Ryan Graves exemplifies patience and persistence.
The 25-year-old from Yarmouth spent nearly four full seasons in the minors and even contemplated changing careers at one point, but is now a key part of the Colorado Avalanche’s present and future.
“When you spend three and a half years in the American Hockey League, you start to wonder if it’s ever going to happen for you,” Graves said. “I had some good years in Hartford (AHL’s Wolf Pack) and guys were called up over me. The last year there, you start to really doubt yourself and you wonder if it’s ever going to pan out or maybe you should start thinking about doing something different. So finally getting a bit of a chance last year (with the Avalanche) was nice.
“I was having a good year and I give a lot of credit to the coaching staff with the (AHL’s Colorado) Eagles. The head guy there, Greg Cronin, helped me shape my game and helped me realize what my strengths were. He gave me a different way of thinking about it and different things to concentrate on. I think he really helped me grow my game. You hear it a lot but there’s such a small margin between the guys in the AHL and the guys that can make it in the NHL so he helped me close the gap and make the jump. So it was partially just getting a chance but also just great timing and continuing to improve. I honestly feel very fortunate for that timing and how it worked out for me.”
Graves appeared in 26 games with Avs as a call-up in 2018-19 and went into the off-season feeling more optimistic about his career. Still, he set modest goals for 2019-20. All he wanted was a chance to pick up where he left off the season before.
As it turned out, Graves not only made the team again, he led the entire NHL in plus-minus (plus-40) and was averaging around 24 minutes per game in March when the NHL shut down. The six-foot-five defensive defenceman even chipped in 26 points in 69 games, numbers he describes as ”just a plus for (the team), and for me as well.”
“A lot of people say you just need a chance and I felt like I was very fortunate to get that with Colorado, where it didn’t really happen with New York,” said Graves, who was traded to the Avalanche by the Rangers midway through the 2017-18 season. “Things were just kind of bouncing my way this year, but at the same time I put a lot of work into it. I’ve always worked hard but did I think at the start of the year it would go the way it did? Definitely no.
“But I’ve always been the kind of person that sets new goals and I always try to shoot higher. At the start of the year my goal was just to make the team and that was a challenge. We had a lot of guys coming in and a lot of good defencemen that had NHL experience or were in the same situation I was. So after I made the team, my goal was to play on a regular basis. From there, it was to play more and then I just kept trying to take steps forward. I understand there’s a lot further to go but it’s definitely been a good year and now I’m really happy we’re going to be back.”
Graves’ season struck everyone in the Avalanche as such an inspiring overachievement, management selected him as the organization’s nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy. The award is handed out annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
“It was unexpected,” Graves said. “Obviously there are some guys that are nominated that have been through some things that are pretty incomparable to what I’ve been through. But still, I’m proud of it. It’s an honour and it is nice. I’ve got a lot of people texting me and reaching out so it’s pretty cool.
“I’m not the one who’s going to win an award for winning the scoring race or the MVP or anything like that so it’s nice to be recognized.”
Graves has been back in the Maritimes ever since the NHL season went into hiatus. He left Denver for Prince Edward Island as soon as the COVID-19 crisis hit full force and will remain there until the league releases its full plan to return to play.
“We didn’t know if we were going to be off a coupe of weeks or if we were going to be off for the year and they were going to cancel everything,” he said. “Initially when it happened, the cases in Colorado were pretty high so I flew back home to be around some family and just isolate here. We’re in the same boat as everybody else so we’re just kind of waiting this thing out. And it’s been weird with no gyms or rinks open so that’s a big change of pace for a lot of us and it’s been a challenge just trying to stay active.
“We’ll have a training camp and I’m sure guys won’t be in the best shape coming in because you can’t do the things you normally do like in August when you’re ramping up for the season. But I think everyone will be in decent enough shape and guys will also be healthy, which is the plus side of it. It’s been a few weird months but the rinks are open here now and the gyms are open so I’ve been getting back into the swing of things. I’m really looking forward to getting back and I really hope they can figure it out so we can play.”
Although he grew up in Yarmouth, Graves has been spending his off-seasons on the Island ever since he was drafted ninth overall by the QMJHL’s P.E.I. Rocket back in 2011. He also played for the Val-d’Or Foreurs and Quebec Remparts during his four years in the Quebec league.
“The main connection is definitely from when I played here,” he said. “I do have some family here. My mom has some of her brothers and sisters living here on the Island, which initially made the transition here easy. But I was drafted here at 16 and I moved here the summer prior to starting (my first season) to train because there wasn’t much going on in Yarmouth for ice and people to train with. So I moved to P.E.I. just as a career choice and to give myself the best chance.
“I lived with a family over here that I really liked and I took a liking to the off-season routine I had here. I was with a good group. The initial transition was definitely planned for the Rocket, now the Islanders, but then I went to high school here, I met my girlfriend here and I have a group of friends here that I’ve been hanging around with since high school so it’s kind of become a second home for me. And then obviously with the amount of hockey players here and the set-up we can have with our training group, it’s been good for me. I’ve really enjoyed it here and who can complain about a P.E.I. summer.”
And with zero coronavirus cases on the Island for the better part of the past month and a half, Graves appreciates his good fortune of being in one of the safest environments in North America.
“We’ve been pretty cautious over here, which has been great,” he said. “They’ve really handled it the right way and I think a lot of Islanders took it very seriously. A lot of snowbirds were coming home from Florida and things like that so everyone was taking their 14 days when they got back, just to make sure they didn’t spread it.
“I know when I came home I was very strict. I did a little more than 14 days just to be sure because there were no cases on the Island when I came home so I didn’t want to be the one to bring it here, in case I had it. But everyone has done a really good job here and that definitely makes it more stress free. Restaurants and a lot of other places were all closed, just like everywhere else in the world, but it was a little more stress free going to the grocery store and now we can see friends a little bit. We were allowed small groups earlier than most provinces so right now we still don’t have any active cases so restaurants and rinks are starting to open up. It’s been great the way everyone worked together.”
