China Games blog: Derek Ryan

Calgary Flames forward Derek Ryan will be keeping his own blog throughout the 2018 O.R.G. NHL China Games.
Ryan, 31, is entering his first season with the Flames. In his first entry, Ryan writes about bonding with his new teammates on the flight to Shenzhen, where the Flames will play the Boston Bruins on Saturday (2:30 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN), in the first of two preseason games.

SHENZHEN, China --This isn't exactly the most normal way to get training camp started, and for me and a few other guys on the team, to get acquainted with new teammates. But I must say, it's a great way to do it.
I signed a three-year contract with the Flames this summer, so this team is new to me. But to get my Calgary career kicked off here in China, where I'm basically forced to spend time with my new teammates, including some old teammates from the Carolina Hurricanes, is special and can go a long way because you want to create chemistry with the guys right off the bat.
RELATED: [Flames find chance to bond off ice at China Games | Complete NHL China Games coverage]
If you do, it can feed into a good start to your season. That's what I'm hoping, at least. That's what we're hoping as a team.
The 14-hour flight here was a great way to kick it off. Now I will say, when you know you have to travel 14 hours to a foreign country to practice and play two preseason games, it's a little different than preparing for, say, a trip to Edmonton for a preseason game.
You have to plan a bit. For example, the cell phone, you have to make sure it's going to work over here. There was some legwork on our end that we had to take care of with our visas. And whenever you're traveling on a plane for 14 hours, you have to plan for how you're going to pass the time. You have to get some shows to get ready and bring some books to read.
I did all that and the flight was productive, or at least as productive as one can be on a 14-hour flight.

I'm currently reading "Capital Gaines: Smart Things I Learned Doing Stupid Stuff," by Chip Gaines. It's his autobiography. I watched a lot of "Last Chance U" on Netflix, which was entertaining stuff. I also slept for a few hours.
Besides all that, I just hung out and got to get to know my teammates, especially my seatmate on the plane, Stoner, [defenseman] Michael Stone, who was a great source of knowledge about Calgary.
For example, he gave me advice on winter tires, whether I need those. Yes, as any Calgarian knows, I do need winter tires. I bought a new truck this summer and he said I'd be sliding all over the road if I don't have winter tires. I didn't have to worry about that in North Carolina.
He was also giving me advice on different areas to live. We're living in the West Springs area of Calgary now, testing that out, but I signed a three-year deal so my family, including my wife Bonnie, and our kids Zane, who is 4 ½, and August, who is 2, can move around a bit if I want to. [Stone] was great giving me the lay of the land for where we could go.
We were supposed to practice today, but our equipment bags did not clear customs until about an hour ago, so both teams cancelled their skates. Our whole team went to the gym in the hotel to get in a workout instead.
It's obviously not ideal to miss a day of practice, especially in training camp, but I feel like on my journey through my hockey career I'm pretty used to situations like this.
If you play in Europe like I did for four seasons, things usually don't go as planned. There are road trips when you're on the bus for seven or eight hours and before the game you stop at a gas station to have some coffee and cake as your pregame meal. It happens. You roll with it.
So a curveball like this, not being able to practice because of something out of our control, it's not the end of the world. I would have loved to get on the ice today; sometimes things happen you don't expect so work with it, deal with it and move on.
We're here to get as much of our work in as we can and play some preseason games, but we can also enjoy the experience of being in a different culture. I probably never would have given myself the chance to experience China if not for this trip, so I'm going to enjoy it as best I can no matter the circumstances and the curveballs that get thrown our way.