Ryan Callahan

Ryan G. Callahan (born March 21, 1985) is an American professional ice hockey right winger and an alternate captain for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the New York Rangers, serving as their captain. He is of Italian and Irish heritage.

Playing career

Amateur

Callahan played one year of high school ice hockey for Hilton High School. He then began his junior career with the Rochester Junior Americans of the Empire Junior B Hockey League, where he played for two seasons, 1999 to 2001. He then played with the Syracuse Jr. Crunch and Buffalo Lightning of the OPJHL before moving on to a four-year Ontario Hockey League (OHL) stint with the Guelph Storm, where he played alongside future Ranger teammate Daniel Girardi. Callahan turned professional with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL), where he played most of the 2006–07 season.

New York Rangers (2006–2014)

Callahan received his first NHL call-up to the Rangers on November 28, 2006, making his NHL debut on December 1, but he would only play in that one game before being sent back down to the Wolf Pack. He was called up for a second time on December 19, but would again only play in one NHL game in that stint. Toward the end of the season, Callahan was called up for the third and final time on March 15, 2007, after scoring 35 goals in 60 AHL games, and he would stay with the Rangers through the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs. Two days later, on March 17, he scored his first two NHL goals against Joey MacDonald of the Boston Bruins. He scored his first career assist on March 21 and first career game-winning goal on April 1. He scored his first two NHL playoff goals in a 7–0 win in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal against the Atlanta Thrashers on April 17, 2007.