Habs Top 25 Under 25: #13 Ryan White
by Kevin van Steendelaar on Aug 18, 2011 12:00 AM EDT
in Habs Player Profiles
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PrintWith 43 games as a member of the Montreal Canadiens under his belt, Ryan White has the most Habs experience thus far in our Top 25 Under 25 countdown.
The Manitoba native has been a late cut in the last two training camps. This season, after signing a one-year one-way deal, we'll finally see him on the roster to start the regular season.
White's energy on the third/fourth line for a full season should benefit the Canadiens fully, as well as give the opponents fits.
"The Habs certainly could use a player like that," said HabsWorld's Brian LaRose. "He has shown in flashes that's he's capable of playing that role, and playing it well."
The 23-year-old averaged 8:55 TOI and was +5 last season, good enough for 7th on the team.
Strengths: Not afraid to drive the net, when the opportunity arises and will go into the corners to fight for the puck. With Jacques Martins notorious line juggling, White found himself playing with a host of linemates last season. His versatility gives the Habs bench boss some options as the game/season rolls on.
At 6'0 200lbs, White is not afraid to back down to anyone, and will stand up for his teammates as Johnny Boychuk learned this past season. He also recorded 70 hits, half the number team leader Andrei Kostitsyn recorded in three times the number of games.
As his junior career progressed he undertook a stronger conditioning regimen. That combined with an already built-in strong work ethic gives the Canadiens a hard working forward in the bottom six.
"Ryan White is the type of player that the Habs organization has been looking to acquire for years. Consistently there has been a shortage of skilled fourth line players with size and grit," was how AllHabs Iain Carnegie wrote of him this past July."The closest we’ve seen to filling that role are Maxime Lapierre and Travis Moen. One of that duo is no longer in Montreal."
White's defensive abilities are most crucial this season. Last season he found himself leading the Habs in neutral zone situations and led in positive events per minute. The downside to this review is that he also had the most negative events per minute, which tarnished his net rating.
Granted that was over just 27 games in 2010-11, so the latter of those scores should diminish over a full season. That indicator may have shown based on the same assessment formula during the playoffs, where he had the 10th best risk/reward margin.
Weaknesses: Most of our panelists agreed that offensively we aren't going to expect anything out of White, and in terms of our rankings has likely hit his peak. But any contributions from him on the energy line, or filling in on a top-six line, is just an added bonus.
His skating is also not the strongest, but his hustle can counter that in races for the puck.
With this being his first full NHL season, he will still be in the learning curve and under the watchful eye of Martin as the season progresses. We all know how that can go for younger players, so White will want to avoid foolish mistakes and penalties.
Analysis: White has all the makings of an effective bottom six forward. Playing on a contract year and full time in the NHL gives him an excellent opportunity to show what he is worth. He saw a very brief amount of ice time playing short-handed last year, but will likely get more penalty killing opportunities this season. The important thing about Ryan White is that he knows what is expected of him by the Canadiens, and will step up when needed.
| #14 - Brendan Gallagher | # 13 - Ryan White | #12 ??? |
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It will be inteersting to see if Martin uses White as a centre or on RW. It would appear he will play on the wing although he was used as a centre in the playoffs for Hamilton. White’s eventual role on the team may have implications for a variety of other players.
If White plays RW that means DD might play centre. I can’t see him as a checking centre so I wonder if that role will fall to Eller for a year. I doubt that will happen. That probably means Eller is the 3rd line pivot and that DD will fight it out for the wing position.
Can Engqvist take on the role as 4th line centre? He certainly has the size and is right-handed (just like White). But he has no NHL experience and can’t win a faceoff to save his life. All our centres are weak in the faceoff circle so it’s a major concern. If he fails, we might have to make a trade which means another 2nd rounder is going out the window. There is still an open spot on the roster so Martin may want to sign an experienced centre before the season starts. We certainly have the cap space. Not to mention that players such as Engqvist and Palushaj don’t have to clear waivers.
When it’s all said and done, is there any chance that a 4th line of Moen/White/Darche is feasible? They would certainly fit the bill in terms of appropriate ice time and would surely drive the opposition crazy. Maybe Moen and White could even evolve into a decent PK team. If White can handle the draws, it just might be worth the risk.
Re: Ryan White
I like Ryan White, He’s a good kid, who is Canadian and works hard. All of us want the Canadiens to have such “energy” players" on the roster. But in light of Andrew Berkshire’s recent article on this site, is that a euphemism for an “enforcer”? (Note that I didn’t call him a “goon”, which I define as someone with essentially no hockey skills who’s main job is just to fight). With less than 9 min. average of icetime per game, Ryan’s not on the roster for his offense or his PK skills. He won’t be playing consistently against the opposition’s 2 top lines. He’s there to “stand up for his teammates” and to make something “happen” (with a hit or — just as good — a fight) when the coaching staff feels that’s necessary. Isn’t that what an “enforcer” (as opposed to a “goon”) does? Isn’t Ryan our (smaller) version of Shawn Thornton? I don’t think he’s quite a Chris Nilan (who actually did score goals) and he’s definitely not a Milan Lucic.
So, my point is this: What does this say about us and the team? If Ryan, by virtue of his role on the team, gets injuries and concussions, how responsible are we for that happening? I’m sure Ryan understands his role n the team and will be happy to have an NHL job. He (and we) will also say he’s an adult and can make his own decisions. I agree Ryan’s role is not quite that of Derek Boogard or even Rick Rypien. But I wonder how much we fans, and team management, in our desire to have “energy” players, and our lauding of Gordie Howe hat tricks (Ryan had one last year) are responsible, if only indirectly, for what happened to those two. .
I hope for more from Ryan than that. I know for sure that Kevin does… he had a bad year offensively last year in Hamilton but the guy has some hands around the net (21 goals in 81 reg+PO games in 09-10) and I think he has the qualities of a good forechecker. Heck, Travis Moen didn’t show much in his game other than his fists when he first came into the league with Chicago, but he’s proven to be an effective PK guy and an even ES player.
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by Bruce Peter on Aug 18, 2011 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions
I think you’re misinterpreting White’s role on the team. He is not there primarily to provide “energy”, to “stand up for his teammates”, to fight or to hit guys. He may provide all of this and some of these things certainly have real value, but the real reason White is on the Habs’ roster is because he has the ability to outplay opposing fourth liners.
Ryan White had an offensive zone start of 44.2% and positive Corsi (and impressively, an offensive zone end above 50% — notable for a guy who starts in the defensive zone so much). He only played against fourth-line opposition, true. He maybe can’t handle strong opposition, but against the bottom of opposing rosters, he helps push the puck in the right direction. And while that’s not something that will make him a star, it’s something that has nontrivial value to a hockey club.
Yes, the tough guy stuff is really more of a nice bonus feature than essential for his role.
by Stephan Cooper on Aug 18, 2011 1:01 PM EDT up reply actions
I was going to write up a detailed response to this question, but Bruce and MathMan did such an excellent job it’s unnecessary.
I’ll only add that I see White as a grinder and not an enforcer. I don’t think he’ll fight any more than Moen does.
Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/andrewberkshire
by Andrew Berkshire on Aug 18, 2011 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions
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