Former icer Van Ryn moves on

Plymouth - Things should be pretty interesting this season for would-be Michigan junior Mike Van Ryn if Saturday's exhibition game against the Windsor Spitfires is any indication of things to come.

The former Wolverine and his Sarnia Sting teammates had Saturday's game delayed one hour by a fire in the press box. The fire appeared to have been started intentionally by a couple of local delinquents, a representative of the host Plymouth Whalers said.

Van Ryn brought a little bit of his own fire to the ice on Saturday in his hockey return to the state of Michigan, assisting on the Sting's game-tying goal with under a minute to play in the third period. His play this weekend should be a sign of good things to come for the Sting, who have already named him one of their assistant captains and expect him one of the team's leaders

"Mike is a high-caliber player," Sarnia General Manager and head coach Mark Hunter said. "He's still just getting used to the guys, he's only been here three days, it's going to take him a little time to get used to the way we want him to play. He's a winner, he's been a winner everywhere he's gone. He was a winner at Michigan, he was a winner at the under 18 level, and at the National Junior level. I also expect him to be a leader to some of the younger players, and he's going to play a lot of minutes for us. We're excited that he's here and we know that he's going to make us a better hockey club."

Van Ryn's status had been a hot topic in Ann Arbor and the rest of the college hockey world all summer. Van Ryn's decision to play for the Sting of the Ontario Hockey League was not made official until last Thursday, Hunter said. Prior to that, Van Ryn was expected to play for the Canadian National Team.

"I didn't decide to come to Sarnia until a couple days ago when I was at the Canadian National Camp," Van Ryn said.

"It was a tough decision all the way. Every route I could take was great. I loved it at the University of Michigan, I loved everything about it, but I needed a couple more things."

One of the biggest factors in Van Ryn's decision to leave Michigan was the lack of games played in college hockey, but Van Ryn opted for Sarnia over the Canadian National Team for different reasons.

"I thought I was going to the National team, but when I got there I just had second thoughts," Van Ryn said. "When I came to Sarnia I just really felt comfortable. They've been A-1 from the start. They drafted me when I was fifteen and they've kept me protected ever since. They knew that I had my heart set on going to the University of Michigan, and they never pressured me to do otherwise."

For now, the Sting couldn't be happier to have Van Ryn skating for them.

"We know he was weighing some other options and we're just glad that he decided to play for us," Hunter said.

But Van Ryn's stay with the Sting will be short-lived. Van Ryn is already one of the Sting's three over-agers (players who are already 20 years old). Under the rules of the OHL just three players with a birthday before 1979 can play on a team.

Van Ryn's destined-to-be-short stay with the Sting (this can be his only season) may be an attempt to avoid playing for the National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils. The Devils, who drafted Van Ryn 26th in the first round of the 1998 NHL Draft, are notorious for low-balling their rookies and for keeping them in the minors.

But according to NHL rules, the Devils only hold the rights to Van Ryn for two years, after which he becomes a free agent.

Whether or not Van Ryn is using the Sting as a fire escape from New Jersey is uncertain. But for now, he hopes that he's made the right decision for his future.

09-20-99