Defenseman Ryan Murray was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets second overall in the 2012 NHL Draft. He missed most of last season after sustaining a shoulder injury last November playing for the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League. Murray had two goals and 17 points in 23 games for the Silvertips prior to his injury that sidelined him nine months. Murray (6-foot, 201 pounds) has offered to maintain a blog for NHL.com during the Traverse City Prospects Tournament this week in Michigan.

Well, it was bit of an ugly one here in our tournament finale against the Dallas Stars [a 7-1 loss in the third-place game].

We couldn't really put it together and we got off to a rough start and just kind of fell off the wagon a bit. There are a lot of guys, including myself, who will look back on that game and say they could have done a lot better. We didn't come together as a team and I definitely didn't play my best game.

Defenseman Ryan Murray was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets second overall at the 2012 NHL Draft. He missed most of last season after sustaining a shoulder injury last November playing for the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League. Murray had two goals and 17 points in 23 games for the Silvertips prior to his injury that sidelined him nine months. The 6-foot, 201-pound left-hander has offered to maintain a blog for NHL.com during the Traverse City Prospects Tournament this week in Michigan.

Hello again hockey fans!

Our game against the New York Rangers just ended and I'm happy to report that we came out on top [with a 4-2 victory].

On our off-day on Saturday, I didn't do too much. We relaxed a bit and did some mini-putting. I was playing in a foursome with Boone Jenner, Jake Hansen and Jeremy Langlois. Hansen won out of our group; I wasn't very good.

But back to the game, it was a pretty physical affair out there tonight. They are all really intense games and there were a lot of fights against the Rangers. There's a lot of emotion on the ice, so I'm not surprised that there are that many fights when there's a lot of physical play out there over the course of a game.

Defenseman Ryan Murray was chosen by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the second pick of the 2012 NHL Draft. He missed most of last season after sustaining a shoulder injury in November playing for the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League. Murray had two goals and 17 points in 23 games for the Silvertips prior to his injury that sidelined him for nine months. The 6-foot, 201-pound left-hander has offered to maintain a blog for NHL.com during the Traverse City Prospects Tournament this week in Michigan.

Hi everyone!

I'm here in Traverse City and two games are in the books; we're currently 1-1.

We took the seven-hour bus drive from Columbus, Ohio, and had dinner when we arrived on Wednesday night and then went straight into Game 1 on Thursday [against the Buffalo Sabres]. It just feels good to be travelling and be on the road again with the guys.

Well, I'm proud to announce I'm a Columbus Blue Jacket.

I have to admit, I was really nervous and really excited at the start of the Draft. I was kind of ready to jump out of my seat there, but I'm just really honored and happy to be a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

While waiting for the No. 1 pick, I guess it crossed my mind that I could go first overall. I guess that's something you have to think about. I was pretty nervous before that pick and Edmonton got a great player in in Nail [Yakupov].He's a fantastic forward and has great skills, and he'll do great things for them.

It was a lot of fun coming down to Pittsburgh. I got to see some of the city and the NHL really took care of us. The League kind of toured us around and we got to do some fun activities and got to go hit some balls at PNC Park. We were on the river in a boat to see the city. It was cool and a lot of fun.

I just want a chance to play [in Columbus] and take I'll take it step-by-step and day-by-day. Obviously they're in a rebuilding mode right now and I'm really glad I can be a part of that. It's a young franchise so if I get a chance to play there, you can kind of write the history books.

Of course, I'll focus on making the team, but if I'm there I'd be very happy to work with [Craig Hartsburg] too. He's taught me a lot over the years and he's really been a big influence and a big part of the reason I'm here today.

Well, thanks for reading. Time to celebrate with my family.

Defenseman Ryan Murray is captain of the Everett Silvertips in the Western Hockey League. The 6-foot, 182-pound native of Saskatchewan won a bronze medal playing for Team Canada at the 2012 World Junior Championship and was also the second-youngest player to ever appear for Canada at the Men's World Championship. Despite his busy schedule, Murray will log his experiences leading up to the 2012 NHL Draft in Pittsburgh this week for NHL.com.

Hey everyone, thanks for stopping by to read my blog once again.

Well, here we are -- it’s finally draft week. The past year has actually flown by with so much going on, and the draft kind of snuck up on me, to be honest. It’s been a really fun and exciting year leading up to this point, and now I’m just excited to see what’s going to happen on Friday [in the first round]. I’d have to say I’m also a little bit nervous and anxious, but mostly just looking forward to the draft.

I’ll be getting into Pittsburgh late [on Tuesday] and will have a couple of busy days ahead of me before Friday comes around. My family [parents and siblings] and my billet from Everett will be in town with me as well. It will definitely be cool having them all there and getting to share this experience with them.

This will be my first visit to Pittsburgh. I’ve heard great things about it being a nice city and the CONSOL Energy Center being a beautiful rink. I know they’ve got quite a few activities planned for us and we might even get to take batting practice at PNC Park [home of the Pirates], so that would be really cool to do. I’m looking forward to getting there, seeing everything and getting started.

For me, it seems like this draft is pretty unpredictable. I really have no clue where I’ll end up going, and I don’t really think the other guys do either. Anything can happen on Friday, that’s for sure. I think there’s definitely going to be some things happen that nobody will expect. That seems to be how it goes on draft day. It’s happened in previous years and this year will probably be no different.

Right now I think I’m just looking forward to Friday and getting to the draft itself. It’s something that everybody has been waiting for and excited about for a long time now. It’s hard to imagine the moment when I get drafted, going up to the stage and putting the jersey on.

I’ve watched the draft every year since I was a little kid, and it’s still hard to think of myself going up and doing that. I think it will probably just kind of hit me once I’m there in the building on Friday and everything is unfolding in front of me. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens when 7 p.m. [ET] rolls around.

Thanks again for reading my blog and I’ll see you on Friday!

Defenseman Ryan Murray is captain of the Everett Silvertips in the Western Hockey League. The 6-foot, 182-pound native of Saskatchewan won a bronze medal playing for Team Canada at the 2012 World Junior Championship and was also the second-youngest player to ever appear for Canada at the Men's World Championships. Despite his busy schedule, Murray submitted one final blog on Friday upon his completion of the 2012 NHL Scouting Combine.

Hi everyone. The NHL Combine has come and gone.

I got a good sleep [Thursday] night and wasn't too nervous. I think I had a little too much to eat [Friday] morning though. I had a big breakfast and that didn't hold up too well -- after the Wingate test I felt good for a couple minutes. I felt that wasn't so hard, and then went into the back room and started getting nauseous and, as soon as I sat down, felt really dizzy and just wasn't feeling well. So I figured I'd just force it out since I was going to do the VO2 Max next.

I kind of knew what to expect a little bit. I knew it would be tough and it was.

At the start of the testing, there are scouts everywhere just sort of staring at you as you're going through the testing and it's a bit intimidating, but I just tried to block them out and focus on the test. I thought the Wingate wasn't that hard because it was only 30 seconds; I just closed my eyes and just went as hard as I could. I thought the VO2 was harder.

During the VO2, at around the eight-minute mark, you're trying to keep up with the RPM's and going absolutely full out and you're breathing through the tube and it's a little different because they're plugging your nose. You're trying to get air and going so long, you completely max your body out.

Overall, I had fun and despite being a little nervous for the first couple of interviews, I was fine after the first two or three. It was most of the same stuff and I just felt more comfortable. I got to meet some new guys here at the testing and it was very tough, but very satisfying afterwards when you can kind of take a seat. I can honestly say I really pushed my body to the limit.

Thanks for reading my blog during the NHL Combine. Next up ... the NHL Draft.

Defenseman Ryan Murray, No. 2 on NHL Central Scouting's list of the top draft-eligible North American skaters, served as captain of the Everett Silvertips in the Western Hockey League this season. The 6-foot, 182-pound native of Saskatchewan won a bronze medal playing for Team Canada at the 2012 World Junior Championship and was also the second-youngest player to ever appear for Canada at the Men's World Championships. Despite his busy schedule, Murray will submit two blogs for NHL.com during the 2012 NHL Scouting Combine this week in Toronto.

I finally arrived at the NHL Combine on Tuesday night and began the interviewing process on Wednesday. It's been quite a year. I just returned from the Men's World Championships in Finland and Sweden and that was a pretty incredible experience. Just going over there and being able to meet those top guys and playing with them was something very special.

One team gave me a personality-type test, wanting to get to know me a little better I guess. Other teams have done this with me before, but they either came to Everett or sent me the stuff in the email.

During the interviews, everybody has their scouts and guys in the rooms, and everyone has a little bit of a different tone or attitude toward the questions their asking. But everybody has been really nice. I've heard some horror stories in years' past about the Combine, but luckily nothing like that has happened to me.

I haven't received a whole lot of whacky questions. But one team did ask if they were wasting their time seeing me. I just said, 'I hope not.' I haven't prepared much for the bike tests scheduled Friday. I just got back from Europe last Friday and took a few days off this week. I was working out a little bit to keep in shape.

I hope to learn from this experience and having an opportunity to talk to the scouts is great. They all have their own opinions of you and what they thought about you during the year, so it's just good to hear some feedback regarding your play. The feedback has been good and the scouts have been kind. There have been questions about my family and what kind of player I feel I am.

I have never met [top prospect] Nail Yakupov [of Sarnia], but I'll probably meet him in New York when we go over there. I'll most likely get to see him here at the Combine as well.

When I learned that Edmonton won the draft lottery, it really didn't faze me too much. It really doesn't have much to do with me. I know [the Oilers] need a defenseman, but at the end of the day, anything can happen on draft day. I just take as a grain of sand, and not make a big deal about it. I don't have any expectations.

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for reading. I'll file one more blog after my fitness test on Friday.

Defenseman Ryan Murray is captain of the Everett Silvertips in the Western Hockey League. The 6-foot, 182-pound native of Saskatchewan was recently named captain for Team Cherry at the 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Kelowna, B.C. He took second place in 'Hardest Shot' at the Top Prospects Skills Competition with a blast of 94.3 mph. He recently won a bronze medal playing for Team Canada at the 2012 World Junior Championship. Despite the busy schedule, Murray continues to provide a monthly blog for NHL.com that will chronicle his season leading up to the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Well, it's all over in Kelowna.

Our team [Team Cherry] lost, 2-1. It was a good game and everyone was working really hard; it was pretty intense out there and I thought all the guys played really great. There were a lot of nervous skaters in the first period but, after that, everyone kind of settled in.

In the end, it's unfortunate [I took a penalty that led to their winning goal]. I didn't think that would be a [slashing] penalty to tell you the truth, but I can't blame it on the refs. It's too bad it ended that way.

There were chances out there and I thought goalie Matt Murray played extremely well for us. He made a couple of huge saves to keep us in it and so did the other goalies. I guess it's a little bit weird playing with guys you never played with before because you have to get use to them in a very short amount of time. But I thought we had our chances but the goalies were coming up big out there.

It was great that a guy like [Mark] Recchi could come to an event like this and you can really learn from a guy like that who has done so much in his career and it's great that he's already starting to give back to the game after his career. It's great he can come out here and coach and the same goes for [Ryan Huska]. He helped out here in his home city so it was good.

So now that the Top Prospects Game is over, I have to keep playing hard. We're in a playoff stretch here and that's the thing I'm most focused on now, is trying to help [the Everett Silvertips] make the playoffs and if I can do that then everything else will fall into place.

Thanks for reading about my experiences at the Top Prospects Game this week everyone. Check back next month for a new update.

Defenseman Ryan Murray is captain of the Everett Silvertips in the Western Hockey League. The 6-foot, 182-pound native of Saskatchewan was recently named captain for Team Cherry at the 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Kelowna, B.C. He took second place in 'Hardest Shot' at the Top Prospects Skills Competition with a blast of 94.3 mph. He recently won a bronze medal playing for Team Canada at the 2012 World Junior Championship. Despite the busy schedule, Murray continues to provide a monthly blog for NHL.com that will chronicle his season leading up to the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Hi all. I just finished up at the Top Prospects Skills Competition and was pretty happy to get second in the hardest shot event. It's a pretty simple event. You just go in there, wind up and smack it as hard as you can ... not much skill to it. But it was fun.

I told (Nick Ebert) before he went up for his shot that he was going to beat me, because I knew he had a pretty hard shot. And Nick did wind up winning (with a shot of 94.7 mph). I really hadn't recorded my shot in quite some time -- last time I checked, I hit the puck 37 mph.

I thought maybe I could have done well in the fastest skater event. I love the breakaway shootouts, for sure. That would have been fun, as well. Overall, though, this was great. It's nice that they mix in some fun with the game. I know everybody is kind of nervous. You have one game to kind of prove yourself in front of a ton of scouts, so it's good to loosen things up with the skills competition.

That 3-on-3we had in the end was a little tiring. Staying out there for 40-second shifts is a long time when you only have three guys on the ice. There's a lot of skating out there. I give credit to the goalies. I thought the goaltending was good. They are forced to stop shootouts and it gets tough on the goalies. Even on those 3-on-3's ... there's a lot of backdoor passes and they were good sports with everything that was going on.

I can tell you there's a lot of excitement for (Wednesday's Top Prospects Game). Everyone in the locker room is excited and nervous at the same time. But these are the games we all love to play and everybody is watching, so it'll be fun.

I've seen some scouts during my stay here in Kelowna while at my hotel, but they've stayed clear and out of everyone's way for the most part. There was a New York Rangers scout in our elevator (Tuesday), so they're kind of around. He didn't ask any serious questions or anything. He just said hello and told me to have fun. They introduce themselves, but aren't asking any serious draft questions.

Well, time to get some sleep before practice Wednesday morning and the game in the evening. Thanks for reading.

Defenseman Ryan Murray is captain of the Everett Silvertips in the Western Hockey League. The 6-foot, 182-pound native of Saskatchewan was recently named captain for Team Cherry at the 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Kelowna, B.C. He recently won a bronze medal playing for Team Canada at the 2012 World Junior Championship. Despite the busy schedule, Murray continues to provide a monthly blog for NHL.com that will chronicle his season leading up to the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Hi everyone!

Ryan Murray (Credit: Christopher Mast)

First of all, I'm really looking forward at having the chance in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. It is going to be a lot of fun and a great opportunity for myself as well as other players in the CHL to showcase themselves. It is going to be an intense game, like it always is, and I think that will make it even more fun.

They haven't told me what skill I am going to do yet, so I'm getting a little bit nervous for that. I did the passing into the six nets at the NHL RDO camp in August, and that was pretty tough. I would like to have another crack at that one. I think that is the one that I would be best at, since I consider passing one of the key elements to my game.
 
It was a pretty eventful month for me. The World Junior Championship was an amazing experience. Hockey Canada took great care of us for the entire month, and there was a great group of guys on that team.

The fans [in Edmonton and Calgary] were absolutely incredible, I have never seen anything like it. You couldn't hear yourself think sometimes during those games. There are not enough good things that I can say about the experience, and playing at home was extremely special.

The game against Russia for me isn't one to forget, but one to remember. It was one of the biggest hockey lessons I have learned in my life. Three pucks deflected in off me, and one bounced off my skate right to a Russia player wide open in the slot. It was the hardest thing to overcome in my career. I learned that no matter how bad things get, I have to move on from them and can't dwell on the past. It was great that we could regroup as a team after that game and come home with a bronze medal ... something that was very important to all of us. The medal is now in my room, and will probably get put in a frame later on.
 
Here in Everett, we have had a tough season. The first half was full of injuries and inconsistencies and we never could get rolling. The second half so far has been much better, as we are all learning what it takes for us to be successful and the effort that success demands. With all of our first year players, I think a lot of them are beginning to realize how you need to play every single night in order for our team to be successful. We are currently in a hunt for the playoffs with 4 teams, and it is going to be a very exciting second half.