Reaves made sure the first goal he scored for the Vegas Golden Knights was one for the record books.

Reaves, a fourth-line forward acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 26, 2018, had played 26 games (21 in the regular season, five in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, without scoring a goal. That changed May 20, when he deflected a shot by Luca Sbisa into the net for the winning goal in a 2-1 victory against the Winnipeg Jets in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final, putting the first-year Golden Knights into the Stanley Cup Final.

In the next two seasons, Reaves continued to contribute add offensive to the physical game that has always been his strength, scoring nine goals in 2018-19 and eight in 2019-20 as part of one of hockey's best fourth lines.

But if not for football, Reaves might never have played hockey.

His father, Willard, moved from Arizona (far from a hockey hotbed at the time) to Winnipeg, where he starred for the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Ryan was born in Winnipeg in 1987 during his dad's playing days.

Ryan played football and hockey growing up before deciding to pursue hockey after being selected by Brandon in the 2002 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft. After the first of his three seasons with Brandon, he was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the fifth round (No. 156) of the 2005 NHL Draft.

He turned pro and split the 2007-08 season between Peoria of the American Hockey League and Alaska of the ECHL. In 2008-09 he began to blossom, getting 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) and taking 130 penalty minutes for Peoria. He had 11 points (four goals, seven assists) and led Peoria with 167 penalty minutes in 2009-10.

Reaves made his NHL debut Oct. 11, 2010, against the Anaheim Ducks, and was assessed 15 penalty minutes. He scored his first NHL goal against Jonas Hiller and the Ducks on Jan. 12, 2011, and finished his first season in the League with two goals and four points.

His first full NHL season (60 games) in 2011-12 and made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut April 12, 2012, against the San Jose Sharks. Reaves led the Blues with 79 penalty minutes in 2012-13.

Reaves again led the Blues in penalty minutes in 2013-14 with 126, finishing with eight points (two goals, six assists), and was second on St. Louis with 211 hits. He improved offensively in 2014-15, finishing with 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 81 games, and led the Blues with 116 penalty minutes.

After NHL career bests of seven goals and 13 points in 2016-17, Reaves was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on June 22, 2017. He had eight points (four goals, four assists) in 58 games for Pittsburgh before being traded to Vegas.

Reaves played four seasons in Vegas, including scoring an NHL career-high 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 2018-19, before being traded to the New York Rangers for a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft on July 29, 2021. He played 81 games for the Rangers before he was traded to the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 23, 2022 for a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• Signed as a free agent by Orlando (ECHL), December 8, 2012.
• Traded to Pittsburgh by St. Louis with St. Louis' 2nd round pick (Zachary Lauzon) in 2017 NHL Draft for Oscar Sundqvist and Pittsburgh's 1st round pick (Klim Kostin) in 2017 NHL Draft, June 23, 2017.
• Traded to Vegas by Pittsburgh with Vancouver's 4th round pick (previously acquired) in 2018 NHL Draft for Derick Brassard, February 23, 2018.
• Traded to NY Rangers by Vegas for a 3rd-round pick in 2022 NHL Draft, July 29, 2021.
• Traded to Minnesota by NY Rangers for a 5th-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, November 23, 2022.