Ryan Oulahen

Ryan Oulahen
Date of birth	March 26, 1985
place of birth	Newmarket , Ontario , Canada
size	185 cm
Weight	88 kg
position	Left wing
number	# 16
Shot hand	Left
Draft
NHL Entry Draft	2003 , 5th lap, 164th position Detroit Red Wings
Career stations
2000-2001	Wexford Raiders
2001-2002	Newmarket Hurricanes
2002-2005	Brampton Battalion
2005-2010	Grand Rapids Griffins

Ryan Oulahen (born March 26, 1985 in Newmarket , Ontario ) is a former Canadian ice hockey striker and currently head coach of the Flint Firebirds in the Ontario Hockey League .

Career

Ryan Oulahen first played in lower-class Canadian junior leagues, including for the Wexford Raiders and then in the second-rate junior league OPJHL at his home club Newmarket Hurricanes . After a good season in which he scored 18 goals and was able to prepare 17, he moved to the high-class Ontario Hockey League with the Brampton Battalion . In Brampton he was able to assert himself through good performances in the squad and came to 43 points in 61 games. The Detroit Red Wings then selected him in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft in the fifth round at position 164.

Oulahen remained in the OHL, but could not build on the performance of the previous season in the following season due to injuries. Only in the playoffs , where the battalion reached the second round, did he get back to his old form. His best year with the juniors was 2004/05. Oulahen led the Brampton Battalion as team captain and was the team's third-best scorer with 58 points behind Wojtek Wolski and Luciano Aquino . Also in the playoffs he convinced with five points in five games, but missed the sixth game of the first round, which led to the elimination of the team, due to a concussion . At the end of the season he was voted the best outnumbered player and second best defensive striker by the coaches of the Eastern Conference.

Oulahen moved in the fall of 2005 to the seniors in the American Hockey League , where he should play for the Grand Rapids Griffins , the farm team of the Detroit Red Wings. He had a solid debut season with 19 points in 75 games, but mainly convinced by his defensive play. In the playoffs, in which the Griffins moved into the Conference finals, he remained pointless in all 16 games.

In the 2006/07 season he mainly developed his game as a two-way striker and also rose in the hierarchy of the team, so that he temporarily ran up as an alternate captain due to injuries to other players. He finished the season with eleven goals and 16 assists , but the Griffins failed in the playoffs in the first round.

During the 2007/08 season Oulahen rose to the lead player and shared the post of team captain of the Griffins with older teammates Garrett Stafford and Mark Cullen . He also played his best season to date with 30 points scored and his contract was extended for another year in the summer of 2008.

In the following season he was again one of the pillars in the defensive game and was even used as a defender for a short time. He was one of the most important players, especially in the Griffins' outnumbered game, which was ranked among the best in the league. At the end of February 2009 he scored his 15th goal of the season, setting a new personal record after having improved it with 14 goals in the previous year. At the end of the season there were 19 hits and 31 scorer points. Both personal records. However, shortly before the end of the season on March 27, he suffered a serious hip injury, which is why he missed the playoffs and instead acted as assistant coach.

Due to the lengthy healing process and several hip operations, Oulahen had to postpone his comeback again and again during the 2009/10 season and finally had to cancel it completely due to persistent pain. After another operation in June 2010, the doctors advised him to retire and Oulahen finally followed this advice.

At the time of his retirement, Oulahen was AHL record player in the Grand Rapids Griffins with 302 appearances.

In January 2011 Oulahen took over the post as assistant coach with his former junior team Brampton Battalion. In 2016 he took over as head coach of the Flint Firebirds .

Achievements and Awards

• 2005 Best undernumbered player in the OHL -Eastern Conference

Career statistics

				Regular season						Play-offs
season	team	league		Sp	T	V	Pt	SM		Sp	T	V	Pt	SM
2000/01	Wexford Raiders	Minor ON		66	38	58	96	18th
2001/02	Newmarket Hurricanes	OPJHL		49	18th	17th	35	4th
2002/03	Brampton Battalion	OHL		61	21st	22nd	43	6th		11	2	1	3	2
2003/04	Brampton Battalion	OHL		57	17th	18th	35	26th		12	3	7th	10	6th
2004/05	Brampton Battalion	OHL		64	27	31	58	22nd		5	1	4th	5	4th
2005/06	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		75	9	10	19th	20th		16	0	0	0	2
2006/07	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		79	11	16	27	42		7th	0	2	2	4th
2007/08	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		75	14th	16	30th	47		-	-	-	-	-
2008/09	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		73	19th	12	31	31		-	-	-	-	-
Minor ON total				66	38	38	96	18th
OPJHL total				49	18th	17th	35	4th
OHL total				182	65	71	136	54		28	6th	12	18th	12
AHL total				302	53	54	107	140		23	0	2	2	6th

( Legend for player statistics: Sp or GP = games played; T or G = goals scored; V or A = assists scored ; Pkt or Pts = scorer points scored ; SM or PIM = penalty minutes received ; +/− = plus / minus balance; PP = overpaid goals scored ; SH = underpaid goals scored ; GW = winning goals scored; ¹  play-downs / relegation )

Web links

• Ryan Oulahen at eliteprospects.com (English)
• Ryan Oulahen at hockeydb.com (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hip injury forces longtime Griffins player Ryan Oulahen to adjust to life after hockey