Joakim Ryan’s NHL debut on Thursday stands out as one of the best in Sharks history.
Since the NHL began tracking time on ice in 1997, only one Sharks defenseman logged more ice time in their debut than Ryan’s 21:24 on Thursday night: Christian Ehrhoff, who played 22:48 in his first NHL game 14 years ago.
Ehrhoff quickly earned the trust of then-head coach Ron Wilson, just as Ryan appears to have earned the trust of Peter DeBoer. He also stands to give his coach plenty to think about moving forward.
The 2012 seventh round pick only made his debut last night due to Paul Martin’s move to injured reserve, but Ryan looked great in the 36-year-old’s place.