USHL: QA with Ryan Daugherty

Omaha Lancer winger Ryan Daugherty's statistics this season haven't been earth-shattering, but he's still caught the eye of the scouting community with his character play. The Allen, Texas, native has battled through a recurrent lower body injury in 2008-09 that kept him out of the lineup some nights earlier in the season. However, he was still named to play in the USHL Prospects/All-Star Game for Team Reebok and was 68th overall amongst North American skaters in Central Scouting's Mid-Term Rankings, and is also being monitored by McKeen's.

McKeen's correspondent Kevin Wey recently had the opportunity to talk with Ryan Daugherty. The young forward discussed being named to play in the USHL Prospects/All-Star Game, his injury setbacks this season, his transition to the USHL, his successful season with the Dallas Jr. Stars, his commitment to Northern Michigan, catching the eye of the scouting community, and his respect for a certain character player in "Big D."

McKeen's: Earlier this month you played for Team West (Team Reebok) in the USHL Prospects/All-Star Game. Tell me about being named to that team, how you felt, and how the weekend went for you.

Daugherty: It was a great honor. I was a little shocked. I didn't think I'd make it. But, it was really fun. I really enjoyed it. There were a lot of good players up there.

McKeen's: When you found out you'd been selected to play in the All-Star Game, who told you and what did they say?

Daugherty: It was kind of weird. My coach sent me a text, and I kind of thought it was a practical joke, but then I got two more texts. So, I was pretty pumped.

McKeen's: That kind of confirmed it. Not to move to a negative note, but your season didn't start the way you would have liked it, missing the preseason with a knee injury. If possible, tell me a bit about that and the recurrent nature of it.

Daugherty: I'm still recovering from it. I'm getting surgery right when I graduate. Knee cap pretty much just pops out of the side of my leg and pops back in, just randomly. It doesn't feel too good, and you have to take a couple days off when it does that.

McKeen's: I don't doubt that. When was the last time you missed a game due to that?

Daugherty: It happened up in Fargo last time, but I somehow finished the game, and didn't play the next one. So, I haven't missed any for a while.

McKeen's: It didn't look like you'd missed any for a while, judging by the game-by-game statistics. The first time I was able to see was in Des Moines in late November and the leg looked fairly weak, but it's looked better in subsequent viewings. So, what are some of the things you've been able to do to help it along.

Daugherty: Our trainer, Billy [Nervig], we've been doing exercises. I ice it, pretty much, before and after every game or every time I skate. I tape it, I have a brace over it, just building it to get stronger.

McKeen's: When you did get into the lineup at the beginning of the season in October, you started off pretty well with a goal in your first game, points in the first three games. So, how did it feel coming back and making that sort of contribution so soon?

Daugherty: It felt really good. I thought, you know, I had the league figured out right when I came (smiles). And then I kind of went into a slump and was, kind of, "I have no clue." I had no clue when I was first starting out.

McKeen's: You're in your first of what I suspect will be two USHL seasons. The injury aside, what have been some of the biggest adjustments for you coming to the USHL out of midget AAA with the Dallas Jr. Stars?

Daugherty: It's a lot faster and everyone's a lot bigger. But, mostly, every team can beat any team on any night. When you're in midgets, you know, sometimes you know you're playing a weaker team that you're going to beat. But, any night, anyone can beat anyone in this league.

McKeen's: Many times, when players suffer an injury, particularly a lower body one like the one you've been dealing with, it forces them to compensate in other ways and they say that afterward they end up a stronger player because of it, assuming the injury heals. So, what are some of the ways you've had to improve or play differently that may help you in the long run?

Daugherty: I've definitely been keeping my head up a little more, because I'm kind of worried about it. All the exercise I'm doing with my leg, it's a lot better. My right leg might be stronger than my left one, but they're stronger than they were before.

McKeen's: This season, again, aside from the rehab, what are some of the things you've been focusing on improving with the Lancers?

Daugherty: I've just wanted to work on my stickhandling ability, to work on my stride a little bit, and just get some confidence back in my game.

McKeen's: Obviously the stride work is a little hampered.

Daugherty: Yeah.

McKeen's: On the other hand, what would you say are your strengths as a player already and what style of game would you say you play?

Daugherty: I think I'm a big power forward. I like to hit, I like to get into the dirty areas and grind it out, and scoring once in awhile isn't bad either.

McKeen's: (Chuckles) Of course. Have you found the injury this year has been affecting the degree to which you're able to play the game you want play?

Daugherty: It hasn't been affecting, I just haven't been able to go 100 percent, but it hasn't changed the way I play.

McKeen's: Last year, not quite at this time, a couple months later, you were at nationals with the Jr. Stars. So, tell me a bit about last season and then nationals.

Daugherty: Last season we had some struggles at the beginning of the year but we really came together at the end and really battled through. Every kid on that team I love. I still keep in touch with them all the time.

McKeen's: Obviously, one's a little easier than the rest, with C.J. [Ludwig]. I understand that the 2007-08 involved a bit of a change for you, that you previously played for the Alliance Bulldogs, another team in the Dallas area. Tell me about the decision to make that switch over.

Daugherty: My brother had played there for two years, and it's a great program. They've really made a name for themselves in midget hockey. A team coming from Texas, everyone's kind of like, "How are these guys going to be any good?" But, it's a really strong program.

McKeen's: So strong, in fact, that it has joined what was the Midwest Elite Hockey League, which is now the Tier 1 League, along with a number of other notable programs not from around the traditional footprint of the MWEHL. You're not with the Jr. Stars anymore, but tell me your reaction to that, what you think it means for the Jr. Stars going forward.

Daugherty: I think it's a good thing for them, because they play a lot more games during the season. But, I really liked the competitiveness of tournaments, being able to be number one a lot and having championship games, but hopefully they'll have a nice championship at the end of the season with that league.

McKeen's: Good point on the tournament aspect, the pluses and minuses. Now, going back to your Alliance Bulldog days, what was it that made you decide to skate for that program?

Daugherty: The coaching was very good. Chris Kostopoulos, his brother plays for Montreal, he knows what he's talking about. He's actually the coach at Robert Morris now. I really liked the kids on the team, and it was a good experience. Josh Berge actually played on that team with me, he plays with Tri-City right now.

McKeen's: To a Texas question, the North Stars moved to Dallas in the early 1990's and youth hockey has really taken off in Texas in the past 15 years or so. In your opinion, what was the genesis of hockey taking a quantum leap in Texas?

Daugherty: Not really many people even played hockey at all, because it's a football state. Football's what everyone is grown up to play. But, when the Stars came in, it kind of got a little big, and then when they won the Cup, a lot of people took notice, and they started building more ice rinks and little kids wanted to play.

McKeen's: In various times during hockey history, and it may still be true right now, that Texas has had the most minor pro teams of any state, and now the Central Hockey League has an expansion team coming to your neck of the woods, in Allen, Texas. Tell me a bit about that and your reaction to it.

Daugherty: I've heard they're building a rink and they were trying to get an AHL team there, now I know it's a CHL team. That'd be great, because there's rinks all around it and the town is kind of smaller than the cities around it, so hopefully that'll get some more people.

McKeen's: It's part of that Northeast part of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where hopefully Allen, Plano, and the surrounding area will have its own draw of fans. As you mentioned, Texas is a football state, so how was it that you came to play hockey and when did you get that start?

Daugherty: I actually played hockey and football until eighth grade. My football coach was always getting mad at me because I'd leave practice early to go to hockey practice. I just kind of fell in love with hockey more than football.

McKeen's: At what age did you start playing hockey?

Daugherty: When I was about five or six, I started playing in the street with the neighborhood kids and pretty much kept going since then.

McKeen's: And you hit the ice around that same age?

Daugherty: No. I didn't actually play ice hockey until I was about, I want to say 10, but I played roller hockey, travel roller hockey, before that.

McKeen's: Not early, but certainly not too late.

Daugherty: Yeah.

McKeen's: Now, you're from Texas, but your future involves Marquette, Michigan. So, tell me a bit about committing to Northern Michigan, when coach [Walt] Kyle and why you chose there?

Daugherty: C.J. Ludwig's dad, also, I talked to him about it, he spoke very highly of them. The coaches are what sold me on the school. I went up there, watched their practice, and talked to them. His brother's the assistant coach, they're like a family up there. He moves players on. He said, "I'm not guaranteeing you any icetime, because you have to earn it once you get here." I really like that kind of stuff about them, and it's not that bad that my best friend, C.J., is going with me.

McKeen's: At what point did coach Kyle start talking to you and start recruiting you?

Daugherty: At tryout camp, he recruited C.J. He was coming to watch C.J. and he slowly started talking to me, and we got into it. Then, I went up there for a visit. Right when I came back from Christmas break I committed to them.

McKeen's: There's a bit of a pipeline developing from Texas to Northern Michigan with Ludwigs and now yourself. If I might ask, what other college programs showed interest in you and were they programs that you considered?

Daugherty: I was talking to Denver University, Michigan, CC (Colorado College), and just those three.

McKeen's: That's still a pretty good list of programs.

Daugherty: Yeah.

McKeen's: This is your draft year, and Central Scouting, despite everything with the injuries, still has you ranked in the Top 100 amongst North American prospects. What does that mean to you and to be considered so high despite some of the setbacks this season and what would it mean to be drafted?

Daugherty: It's kind of nice to be recognized. I thought I was going to be a lot lower than that, but it's really nice, and helps me keep it going. Being drafted at all would be a huge honor, it doesn't matter what round. Just knowing an NHL team wants you for the future would be phenomenal.

McKeen's: If I were a director of amateur scouting for an NHL team, what are some reasons that I should consider drafting Ryan Daugherty?

Daugherty: You know? I feel like I'm a good guy in the locker room. I'm not a selfish player. I know some people have more skill than me, but I use what I have and don't try to be a player that I'm not, like a 50-goal scorer per season.

McKeen's: With that 50-goal comment, what were your expectations for yourself, scoring wise, heading into this season in the USHL? Anything in particular?

Daugherty: I didn't really set any expectations. I just wanted to play my game. All that really matters to me is if we win at the end of the night, which didn't happen tonight.

McKeen's: Yeah. I may have to stop coming when you guys play Fargo. I came another time and, if I remember right, you guys lost in a shootout.

Daugherty: Yeah, I think it was shootout loss.

McKeen's: Now, lastly, who were some of your favorite players growing up and why, and who are some players that you'd like to equate to?

Daugherty: Brendan Morrow. He plays for the Stars, he's their captain, he's actually hurt this year with a knee, too. But, he's small, he's gritty, he does his job, he doesn't try to be anyone else, and he's not scared of anyone. It's those kind of things, like great character people. I mean, all the Datsyuk's and Crosby's, yeah, they have amazing talent, but they wouldn't be who they are without the other 18 guys surrounding them.