Shared Dream, Different Journeys

When the New York Rangers selected Alexis Lafreniere with the first overall pick in this month's Draft, his path to the NHL became clear and simple. Lafreniere, played major junior hockey in Quebec, will join the Rangers in the coming season, making the jump straight to the NHL.
The top picks in the NHL Draft have that direct route but their counterparts drafted after may have to take a few stops along the way. Outside of the top two or three picks in the draft, most every player will return to his amateur team for further development and evaluation.

Some of these players still have a somewhat direct journey to the NHL, such as former Seattle Thunderbirds star Matthew Barzal. He returned to Seattle and the Western Hockey League for two more seasons after being drafted by the New York Islanders in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft. After leading Seattle to win the WHL Championship in 2017, Barzal jumped straight to the NHL and won rookie-of-the-year honors in 2018.
Barzal didn't make a stop in developmental pro leagues. After they are finished with juniors teams, many players spend time in the American Hockey League, East Coast Hockey League or international pro leagues-all stops help players mature physically, mentally and emotionally, especially when competing against older competitors. The path to the NHL is rarely a straight line.

For instance, drafted three rounds after Barzal in 2015, Mathieu Joseph was sent to the AHL's Syracuse Crunch when his career with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) ended. Following a strong rookie season with Syracuse in which he scored 15 goals, Joseph cracked the NHL lineup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018.
His journey isn't quite over as he split last season between the Lightning and Syracuse. Joseph was invited to the bubble hub cities with the Stanley Cup-winning Lightning, but didn't play in any postseason games. The 23-year-old will try to stick full time in the upcoming season.
The Dallas Stars drafted winger Denis Gurianov in the first round, with the 12th, in that same 2015 Draft. He was playing in Russia for Loga Togliatti when the Stars scouting staff decided he was their choice. Loga Togliatti is a franchise in the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia. The KHL is a pro league that is a step down from the NHL's level of talent but can be a good measuring stick for how a player might perform in the NHL. Most hockey analytics experts consider the KHL as the most direct comparison for how a prospect will fare in the NHL.
Gurianov played one more KHL season after being drafted and then joined the AHL's Texas Stars as a full-time player in 2016. He again started in the AHL for the 2018-2019 season but was called up to the NHL for 21 games as he split time between the two leagues.

This past season, Gurianov worked himself inot the lineup and played 64 NHL games, scoring 20 goals. He contributed in a big way for Dallas as the Stars advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. He scored four times against Calgary in Game 6 to his club move on to the second round. After playing in Russia, and 190 AHL games, Gurianov's journey to the NHL is on a solid track.
Born just north of Seattle in Mount Vernon and raised in Everett, T.J. Oshie's NHL path took him to Minnesota and North Dakota. He left the Pacific Northwest at 14 to play high school hockey for the famed Warroad program in Minnesota. He impressed NHL scouts there and was drafted late in the first round of the 2005 draft by the St. Louis Blues.
Instead of heading straight to St. Louis, Oshie played three years NCAA hockey powerhouse University of North Dakota. He made the leap straight to the NHL after his UND junior year and has appeared in more than 800 games for the Blues and the Washington Capitals, winning a Stanley Cup with the Caps two years ago.
While Oshie's NHL journey took him across North America, another Northwesterner has him beat in terms of miles traveled. Spokane native Derek Ryan has played over 300 NHL games with the Carolina Hurricanes and Calgary Flames and his path is remarkable. After four seasons playing in the WHL for his hometown Chiefs from 2003 to 2007, Ryan went undrafted by the NHL. He continued his hockey career while getting an education for the next four seasons with the University of Alberta.

Ryan played well as a Canada collegian - he was named league MVP in 2011 - and that landed him a pro contract in Hungary playing for Alba Volan Szekesfehrvar in the Austrian League (EBEL). After one season, Ryan moved to another Austrian league team, EC VSV, where he would lead the EBEL in goals with 38 and earned another MVP award.
Ryan's one season with EC VSV prompted his signing with Orebo HK of the more prestigious Swedish Hockey League. There he won his third league MVP award and started to hear from the NHL. Then GM in Carolina, Ron Francis signed Ryan to an NHL contract in 2015.
"Derek proved he belonged in the NHL last season," said Francis at the time. "He brings skill and versatility to our lineup and sets an example for our younger players with his character and determination off the ice."
Ryan spent his first year in the AHL with the Charlotte Checkers before finally breaking the Hurricanes roster as a regular in 2016, nearly a decade after leaving Spokane. The NHL Draft is an exciting time for prospective pro players but it's just the first step in a journey. It might take some players to trek throughout the globe before skating onto NHL ice. Players like Ryan prove the draft isn't the only way to the NHL. If you can play, the NHL will find you.