Ryan Callahan

Ryan Callahan
Callahan with the Tampa Bay Lightning in March 2014
Born	(1985-03-21) March 21, 1985 Rochester, New York, U.S.
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	186 lb (84 kg; 13 st 4 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shoots	Right
NHL team Former teams	Tampa Bay Lightning New York Rangers
National team	United States
NHL Draft	127th overall, 2004 New York Rangers
Playing career	2006–present

Ryan G. Callahan (born March 21, 1985) is an American professional ice hockey right winger and an alternate captain for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the New York Rangers, serving as their captain. He is of Italian and Irish descent.^[1]

Playing career

Amateur

Callahan played one year of high school ice hockey for Hilton High School. He then began his junior career with the Rochester Junior Americans of the Empire Junior B Hockey League, where he played for two seasons, 1999 to 2001. He then played with the Syracuse Jr. Crunch and Buffalo Lightning of the OPJHL before moving on to a four-year Ontario Hockey League (OHL) stint with the Guelph Storm, where he played alongside future Ranger teammate Daniel Girardi. Callahan turned professional with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL), where he played most of the 2006–07 season.

New York Rangers

Callahan in October 2011.

Ryan Callahan in February 2011.

Callahan received his first NHL call-up to the Rangers on November 28, 2006,^[2] making his NHL debut on December 1, but he would only play in that one game before being sent back down to the Wolf Pack. He was called up for a second time on December 19,^[3] but would again only play in one NHL game in that stint. Toward the end of the season, Callahan was called up for the third and final time on March 15, 2007, after scoring 35 goals in 60 AHL games, and he would stay with the Rangers through the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs.^[4] Two days later, on March 17, he scored his first two NHL goals against Joey MacDonald of the Boston Bruins. He scored his first career assist on March 21 and first career game-winning goal on April 1. He scored his first two NHL playoff goals in a 7–0 win in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal against the Atlanta Thrashers on April 17, 2007.

After scoring one goal in the first eight games of the 2007–08 season with the Rangers, Callahan was out for a month with a grade two knee sprain.^[5] He did not quickly regain his strength at the NHL level, going his next 16 games without a goal, prompting the Rangers to send him back to the Wolf Pack on January 7, 2008.^[6] After 11 games in Hartford, he was called up on February 3 to replace an injured Brendan Shanahan in the Rangers' line-up against the Montreal Canadiens.^[7] Callahan tallied his second career two-goal game against the San Jose Sharks on February 17.

The following season, 2008–09, was Callahan's breakout year. On October 1, 2008, he scored the game-winning goal for the Rangers with 20 seconds left in the inaugural Victoria Cup; the Rangers defeated Metallurg Magnitogorsk by a 4–3 tally.^[8] In the regular season, he was third on the Rangers with 22 goals and fifth on the team with 40 total points. Callahan was also awarded the Rangers' Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award for his hard work throughout the season,^[9] and scored the winning goal in the team's playoff-clinching win in the final home game of the season. In the subsequent off-season, on July 13, 2009, Callahan was re-signed by the Rangers.^[10]

Callahan was named an alternate captain of the Rangers on October 2, 2009, to begin the 2009–10 season.^[11] He suffered a broken hand on December 15, 2010, in Pittsburgh when he blocked a shot. He missed 19 games while recovering.^[12]

On March 6, 2011, Callahan scored four goals and one assist as the Rangers beat the Philadelphia Flyers 7–0, simultaneously achieving the first hat-trick, four-goal game and five-point game of his NHL career.^[13] He then suffered a broken ankle in the team's 79th game of the season against the Boston Bruins after blocking a Zdeno Chára slapshot in the final minutes.^[14]

On September 12, 2011, at the age of 26, Callahan was named the 26th captain in the history of the New York Rangers.^[15] He became the fifth-youngest captain in team history and the first homegrown captain since Brian Leetch in October 1997.^[16] Callahan was also the first native of the State of New York to serve as the Rangers' team captain.^[17] On February 11, 2012, Callahan scored his second hat-trick against the Philadelphia Flyers.

On February 25, 2012, Callahan scored his 100th career NHL goal, which came in overtime against the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden.^[18] In the 2012 playoffs, he led the Rangers to their first Conference Final appearance since 1997; he also scored the first and last goals of the Rangers post-season as New York eventually fell to the New Jersey Devils in six games.

During the 2013–14 season, contract extension talks with the Rangers stalled, as the two parties were apparently $500,000 per season apart for six years – Callahan was asking $39 million for six years while New York was firm at $36 million for six years.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Callahan with the Tampa Bay Lightning in December 2014

On March 5, 2014, the Tampa Bay Lightning traded captain Martin St. Louis and a second-round draft pick in 2015 (conditional at the time of the trade) to the New York Rangers in exchange for Callahan, a first-round pick in 2015, a first-round pick in 2014 (conditional at the time of the trade) and a seventh-round pick in 2015 (conditional at the time of the trade). Both of the first-round draft picks that were acquired by the Lightning in the trade were later traded to the New York Islanders. On June 25, 2014, five days before free agency was to begin, Callahan signed a six-year contract extension worth an annual average value of $5.8 million to stay with the Lightning.^[19]

On May 11, 2015, during the 2015 playoffs, Callahan underwent an emergency appendectomy. He missed Game 6 against the Montreal Canadiens as a result of the procedure.^[20] Just five days after having surgery, however, Callahan returned to the lineup for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final against his former team, the New York Rangers.^[21] The Lightning eventually defeated the Rangers in seven games. After the Lightning defeated the Rangers, the team would move on to the Stanley Cup Final where they were defeated in six games by the eventual Stanley Cup Champions Chicago Blackhawks.^[22]

On October 7, 2015, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper announced that Callahan will wear a permanent "A" as an alternate captain for the 2015–16 NHL season.^[23]

On June 21, 2016, Callahan had surgery to repair a labral tear in his right hip. Callahan is expected to be out for at least five months. Callahan had been dealing with the injury since the end of the regular season and throughout the playoffs as the Lightning advanced to the Eastern Conference Final. Due to the injury Callahan will not be participating in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto.^[24]

International play

Callahan (with puck) and Joe Pavelski move up ice against Canada during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
	2010 Vancouver	Tournament

On January 1, 2010, Callahan was named to the Team USA roster for participation at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, with which he earned a silver medal with, falling to Canada in the tournament final.

Callahan also played in the following Winter Olympics, 2014, for the United States, although the team failed to medal, losing 5–0 to Finland in the bronze medal game.

On May 27, 2016, Team USA named Callahan to its 2016 World Cup of Hockey roster. Callahan was named as part of the final seven selections to fill out the reminder of the World Cup roster.^[25] Due to a labral tear in his hip, Callahan is expected to miss the World Cup.^[26]

Personal life

Callahan lists Brendan Shanahan as his favorite player growing up.^[27]

On September 16, 2016, the Ryan Callahan Foundation announced their new website and that it will begin their mission to provide moments of family unity to those battling pediatric cancer. The foundation is composed of three elements; Cally's crew, the "2-4" Club, and direct funding efforts to support local and independent cancer foundations in search of a cure. The aim of Cally's Crew is to afford patients and families undergoing pediatric cancer treatment the chance to attend a Tampa Bay Lightning home game in the Ryan Callahan Foundation's suite at Amalie Arena. The "2-4" club functions as a Make-a-Wish style program that provides families with the opportunity to escape cancer treatments with an all-expense paid trip, experience, or excursion on a monthly basis. Families undergoing treatment will share their stories via the Ryan Callahan Foundation website in order to promote a community of strength and togetherness. From these postings, the foundation will select monthly recipients of the "2-4" club escapes. With respect to the support of local and national charities, the foundation will use monetary funding and also raise awareness for other campaigns to accelerate the timeline towards the elimination of pediatric cancer.^[28]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2005	United States	WJC	4th		7	1	2	3	29
2010	United States	OG	02 !		6	0	1	1	2
2014	United States	OG	4th		6	0	1	1	0
Junior totals					7	1	2	3	29
Senior totals					12	0	2	2	2

Awards and honors

Transactions

• June 27, 2004 – Drafted by the New York Rangers in the fourth round, 127th overall.
• July 27, 2011 – Signed a three-year, $12.825 million with the New York Rangers.^[29]
• March 5, 2014 – traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Martin St. Louis, a first-round pick (2015) and a conditional second-round pick (2014).^[30]
• June 25, 2014 - Signed a six-year, $34.8 million with the Tampa Bay Lightning.^[31]

References

External links

• Ryan Callahan's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Ryan Callahan's player profile at TSN.ca
• Ryan Callahan's player profile at NHL.com