam Draft. Murray went 9th overall to the Everett Silvertips. Murray sat out his rookie year. At age 15 he became an assistant captain. At age 16 Murray became the youngest team captain in Silvertips history. Murray enters year 2 as the Silvertips captain.
Murray is not as physically disciplined as Adam Larsson or Victor Hedman in terms of size heading into the NHL Draft. Murray is very disciplined from a mental standpoint. Murray may be the most mentally disciplined Western Hockey League Prospect in a long time.
There have been tons of WHL defenseman who went in the top 10 since 2000. A majority of those prospects flopped because there were uncertain questions about the players mental discipline. You don’t have those questions with Murray so he should succeed.
The last two big name superstar defenseman to come out of the WHL were Kamploops Blazers teammates Scott Niedermayer and Darryl Sydor from the early 90′s. Both of those legendary defenseman were teammates in the WHL before Murray was even born.
With Murray I am reminded of Sydor’s physical discipline and Niedermayer’s mental discipline. This is high praise that you have to embrace if your a Murray supporter.
Athleticism: Murray has the athleticism that you look for in a two way defender who plays both offensive and defensive roles on the ice.
Skating Ability: Ryan Murray has tremendous skating ability.
Line 1 Talent: Murray has the skill set and mental capacity to develop into a top line 1 defender playing the blue line in the attacking zone. You can also have Murray sit back in the defensive zone utilizing his defensive tools to keep opposing scorers from generating scoring chances. Murray
NHL Ready: Ryan Murray is NHL Ready at this point. It would not surprise me if he got another year in the juniors though. I’ll explain why I believe that when I break down some of Murray’s cons and weaknesses.
Production: Every year Murray played for the Everett Silvertips his team qualified for the WHL Playoffs. Last night Murray did a fantastic job keeping a deadly line 1 Portland Winterhawks offense from scoring.
Potential: Murray has the potential to develop into one of the leagues best defenders down the road.
Cons
Size: Murray is only 6 foot 0 inches and 185 pounds. He is not 6 foot 3 220 like Adam Larsson or 6 foot 5 230 pounds like Victor Hedman. The good news is Murray makes up for his size with his mental discipline.
Hand Eye Coordination: Murray has poor coordination skills. Murray’s puck control, deking ability, and his ability to win face offs as a defenseman when the puck comes his way are all huge concerns at this point.
My thoughts on Ryan Murray
Ryan Murray has the intangibles and the mental capacity to step into the NHL right away and make an impact. Murray lacks the size and coordination of a two way defender so Murray may get more seasoning in the Western Hockey League even if he gets drafted in the top 5.
