SEATTLE -- Ryan Winterton has overcome more than his fair share of adversity thus far in his hockey career, but the 20-year-old forward now is looking to make his mark in the NHL with the Seattle Kraken.
Selected by the Kraken in the third round (No. 67) of the 2021 NHL Draft, Winterton quickly has risen up their prospect ranks despite some roadblocks during his formative years on the ice.
"I got drafted to Hamilton (of the Ontario Hockey League in 2019), and then COVID hit and everything kind of went into lockdown ... for a good year and a half, two years,” Winterton said during Kraken development camp last month.
Winterton played 53 games for Hamilton, now Brantford, before the 2019-20 season was ended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The OHL also cancelled its season in 2020-21 because of the pandemic, and when Winterton finally got the chance to play again in 2021-22, he injured his shoulder.
“Things started to get back open again and we got to go skate in Hamilton," he said. "It didn’t take me very long to get hurt. I think it was like the first two weeks back from COVID at our Hamilton camp. I dislocated my shoulder, and then for the next two years I was battling with it.”
After receiving advice from his doctors, Winterton opted to rehab his shoulder instead of having surgery. He missed the first three months of the season but was productive upon his return with 46 points (20 goals, 26 assists) in 37 regular-season games.
Winterton followed that with 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 18 OHL playoff games, but he reinjured his shoulder against Windsor in Game 5 of the OHL finals. Although he returned for Game 7 to help Hamilton win the championship, getting an assist in a 6-1 win, rehab no longer was an option.
“I scored a goal (in Game 5) and smacked the glass, and my shoulder ended up coming out,” Winterton said. “I had to get surgery after that.”
That surgery caused Winterton to miss the first half of the 2022-23 season, which he finished with 36 points (12 goals, 24 assists) in 34 games for London of the OHL.
Last season, however, things began to come together for Winterton. He had 35 points (22 goals, 13 assists) in 58 regular-season games with Coachella Valley of the American Hockey League, and his performance was good enough to earn two stints in Seattle, where he played in nine NHL games (no points).
He returned to Coachella Valley for the AHL playoffs and had 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in 18 games, helping the Firebirds advance to the Calder Cup Finals, where they lost in six games to Hershey.
“Ryan Winterton was, at the most important time of the year, playing competitive games, playing in the playoffs,” said Dan Bylsma, who was named Kraken coach May 28 after spending the previous two seasons as coach of Coachella Valley. “He steps up in the finals and scores two in Game 6, and I think he had five or six goals in the finals (six). It’s just a sign of his progression throughout the year.”
Winterton said he learned a lot along the way.
“I’ve never really experienced anything like that before, and it was awesome just having the leaders (in the NHL)," he said. "I mean, we’ve got great leaders in Coachella too, but just looking and seeing how different the NHL is -- when you get out to practice, [you see] how much faster it is and how much better the guys are. It’s pretty eye-opening.
“It’s pretty motivating to get back up there. That’s obviously the dream and where you want to end up being.”
